Lag BaOmer

Lag BaOmer, also known as Lag LaOmer among Sephardic Jews, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the thirty-third day of the counting of the Omer, which is on the 18th of Iyar.

Lag BaOmer falls on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer, as enumerated from the 2nd day of Passover until the holiday of Shavuot. This corresponds to the 18th day of the month of Iyar.

Sephardi Jews have the tradition of calling this holiday Lag LaOmer, which has been asserted to be more precise conforming to the regulations of Hebrew semantics. Lag La'Omer s for the thirty-third day "of the Omer", in contrast to BaOmer - "in the Omer." In actuality, Sephardim who followed the "Mechaber" or Rav Yosef Karo commemorate "Lad BaOmer," or the 34th day of the Omer.

This has been debatable with the reasoning that in Hebrew, the prefix used when regarding is "B'" or "Ba", as in Tu B'Av, Tisha B'av, etc. The "Ba" prefix in Hebrew can mean "referring to", in contrast to "la", which denotes "belonging to".

sources

The 33rd day of the counting of the Omer is Lag BaOmer. The sources of the Omer count are established in the Torah itself, in Leviticus 23:15-16, which states that it is a teaching to count 7 whole weeks since the day following Passover night concluding with the celebration of Shavuot on the 50th day. The 49 days of the Omer correspond to both to the period in the middle of physical emancipation from Egypt and the incorporeal freedom of the bestowing of the Torah at the bottom of Mount Sinai on Shavuot, as well as the time in the middle of the barley harvest-time and the wheat harvest-time in old Israel. There are several interpretations for why the 33rd day is dealt with as a unique holiday.

The Talmud (Yevamot 62b) conditions that throughout the time of Rabbi Akiva 24,000 of his learners perished from a divine-sent plague in the course of the counting of the Omer. The Talmud then proceeds on to claim that this was since they did not exhibit suitable esteem to one another, appropriate to their rank; they begrudged one another the transcendent levels reached by their companions. Jews commemorate Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the count, as the customary day that this plagues ended. This is the opinion noted in the legal code of the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, 120:1-10. Another practicable translation of this fiction is that the learners perished as part of the Roman effort to erase out Judaism following the Bar Kokhba uprising.

Following the expiration of Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 learners, he instructed just five learners, amid them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The latter proceeded on to become the finest instructor of Torah in his era. The day of Lag BaOmer is additionally comemorated as the Hillula or Yahrzeit, the jubilee of the death, of bar Yohai, who is conceived to have written the Zohar, a beacon reading of Jewish religious mysticism. Complementing to custom, on the day of his dying, he exposed the wisest mysteries of the Kabbalah. In fact this day is perceived as a commemoration of the bestowing of the concealed, mystical Torah by way of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, as a equidistant to Shavuot, which glorifies the bestowing of the revealed Torah by way of Moses. In fact there is a origin in the Kabbalah that Moses was reincarnated as Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai to deliver this mystical hint of the Torah to the Jewish people.

One manifestation of the association among Lag BaOmer and bar Yohai is that many thousands of Jews perform a journey to bar Yohai's burial-place in Meron each year on this particular day.

At hand are those who dispute that Lag BaOmer is actually bar Yohai's Yahrzeit on the base that it seems that in the original texts of Shaar HaKavanot by Hayyim Vital it relates to Lag BaOmer as being 'Yom Simchato' ('Day of his happiness'). Nevertheless, the day of dying of a saint or tad is ordinarily deliberated a day of jubilee so this designation is not extraordinary, particularly given the detail that the Zohar informs the story that bar Yohai exposed a large amount of mystic instruction at that moment. The Ben Ish Chai, and the Chida both endorse that bar Yohai did not die on this date – moreover the Chasam Sofer disheartened the idea of rejoicing on the day in spite of if it would, in fact, be his Yahrzeit.

Lag BaOmer has another importance founded on the Kabbalistic tradition of granting a Sefirah to each day and week of the Omer count. The 33rd day is the 5th day of the 5th week, which would be the day of Hod, or Grandeur, within the week of Hod. As such, Lag BaOmer symbolizes the degree of spiritual revelation or Hod that would come before the more material revelation of the 49th day, Malkhut enclosed by Malkhut, which right away comes before the holiday of Shavuot.

There is some speculation that the holiday signs the brief triumph of Bar Kokhba's men over the Romans. The holiday became a symbol emphasizing the struggle for national liberation and freedom. The bonfires and the archery games coincide with Bar Kochba's revolt.

The most long-familiar tradition of Lag BaOmer is the lighting of campfires. Some express that as bar Yohai bestowed spiritual light to the universe with the epiphany of the Zohar, campfires are lit to signify the effect of his guidances. It is also a Jewish tradition to light a candle in honor of the deceased on the day of the Yahrzeit. As his passage left such a 'light' behind, many candles and/or campfires are kindled. The Bnei Yissoschor quotes another cause for the kindling of campfires. On the day of his dying Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai expressed "Now, it's my desire to reveal secrets...The day will not go to its place like any other, for this entire day stands within my domain..." Daylight was wondrously elongated up to the time of Rabbi Shimon had accomplished his final instruction and passed away. This represented that all light is submissive to spiritual light, an especially to the original light incorporated within the mystical educations of the Torah. As such, the tradition of lighting fires symbolizes this revelation of powerful light.

During the Middle Ages, Lag BaOmer came to be a exceptional holiday for rabbinic academics and was even named the "Scholar's festival." It was traditional to celebrate on this day by different types of jollification. As limitations of grief are heaved on this 33rd day of the count of the omer, weddings, parties, listening to music, picnics, and haircuts are commonly scheduled to coincide with this day. In Israel, where it is a common custom to delay cutting a boy's hair until after his third birthday, the upsherin hair-cutting ceremony is often held on Lag BaOmer in the area near bar Yohai's tomb.

Customs and practices

Lag Ba'omer is unique in that the debarments of the Omer time may be adjourned for the day, or discontinue, conforming to tradition. It is a time of dance and song. Families go on picnics and trips. Youngsters go out to the pastures with their educators with bows and arrows, and bats and balls. Tachanun, the invocation for unique Sanctified Mercy on one's benefit is not said, since when God is presentating one a "smiling face," sort of speak, as He does particularly on the Holidays, there is no need to query for special clemency.

In Meron, the bureal site of Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai and his son, Rabbi Elazar bar Simeon, 10,000s of Jews, come together to commemorate on the "Yahrzeit," or the Hillula, the yearly commemoration of the dying of the "G-dly man," the great intellectual who existed in the direct aftermat of the 2nd Temple. With torches, singing and entertaining, the Yahrzeit is celebrated. This may appear slightly odd, but was a particular demand by Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai of his learners. It is a tradition at the Meron jubilees, dating since the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria, that three-year-old boys are given their initial haircuts or Upsherin, while their parents dispense wine and sweets.

It has been suggested that in the beginning journeys for an Upsherin were made to the Grave of Samuel the Prophet on the 28th of Iyar. He was a Nazirite adjoined by a pledge not to trim his hair, and as such the place of his tomb further suitable for the celebration. However, at a certain point near the completion of the Middle Ages, the region had come to be forbidden to Jews – it is nearby these same time pilgrimages started to be made to Meron, position of the burial-place of Shimon bar Yochai whose Yartzeit is the 18th of Iyar. Possibly, the custom of Upsherin throughout this time was hence conveyed to a brand new place and time. Strengthening confirmation for this hypothesis is that Sefardic minhag forbids hair clipping up to the time of the 34th day of the Omer, as such Upsherin at Meron would be in clash with the custom of sections of the Jewish public on this foundation it appears more probable that the Upsherins were at first kept on the 28th of Iyar – a more comprehensively credible time as it is past the 34th day of the Omer.

Lag BaOmer in modern Israel is a school holiday. Youngsters and their parents light bonfires in open spaces in cities and towns throughout the country. Students' Day is celebrated on the campuses of the various universities. Hundreds of marriages are held on Lag BaOmer and this adds to the joyful nature of this holiday.

In Israel, one recognizes that Lag BaOmer is approaching when youngsters start gathering logs and boards and anything constructed of wood that can flame. This occurs from a week to 10 days prior tro Lag BaOmer. As Lag BaOmer comes closer, the condition arrives to the spot where building contractors have to hire additional night-time guards to make certain that wooden boards and staging are not taken by the motivated youngsters. And, of course, the fire division is preserved very occupied on Lag BaOmer Eve when the campfires are lit and where the risk exists of fires getting out of control.
Another tradition is the bestowing of Chai Rotel. Chai Rotel. It is commonly conceived that if one contributes or volunteers 18 portions of fluid nourishment to those accompanying the commemorations at the Hilula of R' Shimon bar Yochai in Meron on Lag BaOmer then the donor will be conveyed unbelievable redemptions. R' Ben Zion Halberstam, the 2nd Bobover Rebbe, is supposed to have inscribed to one of his friends in 1912 "I heard from the holy sages of Eretz Yisrael that they have a kabbalah that barren women (G-d forbid) should donate Chai Rotel on the yahrzeit of R' Shimon bar Yochai."