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I must admit I'd never heard of this holiday until yesterday; it's not one of the Jewish holidays commanded by God in Leviticus 23, and isn't mentioned in the New Testament, mainly because it has later origins. Its practices resemble those of Roman Catholic saints' days more than the observances commanded by God. As reported by Mendel Super of Chabad.org, May 17, 2022:
Jewish communities around the world will gather in backyards, streets, parks, and even cemeteries to celebrate Jewish pride, unity, and even mysticism, beginning on the evening of May 18 and lasting until sundown on May 19.As reported by The Israel Bible, May 18, 2022 (links in original):
The festive day, known as Lag BaOmer—the 33rd day of the Omer count, which concludes with the holiday of Shavuot—marks the passing of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar, and also commemorates the end of a plague that affected the students of Rabbi Akiva. The reason for the plague was a lack of respect for one another among the students, and so the day is marked by celebrating Jewish unity.
While in the northern hemisphere, it’s a spring holiday, in New Zealand—the first Jewish community to usher in the festivities—the trees are shedding their leaves. Chabad-Lubavitch of Auckland, New Zealand, will gather in the evening for a traditional bonfire and barbecue, complete with inflatable entertainment and face-painting for the children.
“It’s the perfect time to come together and celebrate our proud Jewish community,” says Rabbi Mendel Hecht, co-director of Chabad of New Zealand with his wife, Esther. “As the first community to begin all Jewish holidays, we’ll show everyone how it’s done!”
Even in California, it’s not quite warm yet. In Mammoth Lakes, an alpine town in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, it was still snowing last week. But Chabad of Mammoth Lakes has plowed ahead with two Lag BaOmer events—one on the nearby Convict Lake, the other 40 miles away in Bishop, Calif., where Rabbi Yisrael and Mushky Gordon, co-directors of Chabad of Mammoth Lakes, commute regularly, offering Torah classes and holiday programming to the dozens of Jews in the nearby town. Community members will bring their boats and kayaks for a family fun day on the lake, with the kosher barbecue and s’mores provided.
In Israel, many thousands of pilgrims gather at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. In New York, many visit the resting place of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, and his predecessor, the Sixth Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, at the Old Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, N.Y., known as the Ohel. The Rebbe taught that the graves of all sages are connected, and those unable to make it to Israel can still use the auspicious day to pray at the graves of a local sage.
In Krakow, Poland, the Jewish community has the custom of visiting the grave of Rabbi Moshe Isserles (1529-1572), the great Ashkenazic codifier of Jewish tradition, who passed away on Lag Ba’Omer and is buried in Krakow. For centuries, Jews have visited his gravesite on this day and the custom lives on, says Rabbi Eliezer Gurary, director of Chabad of Krakow, who will be visiting the tomb with his community—and refugees from Ukraine currently living in Krakow “Tradition says that visiting the grave of Rabbi Isserles is like going to Rabbi Shimon’s tomb on Mount Meron,” explains Gurary.
For some communities, the celebration of Jewish unity takes on special meaning with war raging in Ukraine. Berlin is one of the many Jewish communities around Europe that has taken in refugees, including an entire orphanage from Odessa, Ukraine. Longtime residents and new refugees will mingle at Chabad of Berlin’s Lag Ba’Omer parade, which is expected to see more than 600 people participate.
The Odessa contingent is led by Chaya Wolff, co-director of Chabad of Odessa since its inception in 1992, while her husband, Rabbi Avraham Wolff, has stayed back in Ukraine. His community will gather on Lag Ba’Omer for a bonfire, barbecue and a Chassidic farbrengen, not allowing the threat of war to stop them.
Wolff says the merit of the great sage will protect his community: “The Talmud says that one can rely on Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in pressing times. There is no time more pressing than this. May his merit protect us and all the people of Ukraine on this holy day.”
In occupied Kherson, his brother, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Wolff, director of Chabad of Kherson, is similarly determined to celebrate the day with joy, extreme hardship and sorrow notwithstanding, saying “with God’s help, we will celebrate like we do every year.”
Lag Ba’Omer is the 33rd day of the 49-day count between Passover, when a barley wave offering was presented in the Temple, and the holiday of Shavuot (Feast of Weeks), when an offering of two loaves of wheat bread was brought in the Temple. It is celebrated with bonfires and joyous celebrations which take place across Israel.I somehow missed this news story, as reported by Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz of Israel365 News, April 30, 2021 (links in original):
Classified as a minor holiday, acts normally forbidden on the Sabbath and holidays are permitted on Lag Ba’Omer. The name of the holiday is derived from its position in the counting of the Omer since ‘Lag’ is spelled with the two Hebrew letters lamed (ל) and gimel (ג), which in gematria (Hebrew numerology) equal 33.
Jews are commanded to count the days in this period orally:
And from the day on which you bring the sheaf of elevation offering—the day after the Shabbat—you shall count off seven weeks. They must be complete. You must count until the day after the seventh week—fifty days; then you shall bring an offering of new grain to Hashem. Leviticus 23:14-15
Lag BaOmer is a bright spark of joy in the period of the Omer, which is generally a period of lessened joy when weddings and other celebrations are forbidden. The period of austerity commemorates the deaths of 24,000 students of the 2nd-century Mishnaic sage Rabbi Akiva, who, some believe, died fighting the Romans during the Bar Kochba rebellion (132-136 C.E.). After the tragic death of his students, only five remained—one of whom was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
According to the Talmud (Yevamot 62b), the students died from a plague because they disrespected one another, in violation of Rabbi Akiva’s principle teaching that “loving each other like oneself is a great principle in the Torah.” The death of the students is believed to have ceased on Lag B’Omer.
Ironically, Lag Ba’Omer is a celebration commemorating the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a Jewish sage from the second century known by the acronym Rashbi who, according to tradition, wrote the Zohar, the basis of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). Normally, the passing of tzaddikim (holy men) is a source of sadness but, before passing away, Rashbi instructed his students to remember his passing as a day of joy. According to the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai revealed the deepest secrets of Kabbalah on the day of his death, turning Lag Ba’Omer into a celebration of light coming into the world. His grave is located near the city of Safed, which is historically a capital for Kabbalistic studies.
Many Jews celebrate the day with bonfires and barbecues. Most Israeli schools are closed on Lag Ba’Omer. Historically, Mount Meron, the burial place of the Rashbi located near Tzfat (Safed), has been the focus of a mass pilgrimage with up to 250,000 people who would spend the night singing, praying and celebrating at the gravesite of the Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Tragically, in 2021, 100,000 people were in attendance when a stampede took place. Forty-five men and boys at the event were killed, and about 150 were injured, dozens of them critically, making it the deadliest civil disaster in the history of the State of Israel.
At least 44 people were killed and over 150 injured on the holiday of Lag Ba’Omer on Thursday night at a mass gathering turned tragedy as people stampeded The tragedy took place shortly after midnight an estimated 100,000 people were at the event. An additional 100,000 were expected to arrive Friday morning but the site was closed by police. It is still unclear what led to the panic with some reports of a bleachers collapse initiating the rush. Police reported large numbers of people at a concert slipping and falling onto people below them (see video).As reported by Mr. Berkowitz, May 2, 2021 (bold, links in original):
The Magen David Adom rescue service said 38 people were killed at the scene while they treated18 people in serious condition, 2 who were moderately hurt, and 80 who were lightly injured. Ziv hospital in Tzfat later reported that six of the wounded died from their injuries and the Health Ministry confirmed that the total death toll stood at 44. The IDF, which sent its elite 669 rescue team to the site, said a roof had collapsed. MDA spokesman Zaki Heller told the Ynet news site that the deaths were caused by severe overcrowding.
There is a Hasidic tradition (called Halaka) to give three-year-old boys their first haircut at Meron on Lag Ba’Omer so many small children were at the gathering. Many were separated from the parents in the panic.
“Unfortunately we found small children being trampled there, and we performed resuscitations on children. We managed to save some of them,” United Hatzalah founder Eli Beer said to IDF Army Radio.
ZAKA, an organization of voluntary community emergency response teams, has taken upon itself one of the holiest Jewish tasks; caring for a dead body, referred to as chesed shel meet (true loving kindness). David Rose, the director of ZAKA, reported that ZAKA teams worked through the night to ensure their holy work was carried out to the best of their abilities but their job became even more difficult. Jewish tradition requires burial as soon as possible after death so many, if not all, of those killed will be buried before the Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday.
Mobile telephone systems became overloaded and were not working. Zaka search and rescue set up an online Google doc form to check on missing persons. They will try to locate any missing person reported via the system.
Aviva Spiegel, a resident of Tsfat who was at the event, released an audio in which she described her experience:
“Whatever they say in the media that the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) were pushing and trampling, that they were like animals, hopefully, the media won’t, I want to tell you that when the sirens started blaring, I saw Hatzala workers running, and I saw men pumping chests, giving CPR,” Spiegel said. “What I saw was a nation that was so united. There is the story of death but the real story is the … thousands of people who were davening (praying) for them…Everyone was saying Tehillim (psalms). The heart of the nation is pure. Even though were dealt a huge blow. We were crying out for our brothers and sisters. And this is what brings geula (redemption). We pray for each other, and give tzedaka (charity).”
Last night’s event was one of the worst peacetime tragedies in Israel’s history, alongside the Carmel forest fire in 2010 in which 44 people lost their lives. The event has always been one of the most challenging for police and emergency and an estimated 5,000 policemen were deployed.
The public is requested to pray for the wounded as well as the many people who were traumatized by the event.
Lag Ba’Omer is celebrated on the 33rd day of the 49-day counting (seven complete weeks) of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot which culminates in the holiday of Shavuot when an offering of two loaves of wheat bread was brought in the Temple. The name of the holiday is derived from its position in the counting of the Omer since ‘Lag’ is spelled by the two Hebrew letters lamed and gimel, which in gematria (Hebrew numerology) equal 33. Before the pandemic, the minor holiday became a major pilgrimage with an estimated 250,000 Israelis—men, women and children—gathering at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee near Tzfat (Safed). The day is associated with the anniversary of the passing (yahrtzeit) of the Mishnaic sage and Kabbalist Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, also known by the acronym “Rashbi.” It is believed that on the day of his passing, he revealed for the first time teachings that constitute a significant portion of the Zohar, the foundational book of Jewish mysticism. Despite being the anniversary of his leaving the world, the Rashbi himself called for this day to be a joyous one and it has become a joyous highlight in the middle of the somber days of the Omer. Most celebrate the day with bonfires and barbecues, making it an attractive celebration to observant and non-observant Jews alike.
The day is also associated with the end of a mourning period, in which 24,000 students of the Mishnaic sage Rabbi Akiva are believed to have died fighting the Romans during the Bar Kochba rebellion (132-136 C.E.). After the tragic death of his students, only five remained—one of whom was bar Yochai. There is another view that the students died from a plague brought about by disrespecting one another, in violation of Rabbi Akiva’s principle teaching of “loving each other like oneself.” The death of the students is believed to have ceased on Lag B’Omer.
While the nation of Israel is struggling to cope with its worst peacetime disaster, the death of 45 people killed in a stampede at the Lag Ba’Omer holiday celebrations at Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai’s gravesite on Mount Meron, it was revealed that the tragic event was predicted in the writings of Rabbi Shimon himself more than 2,000 years ago.
CLUE IN THE ZOHAR: 45 PEOPLE CRUSHED TO DEATH
The reference was made in the section dealing with the section of the Torah Naso on page 144 in the Edra Raba (the great gathering) called HaPartzuf HaElyon (the upper face) from the Zohar, the seminal work of Jewish mysticism authored by Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai who was buried on Mount Meron in 160 CE.
The Edra Raba relates a conversation between Elijah the Prophet and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. There was to be a gathering where Hashem would reveal secrets to the Tzaddikim. Elijah was there but had to leave as Hashem gave him a task. Elijah was sent to rescue Rabbi Hamnunah and his friends who were taken captive in a Roman prison. Elijah pushed down the walls and 45 of the Roman guards were killed. He then saved Rabbi Hamnunah.
Rabbi Yosef Berger, the rabbi of King David’s Tomb on Mount Zion, responded to this remarkable reference.
“It is impossible to fully understand entirely the secrets of the Zohar and now is not the time to place blame,” Rabbi Berger said. “We need to comfort each other and strengthen the nation in this. But even this horrible event is bringing us closer to the redemption.”
“The tragedy happened at the concert when they were singing ‘Ani Maamin’, a song about having complete faith in the coming of the Messiah,” Rabbi Berger said. “The exile began and the Temple was destroyed because of the prevalence of causeless hatred among the Jews. The people who were at the event were all entirely blameless but the tragedy of people trampling each other, people who were forced against their will to harm others, is a clear lesson that we need to increase the love for our fellow man to the point where that is all that remains, love for our fellow man.”
“The crushing avalanche that killed 45 Jews described in the Edra Raba delayed the revelation of deep secrets of the Torah. These secrets will finally be revealed by the Messiah. And the only way to usher in the Messiah is to increase our love for our fellow Jew. Jewish history has shown time after time that hatred among the nation means death for all.”
33: BEYOND HUMAN UNDERSTANDING
Rabbi Eyal Riess, Director of the Tzfat Kabbalah Center, had words of comfort that he posted on the organization’s Facebook page.
“Rabbi Elazar son of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai said in the book of Zohar: ‘A cry is stuck in my heart on one side, and joy is stuck in my heart on the other side’. Unfortunately, on the illuminating and happy day of Lag Baomer, this terrible disaster happened, specifically at the grave of Rabbi Shimon which has always been known as a place for celebration. Why? What is the explanation? Why is the pain so great?”
Rabbi Riess cited Psalms:
No signs appear for us; there is no longer any Navi; no one among us knows for how long. Psalms 74:9
“We cannot understand why 45 precious souls were taken from us in the middle of the holy day.”
“According to Kabbalah, the counting on the 33rd day of Omer is expressed in Kabbalah as’Hod in Hod’. ‘Hod’ in the doctrine of Kabbalah symbolizes admission and recognition of the hidden and unattainable aspects of God which cannot be perceived by limited human thought.
Rabbi Riess emphasized that such tragic events come from the unattainable aspect of God’s presence in this world and are, therefore, beyond explanation and understanding. For this reason, they are even more holy.
“We will pray for the safety of the wounded and for the uplifting of the souls of the deceased in the disaster, add light in good deeds, and do everything we can to make sure that such disasters do not happen in the future, anywhere and at any May we bring only good news. Amen.”
Although those who celebrate Lag Ba'Omer may cite the Old Testament, its mystical practices and connection to Kabbalah make it clear that Lag Ba'Omer has nothing to do with the God of the Bible, but is the sort of celebration that He condemns.
