Summary of the day
Lag BaOmer falls on 18 Iyar, the 33rd day of the Omer count. It is a day of joy inside the mourning period of the Omer: in most customs the mourning pauses, bonfires are lit, and thousands go up to the hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi) in Meron.
Mitzvot and customs of the day
- No Tachanun, and increased joy.
- Bonfires, especially in the Land of Israel, and singing.
- Going up to Meron and the hillula at Rashbi’s grave; around the world also in North African communities with hillulot and festive meals.
- The first haircut (“chalaka”, or “upsherin”) for three-year-old boys, a well-known custom in Meron.
- Studying the Zohar and the stories of Rabbi Shimon, such as the cave where he hid for 13 years (Shabbat 33b).
- Weddings and haircuts: in most customs permitted from Lag BaOmer onward (some follow other customs).
Origin in history
According to tradition, on Lag BaOmer the plague in which Rabbi Akiva’s students died came to an end (Yevamot 62b). Another tradition, brought by the Ari and his students, says that on this day Rashbi passed away, and revealed the last secrets of the Torah to his students (the Idra Zuta). For this reason it is called “hillula” (celebration). Rashbi fled from the Romans for 13 years in a cave (tradition places it in Peki’in), where he studied, and where parts of what is regarded as the Zohar were born. Pilgrims have come to his grave in Meron since the Middle Ages.
The message for today
The light is in the spirit: while bonfires give outer light, the true light is learning and the inner dimension of the Torah. Rashbi taught that the Torah has a “soul of the soul”, and that one must know not only the plain meaning but the secret. And in the Omer, in the midst of mourning for a lack of respect, a day of joy reminds us that every wound can be healed with love and unity.