CeleBrate

Th

e Why this
day is
unicue

Big 33 acos uwnte the
Omer.

1 . sons their first haircuts (another
A 3-year-old boy is about to get his first haircut, a Lag b'Omer tradition.
kabbalistic tradition).
In Israel, thousands of Jews gather
they continued to perform the
"Lag" is actually an acronym
in the northern town of Meron for
magine a holiday you celebrate
I
I counting commandment.
formed by the two Hebrew letters
prayer and festivity at the tomb of
by getting a hair cut.
To this day, Torah-observant Jews
that
make
up
the
numeral
33.
This
Shimon Bar Yohai. Others go to the
It
might
not
sound
too
thrilling
count the days between Pesach and
number marks the 33rd day of S'firat
. •
tomb of another ancient sage, Shi-
I now. But if you had been waiting for
Shavuot. This is usually within the
HaOmer, "the counting of the omer."
mon Ha-Tzadik, in Jerusalem.
three years to trim a single lock, it
daily evening service. A blessing is
So when, exactly, did the count-
For unknown reasons, some light
might be a little more exciting than
recited ("Blessed are you, God our
ing start?
you could imagine.
Lord, king of the universe, who has
In Parshat Emor
The holiday is Lag b'Omer, which
sanctified us with his commandments
(Leviticus, Chapter
I this year begins on Monday
and has commanded us regarding
23), God desig-
evening, May 22.
! the counting of the omer"), then the
nates the festivals
Its traditions — getting a hair cut
relevant day's count is announced.
of the Jewish year,
1 (more on that later) and marriages
The count includes both the day and
including Pesach
— are longstanding. But Lag
the week of the omer, as directed by
(Passover).
1 b'Omer has rather mysterious origins.
the Torah. Thus, one would say,
Rabbinical inter-
I In fact, Jews are decidedly of differ-
"Today is 19 days, which are two
pretation of Verse 9
! ent opinions as to exactly why the
weeks and five days of the Omer."
holds that on the
holiday is observed.
But math is not the real focus of
second day of
Some say it celebrates the end
counting the omer. It has been a time
Pesach, Jewish farm-
of the plague that killed Rabbi
of great anguish in Jewish history.
ers of Israel were to
lAkiva's students.
During the first 33 days of the
bring to the Temple
Kabbalists observe the day
mer, 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva's stu-
in Jerusalem an
because of Rabbi Shimon .bar Yohai,
dents died in a plague because, the
offering of an omer
Children celebrate the holiday with bows
I traditionally regarded the author of
Talmud says, they did not treat each
(about 2.2 liters) of
;the Zohar, the main book of Kab-
other with respect. There also were
barley flour, along
bala. Lag b'Omer marks various
a series of massacres of Jewish corn-
with meat, flour and wine. Once this
great bonfires and children play with
important moments in his life: the
' munities in the Rhineland during the
was
performed,
people
could
use
bows and arrows on Lag b'Omer.
!rabbi's yahrtzeit (the day he died),
Crusades in 1096 and 1146, and
the new grain of the spring harvest.
They also commemorate Bar Kokhba
the time he was ordained by Rabbi
also during the Chmielnicki mas-
In
verse
15,
God
commands
that
and his rebellion against the Roman
Akiva, and the date when he came
sacres of 1648-49.
the Jews begin counting, starting with
occupation of Israel (132-135 C.E.).
lout from a cave where he had been
Consequently, to this day, Torah-
the
omer
offering
and
continuing
for
Why Bar Kokhba is specifically asso-
hiding from the Romans.
; observant Jews will refrain from get-
149 days. On the 50th day, they
ciated with Lag b'Omer is a matter
Throughout the Jewish world, Lag
I ting haircuts (some men also do not
were
to
mark
Shavuot.
of scholarly debate.
1 b'Omer is enhanced by the many
shave), having weddings and other
After the Temple was destroyed,
Now if you're wondering exactly
I weddings that take place, and by
celebrations, and not play or listen to
obviously
the
Jewish
people
could
how the holiday got its name — that
!parents giving their 3-year-old
live music during the omer period. Cl.
no longer bring sacrifices. Yet
is a matter of numbers.

Elizabeth Applebaum
AppleTree Editor

5/19
2000

106