Lag Baomer

Beginning this evening (Monday, May 11) and tomorrow, Tuesday May 12, the Jewish community celebrates the great holiday of Lag Baomer.

Lag Baomer is a festive day on the Jewish calendar, celebrating the anniversary of the passing of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar.

The chassidic masters explain that the final day of a righteous person’s earthly life marks the point at which all their deeds, teachings and work achieve their culminating perfection and the zenith of their impact upon our lives. So each Lag BaOmer, we celebrate Rabbi Shimon’s life and the revelation of the esoteric soul of Torah.

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Customs

It is traditionally celebrated with outings (on which children traditionally play with bows and arrows), bonfires, parades and other joyous events.

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A day of Blessings

The Lubavitcher Rebbe wrote: "By the Mittler Rebbe [Rabbi Dov Ber, the second Chabad Rebbe], Lag BaOmer was among the most special Jewish holidays. They would go out to the fields, and though he personally did not partake of the actual meal [although everyone else did], he would say l’chaim . . . There would be many wonders that were seen then. The majority of them were in regards to [the blessing of] having children. For a whole year, they would wait for Lag BaOmer."

Practical Lessons

Perhaps the most important lesson the holiday has to offer is expressed in a letter the Rebbe wrote to all Jews in honor of Lag BaOmer 1974. When one examines Rabbi Shimon’s life, he writes, one sees that there were two focal points around which it revolved: Torah study and love of fellow Jews. Although not everyone can study Torah as an exclusive occupation, as Rabbi Shimon did, everyone can and should set aside times each day to devote solely to Torah study without any outside interference. This should be permeated with a sense of ahavat Yisrael—love of a fellow Jew—which will bring them to encourage others to follow suit.

By fulfilling this directive, may we merit to experience a time when there will be only light in the world, and G‑d’s presence will be visible and tangible to all mankind.