The Holiday of Lag B’Omer

The holiday of Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer count. There are two reasons why this day is greeted with happiness, a break from the customs of mourning observed by many for much of the Omer period.

The Talmud tells us that during the time of the great teacher Rebbe Akiva, a plague raged through his yeshiva, his rabbinical school, during the Omer. He lost 24,000 students during this time; even the great schools in Babylonia, and those of today, are not as large. Rebbe Akiva went on to teach five more students, and it is they who transmitted much of Jewish tradition on to future generations — so one can only imagine what was lost because those 24,000 other students passed away.

The Sages explain that the reason for the loss of these students was that despite their great learning, they were not respectful towards each other. Considering their towering scholarship, they should have showed more care and concern for the honor of their fellows.

There are various traditions regarding the observance of mourning during the Omer, based upon the days when students passed away during the plague. But all agree that the deaths were interrupted on Lag B’Omer.

There was, however, a very notable death on Lag B’Omer — of one of Rebbe Akiva’s great students, Rebbe Shimon ben Yochai (also known using the Aramaic form of “son of,” Rebbe Shimon bar Yochai). Defying the Romans, Rebbe Shimon and his son Elazar hid in a cave to learn Torah together — for twelve years! They were nourished by a carob tree that quickly grew near the entrance of the cave, and by a spring of water that also miraculously began to flow. Rebbe Shimon was the teacher of the holy Zohar, the first written expression of the revealed Kabbalistic teachings of Judaism.

For these reasons, the holiday of Lag B’Omer carries with it many lessons of the power and fire of Torah, and the need for respect and love between us all. Enjoy the holiday!