Lag B'Omer

Since the second day of Passover we have been counting the days until the next holiday, Shavuot. I don't mean that we are "counting down" the days in the sense that I counted down the days until the end of the school year last year: we actually, literally, count each day for 49 days. After the exodus from Egypt, the Israelites traveled for 7 weeks until they received the Torah at Mt. Sinai (marked by the holiday of Shavuot). In the times of the Temple, there was a special sacrifice offered on each of the days of the counting of the Omer (omer literally means barley). Unfortunately the period of the Omer has known plagues and destruction for Jews over the centuries. It has therefore become associated with mourning and as such, many Jews refrain from certain things during this period such as hair cuts, listening to music and weddings.

But the tradition tells that on the 33rd day of the Omer, the deathly plagues lifted. It has thus become a day of celebration amidst a period of mourning. People cut their hair, go to concerts and have weddings. The 33rd day of the Omer is also associated with the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai the rabbi attributed with writing the Zohar, the main text of the Kabbalists. Because of his associations with light, it has become the tradition to build huge bonfires everywhere.

Last night we got to celebrate the engagement (with a "Tena'im" ceremony) of two of our friends here. We sang and danced with them, and on our walk home we saw the many bonfires that people were enjoying.

As we walked by one parking lot, we saw maybe 20 bonfires with people circled around them. The scene was exactly how I imagine Jerusalem must have looked during the three pilgrimage festivals when everyone came to the Temple with their sacrifices. The group in the parking lot was quite diverse, the bonfire tradition has been taken up by both religious and secular Israelis. Unlike what would happen in the United States, all the stores were closed: joining in the fun of these bonfires is more important to most store owners than the business opportunity.

Our apartment also has a huge parking lot outside, so we got to see the festivities right outside of our window (which we had firmly closed to cut down on the smoke!)

Here are some pictures showing both the pre- and during- festivities outside of our window:





Here are some pictures taken with friends on the walk home from the engagment party: