The Origins, Customs and Practices of This Minor Jewish Holiday
On the 33rd day of the Omer (the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot), there’s a minor Jewish holiday known as Lag BaOmer (also known as Lag Ba’Omer or Lag B’Omer). As the Omer is traditionally a period of semi-mourning, where tradition prohibits such things as parties, weddings, haircuts, shaving, listening to instrumental music or having dinner with dancing, the Lag BaOmer is a break from all that. In 2022, Lag BaOmer starts at sundown on May 18 and ends the following evening.
Why Do Jewish People Celebrate Lag BaOmer?
As with many Jewish traditions, there are a number of different theories to explain the relevance and importance of Lag BaOmer:
- One theory holds that, at some point in Jewish history, there was a plague that ended on the 33rd day of Omer. The date thus became an occasion for happiness or celebration.
- Another perspective, argued by anthropologists, is that the period of Omer, always in the spring, is consistent with most other ancient cultures, who engaged in periods of personal restraint in a symbolic effort to ensure that crops started to grow properly. Under that theory, Lag BaOmer is simply a one-day respite from the period of self-deprivation.
- The most commonly accepted origin of the holiday is that it pays tribute to the memories of thousands of students (of Rabbi Akiva) who died in plague because they failed to treat each other with respect.
Rabbi Akiva and the Revolt against Roman Rule
According to the Talmud, Rabbi Akiva led a brutal, but ultimately unsuccessful revolt against the Romans in 132 B.C.E. He convinced many of his students to join in the rebellion. Most of those students were killed by the Romans in reprisal for the revolt. Many scholars believe that the references to a “plague” that killed the students was actually coded language for the rebellion, as the Talmudic rabbis who passed on the stories had to be careful not to openly refer to prior attempts at rebellion. Some speculate that Lag BaOmer constituted either a momentary victory in the rebellion effort, or a brief respite in the battle. Others suggest that one of Rabbi Akiva’s few surviving students, Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai, died in Lag BaOmer.
The Customs and Practices of Lag BaOmer
All prohibitions associated with Omer and the Counting of the Omer are rescinded on Lab BaOmer. For that reason, it’s a common day for weddings. Within Hassidim, it’s traditional to give three-year-old boys their first haircuts on Lab BaOmer. In Israel, Jewish people often travel t