Lag b'Omer[ lahg -boh-mer]

Lag b'Omer[ lahg -boh-mer, buh-oh-mer ]

 

a Jewish festival celebrated on the 18th day of Iyar, being the 33rd day of the Omer, traditionally in commemoration of the end of the plague that killed Rabbi Akiba's students or of the bravery of Bar Kokba.

 

Lag b'O·mer (läg bōmər, läg′ bə-ōmĕr) or Lag ba'O·mer (läg′ bə-ōmĕr)

A Jewish feast celebrated on the 33rd day of the Omer (the 18th day of Iyar).

 

Lag BaOmer (Hebrew: לַ״ג בָּעוֹמֶר‎), also Lag B'Omer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar

Iyar - Wikipedia

According to kabbalistic tradition, this day marks the hillula (celebration, interpreted by some as anniversary of the death) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, "the Rashbi", a Mishnaic sage and leading disciple of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century, and the day on which he revealed the deepest secrets of kabbalah in the form of the Zohar (Book of Splendor, literally 'radiance'), a landmark text of Jewish mysticism. This association has spawned several well-known customs and practices on Lag BaOmer, including the lighting of bonfires, pilgrimages to the tomb of Bar Yochai in the northern Israeli town of Meron, and various customs at the tomb itself. However, the association of Lag BaOmer with the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai may be based on a printer's error.

Another tradition that makes Lag BaOmer a day of Jewish celebration identifies it as the day on which the plague that killed Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 disciples came to an end, and for this reason the mourning period of Sefirat HaOmer concludes on Lag BaOmer for some believers.

 

The most well-known custom of Lag BaOmer is the lighting of bonfires throughout Israel and worldwide wherever religious Jews can be found.

 

A Lag BaOmer bonfire celebration in Israel, symbol of the holiday

 

 

It is customary to light bonfires on the eve of Lag BaOmer. This is especially common in Meron, Israel (the resting place of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who passed away on Lag BaOmer). On a typical Lag BaOmer, one can witness hundreds of thousands of people flocking to Meron, where they light giant bonfires and sing and dance throughout the night.

The earliest mention of this custom is found in a letter written by Rabbi Ovadia of Bertinoro (c. 1445–c. 1515, known for his classic commentary on the Mishnah) to his brother, when he traveled to Israel, where he writes that on the 18th of Iyar (e.g. Lag Baomer) they would gather and light large fires.

Here are some of the reasons given for this custom.

His Light Shines Today

Sun Waited for the Light of the Torah

 

“The Holy Candle”

“The Voice of the L‑rd”

17 Days Before the Giving of the Torah

Lighting the Darkness of Exile

 

May 1, 20211:05 AM NZST

Middle East

Crush at Israeli religious festival kills 45

Reuters Dan Williams

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRoCGiI5qZY

At least 45 people were crushed to death overnight on Friday at an overcrowded religious festival in Israel, with some asphyxiated or trampled victims going unnoticed until the PA system sounded an appeal to disperse.

Tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews had thronged to the Galilee tomb of 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai for annual Lag B'Omer commemorations that include all-night prayer, mystical songs and dance.

Witnesses said many of the dead were caught in a tightly packed passageway around 3 meters (yards) wide after crowds packed the slopes of Mount Meron in northern Israel in defiance of warnings to maintain social distancing against COVID-19.

Medics said there had been a stampede in the men's section of the gender-segregated festival. Casualties included children.

 

Many of the dead had yet to be identified and police asked family members to provide pictures and personal information of those who attended the festival and were still missing to help with the process.

Videos posted on social media showed ultra-Orthodox men clambering desperately through gaps in sheets of torn corrugated iron to escape the crush. Bodies lay on stretchers in a corridor, covered in foil blankets.

"There was some kind of mess, police, screaming, a big mess, and after half an hour it looked like a scene of a suicide bombing attack, numerous people coming out from there on stretchers," said 19-year-old festival-goer Hayim Cohen.

"We were going to go inside for the dancing and stuff and all of a sudden we saw paramedics from (ambulance service) MDA running by, like mid-CPR on kids," 36-year-old pilgrim Shlomo Katz told Reuters.

 

An injured man lying on a hospital bed described to reporters how the crush began when a line of people in the front of the surging crowd simply collapsed.

'PEOPLE DIED IN FRONT OF MY EYES'

"A pyramid of one on top of another was formed. People were piling up one on top of the other. I was in the second row. The people in the first row - I saw people die in front of my eyes," he said.

 

 

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Medics and rescue workers attend to the Lag B'Omer event in Mount Meron, northern Israel, where fatalities were reported among the thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews gathered at the tomb of a 2nd-century sage for annual commemorations that include all-night prayer and dance, at Mount Meron, Israel April 30, 2021 REUTERS/ Stringer

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People who stayed on the scene through the night questioned how the situation so quickly spiralled out of control, though there had been concern for years about safety risks at the annual event.

 

The Justice Ministry said investigators would look into whether there had been any police misconduct connected to the tragedy.

A police spokesman said overall capacity at Mount Meron was similar to previous years but that this time bonfire areas were partitioned off as a COVID-19 precaution. That may have created unexpected choke-points on foot traffic, Israeli media said.

A pilgrim who gave his name as Yitzhak told Channel 12 TV: "We thought maybe there was a (bomb) alert over a suspicious package. No one imagined that this could happen here. Rejoicing became mourning, a great light became a deep darkness."

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while visiting the site, called it one of the "heaviest disasters" in Israel's history and promised a thorough investigation to ensure it did not recur. He called for a national day of mourning on Sunday.

 

The United States and European Union offered condolences.

Helicopters ferried injured people to hospitals and the military said search-and-rescue troops were scrambled.

With the site cleared, rescue workers collapsed against railings, some weeping as their colleagues comforted them.

As rescue workers tried to extricate the casualties, police shut down the site and ordered revellers out. The Transportation Ministry halted roadworks in the area to enable scores of ambulances and pilgrim buses to move unhindered.

 

The Mount Meron tomb is considered to be one of the holiest sites in the Jewish world and is an annual pilgrimage site. The event was one of the largest gatherings in Israel since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic more than a year ago.

Private bonfires at Mount Meron were banned last year due to coronavirus restrictions. But lockdown measures were eased this year amid Israel’s rapid COVID-19 vaccination programme that has seen more than 54% of the population fully vaccinated.

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