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PAGE 8 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE April 30, |982
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Lag B’Omer
A holiday to light up your life
bv Dr. David Geffen
As soon as the celebration of
Israel's Independence Day is
concluded, the wood hoarders go to
work throughout all the
neighborhoods of Jerusalem.
C hildren of all si/es and from all
walks of life can be seen dragging
old logs and misshapen planks of
wood through the streets,
frequently it is hard to beliese that
children so small can move objects
so large. Squirreling these
treasures away in hundreds of
hiding places, these wood hoarders
are preparing tor the Lag B’Omer
bonlires. Lhis year I ag B'Omer is
on May I I
Each year I am astonished anew
as the collection proceeds, l,ag
B’Omer. when I was a lad in the
United States, w as a day of athletic-
contests. Here in Jerusalem the
night of Lag B'Omer is aglow with
bonfires, which dot the hillsides
and the empty lots of the various
neighborhoods., The biggest,
annually, is usually in Bay it Vegan,
where the base is about two stories
high before it is lit. Then the flames
literally leap up to the heavens.
In many Jerusalem neighborhoods
the l.ag B’Omer bonfire is a time
for families to get together and to
have a leisurely cookout. The kids
plan the menu and do all the
cooking the parents are their
guests. Sitting around the medura
(campfire), singing fills t|l$ air and
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Three-year-old child’s hair cut for the first time on Lag B’Omer.
it’s a time to reminisce and to plan,
a time to be joyful and wistful. The
Lag B’Omer bonfire provides
wonderful opportunity for all
these feelings and is a time of
togetherness.
The lighting of fires on Lag
B’Omer relates to the tradition that
this day marks the anniversary of
the death of Rabbi Shimeon Bar
Yohai, considered to be the author
of the mystical treatise, the Zohar
His yahrzeit is marked with the
“hilule de Rebbe Shimon”—the
special hymns in praise of this
great rabbinical leader and
thinker. To accompany these
hymns, custom has it that fires are
lit as a mass tribute to his memory.
Through the years this tradition
has grown and become more
widespread.
The name Lag B’Omer refers to
the lamed gimmel, the 33rd day in
the counting of the Omer, the
seven week period between
Passover and Shavuot. According
to the Talmud this was a very
disastrous period during the
Roman rule over Eret/ Yisrael in
the second century of the common
era. Many scholars were put to
death by the authorities, and
plague killed over 24,000 people.
On the 33rd day of the Omer there
was a respite from the plague a
break in the suffering
Because of the sadness linked to
the Omer season, it has become a
period overwrought with
restrictions. No weddings or
joyous celebrations are to be held
throughout the seven weeks. No
haircuts are taken, and there are
many who let their beards grow as
well. All these visible signs of
mourning have been incorporated
into the prohibitions of the Omer.
However, on Lag B’Omer all the
restrictions are relaxed. Weddings
may be held, haircuts are
encouraged, beards are eliminated,
bonfires are lit and celebrations are
in the order of the day.
As a reminder of that ancient
Roman period, another legend
grew up in conjunction with this
dav. Since the Jews were
forbidden, on penalty ol death,
from studying, they had to develop
a subterfuge to throw their
overseers off guard Young men
would take their bows and arrows
and go out into the lields,
supposedly to hunt Once they
were tar enough away, so the
Roman soldiers could no longer
see them, they assembled at a
meeting place either in a grove or
in a cave I here they would med
the rabbi waiting to teach them
On Lag B'Omer athletic contests
are thus encouraged, symbolically
pointing to the fact that words of
I orah can also fly like arrows
As I write this from my
Jerusalem abode, even though it is
not yet Passover, I can see a few
kids who are already planning
ahead I hey are hiding the boards,
which will illuminate their Lag
B'Omer honlire. As we celebrate
the holiday this year, let us hope
that it will be a dav of illumination
lor the entire Jewish people,
sparking our spiritual flames to
even greater intensity.
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