Lag baOmer

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Lag baOmer ( ל״ג בעומר Ashkenazi ) orל״ג לעומר Lag laOmer ( Sephardic ) is a Jewish festival , a half-holiday , which is celebrated on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot andfallson the 18th Iyyar . Lag ( Hebrew ל״ג) stands for 33, made up of Lamed (30) and Gimel (3).

origin

The origin of the festival goes back to the Bar Kochba uprising against the Romans in 132–135 AD. In addition, the festival serves to commemorate Rabbi Shimon bar Jochai (short name: Raschbi ), who according to tradition died on this day (hence the name Hillula de Raschbi ). In Meron in Galilee , not far from Zefat , his tomb and that of his son Elasar ben Shimon are each visited by tens of thousands at Lag baOmer.

meaning

Lag baOmer is a happy festival. The various restrictive precepts of the period of mourning, which apply to the 49 Omer days between Passover and Shavuot, are lifted on this day. Children and adults have picnics and gather around campfires. Above all, weddings can be held on this day - an offer that is widely used. You can shave again and have your hair cut. The Chalaka ceremony is therefore also carried out at Lag BaOmer .

With reference to Rabbi Akiba , the rebellion of Bar Kochba, "son of the star" is commemorated, who tried to shake off the Roman yoke under Emperor Hadrian (132-135). The center of the battle was the Betar fortress. According to tradition, that day the epidemic that killed so many of Rabbi Akiba's disciples stopped. Rabbi Akiba ben Josef supported the uprising and died a martyr.

Rabbi Shimon ben Jochai took part in the fight against the Romans. He is buried in Meron (near Safed), which is still a place of pilgrimage on Lag ba-Omer today, because the 33rd Omer day is also the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Simeon bar Jochai (Rashbi), a famous fourth generation Tannaite. According to tradition, he went straight to heaven on the day of his death, and that is why the festival in his honor is called “Hillula de Raschbi”, the joyous festival of the tzaddik (the righteous). Mass celebrations with songs, dance and prayers.

The 33rd day of Omer is also the night of the many torches. The largest is set on fire over the tomb of Rashbi in Meron in Upper Galilee . The most important reason these torches are lit is that the Rashbi is considered to be the main author of the book of Kabbalah, the so-called “ Zohar ”.

The children “arm themselves”: It is also customary on this day for the children to go into the fields and into the woods armed with bows and arrows. This custom is reminiscent of the fighters in the Bar Kochba uprising, but also of the rainbow as a sign of the covenant "that the Lord made with the people of Israel" to show him that he will not see the world again as in Noah's time would punish with a deluge.

calendar

Jewish year Gregorian date
5779 23 May 2019
5780 May 12, 2020
5781 April 30, 2021
5782 May 19, 2022
5783 May 9, 2023

As with all Jewish festivals, the feast day begins the evening before and ends on the evening of the day mentioned.

See also

Web links

Commons : Lag Ba'omer  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ahron Daum : The Holidays of Israel , Vol. 2. Haag and Herchen, Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-86137-069-7 , p. 257.
  2. ↑ https://www.hebcal.com/holidays/lag-baomer