Introduction to Lag B'Omer
Thursday, May 1, 2014
Thirty-three days following the first day of Passover, Jews celebrate a "minor" holiday called Lag B’Omer, the thirty-third day of the Omer. Lag B’Omer is a Hebrew phrase that means the thirty-third day of the Omer. Lag - ל׳׳ג, is how we say “thirty-three” in Hebrew (ל=30, ג=3). B’Omer - בעומר is how we say “In the Omer”. The counting of the Omer links Pesach (Passover) and Shavuot (Feast of Weeks).
The omer count reaches thirty-three on Iyar eighteen, the eighteenth day of the second month. Lag B’Omer is therefore related to Iyar 18. The gematria of eighteen is יח which, when rearranged, is חי the Hebrew word for “Life”.
The month of Iyar is known by the name "Ziv" in the Tanakh, (Hebrew Bible), a word which means brilliant. Only during the era of the second Temple was the name Iyar adopted. Iyar, related to the words for light and for air, also means brightness. In fact, every day of Iyar has its own mitzvah (instruction) because we count the Omer during every day of Iyar. It’s where the Jews spend all their time working on self-improvement. And so all of the events of Iyar, including Lag B’Omer, should be brought in this month of Iyar.
The minor holiday of Lag B’Omer commemorates three historical events:
1. The end of a period of mourning for thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva who died in a plague, the great plague Askera, during the counting of the omer. This respiratory plague is the worst of all 913 known fatal diseases and is often associated as a punishment for slander and malicious gossip.
2. The anniversary of the death of the author of the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. On this day he revealed the deepest secrets of the Torah, as found in the Zohar, and it was the day his soul ascended to its source.
3. Bar Kochba’s revolt against the Romans. This was an attempt at ushering in the Messianic era.
Lag B’Omer is an oasis of joy in the midst of the sad Sephirah period which is almost unnoticed by most contemporary Jews. Yet it contains historic lessons of such great severity that this generation must not only unravel the mystery of Lag B’Omer but will discover that its own fate is wrapped in the crevices of its secrets. Lag B’Omer, according to our Sages, deals with the deepest secrets of the future Messianic Age. These are the inner secrets of the Torah which are revealed on Lag B’Omer.
Rabbi Ginsburgh pointed out the following interesting concept:
“When lag (ל׳׳ג) is spelled backwards (גל) it spells gal, which means reveal or revelation as in the verse in: Tehillim (Psalms) 119:18 [Gal einai v'abitah nifla'ot mitoratecha.] "Open (reveal to) my eyes that I may see the wonders of Your Torah."
The latent potential of Lag B’Omer is the opportunity to connect to the inner, wondrous dimension of the Torah and to reveal it in our lives.
It is now the almost universal practice among traditional Jews to observe the season of counting the "Omer" as a time of sadness, by refraining from activities that are associated with gaiety and celebration. The mourning period lasts from Pesach (Passover) until Lag B’Omer.
Lag B’Omer is a festive day on the Jewish calendar, celebrated with outings on which children traditionally play with bow and arrows (commemorating the Bar Kochba revolt), bonfires, and other joyous events.
Many visit the resting place, in Miron in Northern Israel, of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (commonly known by the acronym of his name, Rashbi). Significantly, it is the yahrzeit (the anniversary of the passing) of the great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, whose teachings highlighted the concept of unity by drawing attention to the verse:
Tehillim (Psalms) 133:1 "How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to sit together."
“It has been taught in the name of R. Jose: Once the people were short of rain and they sent a deputation to R. Simeon, R. Jesse, R. Hizkiah and the rest of the Companions. R. Simeon was on the point of going to visit R. Pinchas ben Jair, along with his son R. Eleazar. When he saw them he exclaimed: ‘“A song of ascents; Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Ps. CXXXIII, 1). The expression “in unity”,’ he said, ‘refers to the Cherubim. When their faces were turned to one another, it was well with the world-”how good and how pleasant”, but when the male turned his face from the female, it was ill with the world.” (Sefer Zohar, Vayikra, Section 3)
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