What is Lag B'Omer? =========================================================================== This publication is available in HTML format at http://www.ohr.org.il/special/shavuos/5758/whatis33.htm =========================================================================== We are commanded by the Torah to count forty nine days starting from the second day of Passover. On the fiftieth day we celebrate the festival of Shavuot, commemorating the Giving of the Torah. This 50 day period is called "Counting the Omer." The Omer was a barley offering which was brought in the Temple on the day we start counting, the second day of Passover. "Lag B'omer" is the thirty third day of counting the Omer. The word "Lag" means 33 because it is comprised of the letters "lamud" and "gimmel," corresponding to the numerical values of "30" and "3." The Omer period is a time of heightened spiritual sensitivity and growth. The closer Shavuot draws, the greater our anticipation grows for the climactic celebration of the Giving of the Torah, the watershed event of Jewish history. However, the greater the potential there is for growth and building, the greater the potential there is for destruction. Consequently, in eras when the Jewish People have not lived up to their potential, the Omer period has become one of tragedy. In the time of Rabbi Akiva, who witnessed the destruction of the Second Temple and who was the greatest Torah Sage of his generation, twenty four thousand of his disciples died in an epidemic. The underlying spiritual cause of the epidemic was the students' lack of respect for each other. This sad event and others took place during the Counting of the Omer. As a result, the Omer period has become one of semi-mourning in which we don't hold weddings or festivities, nor do we shave or get haircuts. But because the epidemic was suspended on the 33rd day -- Lag B'omer -- Lag B'omer has become a joyous day of celebration. After all his students died, Rabbi Akiva "started over" and began teaching other students. One of his foremost students was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar. The Zohar, which means "The Shining Light," is the basis of the secret teachings of the Torah. Some people light bonfires on Lag B'omer and sing songs in honor of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who revealed the teachings of the Zohar to the world on Lag B'omer. This year Lag B'omer begins on Wednesday night the 13th of May and lasts until nightfall of the next day. =========================================================================== Do you link to us? Let everyone know about the Ohr Somayach Home Page by dropping the following text into the HTML document of YOUR home page: The Ohr Somayach International Home Page =========================================================================== SUBSCRIBE! to one of the many weekly "lists" published by Ohr Somayach Institutions: weekly - Summary of the weekly Torah portion dafyomi - Rav Mendel Weinbach's insights into the Daf Yomi ask - The Rabbi answers YOUR questions on Judaism parasha-qa - Challenging questions on the weekly Torah portion yossi - Yossi & Co. comic strip in PDF Format os-special - All the SPECIAL publications produced by Ohr Somayach ohrnet - Torah Weekly, Q&A, Ask the Rabbi & Daf Yomi in PDF Format ohrnews - Keep up-to-date with the Ohr Somayach Web Site month - Seasons of the Moon - The Jewish Year through its months os-alum - "B'Yachad" - the Ohr Somayach Electronic Alumni Newsletter judaismo - Spanish-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism judaismo-p - Portuguese-Language newsletter on the Parsha & Judaism Ohr Somayach NEVER charges for any of the above lists. To subscribe, see the page http://www.ohr.org.il/web/sub.htm Or send the message: subscribe {listname} {your full name} to listproc@virtual.co.il =========================================================================== "I'm looking for the E-Mail address of a student at Ohr Somayach..." Look no further than: http://www.ohr.org.il/web/alumni/email.htm =========================================================================== General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman Production Design: Eli Ballon =========================================================================== Prepared by the Jewish Learning Exchange of Ohr Somayach International 22 Shimon Hatzadik Street, POB 18103 Jerusalem 91180, Israel Tel: 972-2-581-0315 Fax: 972-2-581-2890 E-Mail: info@ohr.org.il Home Page: http://www.ohr.org.il =========================================================================== (C) 1998 Ohr Somayach International - All rights reserved. This publication may be distributed to another person intact without prior permission. We also encourage you to include this material in other publications, such as synagogue newsletters. However, we ask that you contact us beforehand for permission, and then send us a sample issue.