(5772) May 10, 2012

Lag B'Omer is the thirty-third day in the counting of the Omer and occurs on 18 Iyar (in April or May). The mourning practices of the Omer period are lifted on that date. It is celebrated by family gatherings, picnics, and the celebration of Yahrtzeit at the graves of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son Rabbi Elazar b’Rabbi Shimon.

The 33rd day of the counting of the Omer is Lag BaOmer. The origins of the Omer count are found in the Torah itself:
Leviticus 23:15-16: (15) And you shall count for yourselves, from the morrow of the rest day from the day you bring the omer as a wave offering seven weeks; they shall be complete. (16) You shall count until the day after the seventh week, [namely,] the fiftieth day, [on which] you shall bring a new meal offering to the Lord.

The 49 days of the Omer correspond both to the time between physical emancipation from Egypt and the spiritual liberation of the giving of the Torah at the foot of Mount Sinai on Shavuot, as well as the time between the barley harvest and the wheat harvest in ancient Israel.

The Talmud (Yevamot 62b) states that during the time of Rabbi Akiva 24,000 of his students died from a divine-sent plague during the counting of the Omer. The Talmud then goes on to say that this was because they did not show proper respect to one another, befitting their level; they begrudged each other the spiritual levels attained by their comrades. Jews celebrate Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day of the count, as the traditional day that this plague ended.

After the death of Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 students, he taught just five students, among them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. The latter went on to become the greatest teacher of Torah in his generation. The day of Lag BaOmer is also celebrated as the Yahrzeit, the anniversary of the death, of bar Yohai,who is purported to have authored the Zohar, a landmark text of Jewish mysticism.

Additional Information: Lag BaOmer :: Celebration of Lag BaOmer :: Lag B'Omer :: Lag B'Omer

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