Happy Lag B'Omer!

Most Jews in America today have never heard of the festive holiday known as Lag B'Omer, which begins at tonight sunset, and that's a real pity. After all, the Lag is a holiday of pure joy and celebration for Jews, and we certainly need to take advantage of these since our history has unfortunately been dotted with so many tragic events that require our mourning and sad reflection.

So, what is this unusual Lag B'Omer holiday, you ask? Well, I'll be happy to try and explain it, but understand first that it's a bit mysterious and complicated (hey, what isn't with us Yidden?), so I'll try and keep it as simple as possible.

First, the definition of Lag B'Omer. Lag is the Hebrew alphabet numerical value for number 33 (the "lamed" is 30 and the "gimmel" is 3), while "Omer" represents the Hebrew term for the "offerings" that were made to the Holy Temple.

Between Passover and Shavuos there are 50 days, with each day counted to as an "omer" representing the grain offerings mandated for to the Temple in the days between Pesach and Shavuos.

So, why is number 33 significant? The reasons are both historical, mystical, and symbolical, and I'll briefly explain them in that order.

Historical

The Holy Temple, or Beit HaMikdash, was destroyed in the year 70 CE. Between 132CE and 135CE, a powerful Jewish military leader named Simon Bar Kokhba led successful a revolt against the Romans and recaptured much of Judea.

Rabbi Akiva, perhaps one of the greatest Rabbinical scholars ever, succeeded in persuading the Sanhedrin to back Bar Kokhba and anointed him as the Messiah.

Soon, coins were minted and Bar Kokhba assumed the title of Nasi, or Prince, of Judea.

Then, on Lag B'Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer, Bar Kokbha successfully liberated Jerusalem from the Romans and began planning to rebuild the Holy Temple itself. Of course, as we know this wasn't meant to be, as the Romans eventually regrouped and crushed Bar Kakhba and decimated the Jews, but, that revolt represented the last time the Jews ever would hold possession of the Temple Mount (even to this very day it is still under moslem jurisdiction in modern Israel).

Mystical

More mystically inclined Jews tend to focus on Lag B'Omer being the Yarzeit (anniversary of the death) of the great Kabbalist, Simeon Bar Yochai, who is credited with being the original author of the Zohar.

Yochai happened to be a student of Rabbi Akiva, which is tied into the third reason that Lag B'Omer is celebrated.

Symbolical

Rabbi Akiva, the great Rabbi who is heavily quoted throughout the Mishnah, had underneath him the greatest Rabbinic scholars of that era. Unfortunately, when the Romans conquered the Jews after Bar Kokhba's Revolt they killed Akiva and nearly all of his students. One of those who survived was Simeon Bar Yochai, who fled to the mountains and hid in a cave. It is there that it is believed he penned the Zohar, and Lag B'Omer is celebrated by Jews as the day when Rabbi Akiva's students stopped being killed by the Romans (or plague as some other scholars believe).

An important final point. It is said in the Talmud that the Bar Kokhba revolt failed, and Rabbi Akiva and his students were killed, because the Jews failed to properly get along with one another. Let's hope an end of today's infighting will come sometime soon, that self-loathing Jews will return to the fold, and we will see the Messianic era like the one Rabbi Akiva had hoped for nearly 2,000 yrs ago will finally come to fruition. We certainly have a very long way to go.

Oh, and you may have noticed that Rolling Rock, the official "Lager of the Lag", is adorned all over this post. Look at the bottles closely and see if you can figure out why for yourself. To read more about why Rolling Rock is the official "Lager of the Lag", click here, and then bottoms up to Lag B'Omer!

-MZ