Origins
If Pesach and Rosh Hashanah are first division festivals, and Chanukah and Purim second, Lag Ba’Omer belongs to the third. Its name means the 33rd day of the Omer and marks an interlude two thirds of the way between the Omer offering for the barley harvest at Pesach in ancient Israel and the celebration of the wheat harvest at Shavuot.
But the precise origins of the festival remain a mystery. According to talmudic legend, the disciples of the great sage Rabbi Akiva were ravaged by a plague because they failed to show respect for another, but this ceased on the 33rd day of the Omer period. Hence its alternative name as “The Scholars’ Festival”. Very probably, it is linked in some way with Bar Kochba’s revolt against Roman rule in the second century, which was supported by Rabbi Akiva but eventually crushed. One theory is that Lag Ba’Omer commemorated a day when the battle might have gone the way of the Jewish rebels.
It became the custom for scholars to arrange archery contests with their students on that day, perhaps reflecting the historic fight against Rome. Nowadays, children may play with toy bows and arrows.
How is it celebrated?
Whether the disciples of Akiva actually died of a plague, or whether they perished in the uprising against Rome, the Omer became a season of semi-mourning, during which public entertainments and weddings were prohibited. But on Lag Ba’Omer, weddings are permitted and in some communities it marks the end of the mourning period altogether.
It is also the practice to light bonfires on the night of Lag Ba’Omer. This custom is associated with another great rabbi of Talmud times, Shimon bar Yochai, an early mystic who traditionally was reputed to be the author of the kabbalistic Zohar. Fleeing the Romans, he took refuge in a cave and lived as a hermit for many years. Lag Ba’Omer is said to mark the anniversary of his death, when a supernatural flame illuminated his bedside until his expiry, now commemorated by the bonfires.
On Lag Ba’Omer, thousands of pilgrims visit Mount Meron in the north of Israel to the tomb where Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is reputedly buried. The anniversary of his death is regarded as a celebration of the reunification of his soul with its Divine source. Pilgrims dance around the bonfires, singing in honour of the saintly rabbi. Little boys get their first haircut on this day (in very religious circles, boys do not have their hair cut until the age of three).
Outside Israel, some light bonfires and in recent years it has become common to enjoy a barbecue.
