Photo by Georgiana Pop (Avram) on Unsplash
Lag BaOmer
By Rabbi Frankie Sandmel, Base BAY
Lag BaOmer is a mysterious minor holiday, popping up 33 days after the second night of Passover (obvious, right?). One reason we’re told that we celebrate 33 days after the second night of Passover is that on that day a plague that ravaged the students of Rabbi Akiva ended. Up until that day, we are told to refrain from certain joyful expressions, like getting married. And, we are invited to enact certain rituals of mourning, like not shaving. On Lag BaOmer, at this break, we’re invited to wed, to shave, and generally to rejoice.
Another reason for the holiday: on this day the greatest of the mystics, Shimon bar Yochai, died. In lieu of lighting a boring old yahrzeit candle, this great Sage warrants what’s called a Hilula – a bonfire. A bright burning light to celebrate the light of Torah that this sage brought into the world.
I never quite know what to make of the Omer, this period of counting, of semi-mourning, that frames the transition from Spring into summer, from Passover to Shavuot. But Lag BaOmer, I totally get. As the days grow longer, and the sun shines warmer, I feel an itch to celebrate, to be outside, to invite all my friends who have been hibernating to hang out around a fire. Some years, I need to celebrate a simcha, a happy occasion – something like a Hilula that invites me to revel in the greatness of my fellow humans. And some years, after a long winter, I need a release, a gentle push from our tradition to find joy even in the heaviest of times, as I imagine Rabbi Akiva’s community did when they celebrated Lag BaOmer. Most years, I need both.
Lag BaOmer invites us to put down whatever else we’re carrying, pause the daily routine just a little bit, and find an excuse to throw a bonfire because we could use one, even 33 days after the second night of Passover.
