Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest Jewish scholars of all time, is said to have had 24,000 disciples. At one point they all started dying. They stopped dying on the 33rd day of the counting of the omer.
Also, the 33rd day of the counting of the omer is the day Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai left the world. He is famous for authoring the ‘Zohar,’ which is the source book for Kabbalah. Rabbi Shimon and his son spent 13 years hiding from the Romans in a cave. During that time they meditated, prayed and studied.
When Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was passing from the world, he said, “Let my death be celebrated.” When he died, a fire came down from heaven and surrounded his body.
It is now a custom to make bonfires to commemorate the fire that surrounded Rabbi Shimon’s body after he passed on from the world.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe instituted Lag B’omer parades, which I remember going to as a child. These were big public events that still go on. The idea of the parade was to publicize a day of good, a celebration in Judaism.
We won’t be having a big Lag B’omer parade here at Eden Village, though we will have some activities to celebrate. Last night Rachel and I made a small fire and sang the traditional song that gives praise to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai.
Happy Lag B’omer!
Lag B’omer 2008 in Sydney Australia
