Lag B-Omer, a new holiday coming up.

In the beginning of next week we are going to celebrate one of the minor Jewish holidays called “Lag B-Omer” or “the thirty-third day of counting the “Omer”.

The “Omer” is Hebrew for sheaf, or a bundle of grain tied together, but it also means a specific measure of grain. The Torah instructs Jews to harvest the first “omer” of barley, the first grain to ripen in spring, at the end of the first day of Pesach, after sundown, and bring it to the Temple in Jerusalem. ( see Lev. 23, 5-15 ) The “counting of the Omer” refers to the period of forty-nine days that are to be counted from that first night on to the beginning of the “ Feast of Weeks”. In ancient times the wheat harvest started on Shavuot (“Feast of Weeks”) so the counting of the “omer” served to connect these two major agricultural events.

The celebrating of “Lag B-Omer” is not based in the Bible. It rather refers to events in Jewish history which happened after the time of both the Tanach (the Jewish Bible) and the New Testament. Most people connect it to the period of the Second Jewish Revolt against the Romans led by Bar Kochva in 135 AD.
Others connect it to death of Shimeon Bar Yohai, a major figure in Jewish mysticism. He instructed people to rejoice at his funeral and so his followers are celebrating with great festivities which include the fist haircut for three-years-old boys.

Most Israeli children do not go too deep into the historical background of the holiday. What is most important for them has to do with the camp fires that are being lit all over the country. Children’s main occupation in the weeks prior to this evening has to do with the collecting of fire woods. (They turn it into any house builder’s nightmare…)
On the evening itself every open spot is covered with small and big camp fires. The nice part of this is that it brings the parents out of the house as long as the children are small. Potatoes are being wrapped in aluminum foil and thrown into the fire to bake and marshmallows are “puffed” on burning coal.
When the children gets bigger they prefer being alone with their friends. That gives the parents an opportunity to do something nice with their friends as well.

Lag B-Omer has turned into being the “Feast of the Camp Fires”. Most youth stay up all night so the schools have decided to stay closed on the following day. What dominates the atmosphere the next morning is the smell of “dying “ camp fires and quiet …….

Elin Elkouby