As a result, Lag BaOmer became a happy occasion when the mourning practices of the Omer period are lifted. This may have been a day when there was a momentary victory in the battle, or a respite from the fighting. Despite its initial successes, Bar Kochba’s army was ultimately defeated and many of Rabbi Akiva’s students were killed in the fighting.Īccording to Jewish tradition, the “plague” ceased on the 33rd day of the Omer (which falls on the 18th of the Hebrew month of Iyar). Rabbi Akiva was a fervent supporter of the Bar Kochba rebellion and thousands of his students were part of the rebel forces. The rabbis (in Yevamot 62b) explain that Rabbi Akiva’s students died during this time “because they did not treat each other with respect.” Meanwhile, historians connect this calamity with Simon Bar Kochba’s revolt against the Romans (in 132 – 136 CE). We are reminded that Passover started the process of redemption, but that it was not complete until we received the Torah.Īccording to the Talmud ( Yevamot 62b), this period is generally a time of sadness because - approximately two thousand years ago - twenty-four thousand of Rabbi Akiva’s students (twelve thousand pairs of hevruta, Torah study partners) died of a plague between Passover and Shavuot. For example, on the 18th day, one would say: “Today is the 18th day, which is two weeks and four days of the Omer.”Ĭounting the omer reminds us of the link between Passover (celebrating the Jewish people’s miraculous exodus from Egypt) and Shavuot (commemorating the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai). Each night, from the second night of Passover until the day before Shavuot, we recite a prayer stating what day of the Omer it is in days and weeks.
Many couples in Israel choose to get married on Lag BaOmer, and many people also choose to wait until that day to get a haircut or beard trim.The Torah (Vayikra / Leviticus 23: 15-16) commands us to count each day of the Omer. In remembrance of these events, some people celebrate with picnics and bonfires. 50-135 C.E.), the yahrzeit of 2nd-century mystical scholar Shimon bar Yochai, and a Jewish military victory over Roman forces in 66 C.E. Lag BaOmer commemorates a variety of historical events, including the end of a plague that killed many students of Rabbi Akiva (c. They must be complete.” This commandment led to the practice of the S’firat HaOmer, or the 49 days of the "Counting of the Omer,” which begins on the second day of Passover and ends with the celebration of Shavuot on the 50th day. The Book of Leviticus (23:15-16) also commanded: “And from the day on which you bring the offering…you shall count off seven weeks. Biblical law forbade any use of the new barley crop until after an omer was brought as an offering to the Temple in Jerusalem. An omer (“sheaf”) is an ancient Hebrew measure of grain. The Omer has both agricultural and spiritual significance: it marks both the spring cycle of planting and harvest, and the Israelites’ journey out of slavery in Egypt (Passover) and toward receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai (Shavuot). (The numerical value of the Hebrew letter lamed is 30, and the value of gimel is three lamed and gimel together are pronounced “lahg.”) This holiday gives us a break from the semi-mourning restrictions (no parties or events with music, no weddings, no haircuts) that are customarily in place for some Jewish communities during the Omer. Lag BaOmer is a minor, festive holiday that falls on the 33rd day of the seven-week period between Passover and Shavuot, a period of time is known as the Omer.
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