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Holy Days |
| Holy Days Archives | Lag B'Omer 'Counting the Omer' refers to the 49 days between the holidays of Pesach and Shavuot, spanning the time from when the Jews were redeemed from Egypt to when they received the Torah. Each one of these days is a time of spiritual analysis and improvement. Later in history, these days became a time of mourning as 24,000 students of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Akiva died in a plague. On the 33rd day of counting the Omer the plague ended, making this a day of celebration. Letters in the Hebrew alphabet correspond to different numbers. The letters of the word Lag signify 33. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was one of Rabbi Akiva's main students after the plague. Lag B'Omer also commemorates the day of Rabbi Shimon's passing. On Lag B'Omer thousands of people come visit his tomb site in Meron each year. Teachings of Rabbi Shimon abound throughout the Mishnah, Gemorrah, and Midrashim, while the Zohar, the primary source text of Kabbalah, is built around Rabbi Shimon's revelations to his inner circle of disciples. During the hours before his passing, he disclosed the "most sublime" secrets of Torah, in order to ensure that the day would always be an occasion for great joy, untouched by sadness because of the Omer period and mourning for him.
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The seminal importance of the Zohar in Jewish thought and the annual pilgrimage to Meron on Lag B'Omer are testimonies to his success.
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