Lag BaOmer
Question: if the Western (Wailing) Wall in Jerusalem is the most-visited Jewish religious site in the world, what is the second? (Answer found below.)
When my wife Lori and I moved our family to Jerusalem in 1980, a whole new world opened to us. We hadn’t visited as tourists previously, so for many months we were wide-eyed with wonder as we experienced the sights and sounds of the Holy Land.
Along with seeing much of Israel, we were privileged to spend time with wonderful people. All our neighbors were Jewish. Most were “traditional Mughrabis” (culturally North African/Middle Eastern) who observed some level of kosher and Sabbath but were not Orthodox. They celebrated the Jewish holidays much the same way as do secular Israelis, but perhaps with a veneer of religious tradition.
We already were familiar with the biblical holy days.[1] It was a treat to see how these were celebrated in Israel by both observant and secular Jewish people.
But some, such as Israel’s Independence Day, Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Memorial Day), and Tisha B’Av were new to us[2]. When our neighbors invited us to celebrate Lag BaOmer[3] with them we weren’t sure what was in store. They took us to an area with open fields in Jerusalem where we joined hundreds of others who were barbecuing over charcoal fires. We enjoyed a springtime picnic amidst a festive atmosphere.
We learned that in Jewish tradition, 33 days after Passover is when a three-year-old boy gets his first haircut. But no mention was made by our friends of the biblical roots of “counting of the omer.”[4]
None of our neighbors were ultra-Orthodox, so not until later did we learn of the significance of Lag BaOmer to the most-observant in Judaism. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a disciple of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century, is renowned for his contributions to the Talmud and is considered the primary author of the Kabbalistic (mystical) work, the Zohar.[5] Before he died – on Lag BaOmer in AD160 – “he revealed some of the loftiest secrets and brought a new level of G‑dly light into the world.”[6]
Dating the beginning of any tradition can be a challenge (and therefore challenged!). Sometime in the medieval period a site in Meron[7] was identified as Rabbi bar Yochai’s tomb,[8] and over the centuries an increasing number of Jewish people began to visit. Today it is the world’s second-most-visited Jewish site.[9]
Pilgrimages to the tombs of famous rabbis[10] have been a part of Judaism for centuries. Perhaps the best-known outside of Israel is that of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov who is buried in Uman, Ukraine.[11] Praying in the vicinity of an important rabbi’s tomb is considered by many adherents to rabbinic Judaism as a way to increase the power of the prayer since it is based on the meritorious works of holy men now in heaven.[12]
The widespread desire to gain the attention of heaven is clearly seen in the number of Jewish visitors to Meron. The most favorable time to pray is on the date of the rabbi’s death. In Rabbi bar Yochai’s case, this is Lag BaOmer. Hundreds of thousands[13] of zealous ultra-Orthodox ascend to the Galilee to sing[14] and pray by “Rashbi’s”[15] resting place:
…Arise! holy righteous one, living light, Rabbi Shimon ben[16] Yochai, and pray now to God that He be gracious to us…. Arise! pious holy man, holy of holies, honored holy of HASHEM; you are Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai who is called ‘honored’ in the world and in the World to Come, and you are destined to be the leader of all the righteous ones sitting in the Garden of Eden, and you will receive the countenance of the Divine Presence…. Arise and ask for mercy from our Father in Heaven for us, and for all Israel….[17]
Covid vastly diminished the numbers ascending to Meron in recent years. Even so, in 2021 an estimated 100,000 gathered on Lag BaOmer. At the close of the evening, a tragic “stampede” occurred resulting in 45 deaths and 150 people injured.[18]
The authorities recognized the need for changes to this event. The existing six-and-a-half-foot pathway from the parking lot is being widened to twenty feet. Work began in March with the goal of completing it before Lag BaOmer (May 9, 2023). Construction is supervised by rabbis so that it will be “kosher to the max” (mehadrin l’mehadrin), with path divisions for men and women, and a separate path for cohanim (Jewish priests) to approach the tomb.[19]
The “Hilula Complex” (area surrounding the tomb) is being increased to 27 acres to allow for increased parking and space for dancing and bonfires.[20] Even so, participation this year is limited to 200,000 ticket holders.[21] The Knesset has approved the U.S. equivalent of $5.5 million just for the “priests’ path” project[22] and many private donations are also being received.
What are we as followers of Yeshua – Jesus of Nazareth, Israel’s true Messiah – to think of all this? For one, the contrast is quite stark between how secular Israelis celebrate Lag BaOmer with a picnic around a campfire compared with the intense religious fervor of the Haredim (ultra-Orthodox) who seek in a visit to a rabbi’s grave the ability to have prayers answered in this life and gain merit in the world to come. It serves to remind us why different approaches to sharing the good news of the gospel are necessary when reaching diverse Jewish populations.
Second, we may understand both the desire to have heaven hear and answer our prayers as well as admire the zeal evidenced in those who make the trek to Meron – including many from abroad. But we find it greatly amiss to appeal to a deceased rabbi to intercede on our behalf in heaven’s throne room.
We understand from Scripture that “there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Messiah Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5) who “always lives to make intercession” for us (Hebrews 7:25). “And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Messiah the righteous” (1 John 2:1). What wondrous good news is the gospel that frees us from the regulations imposed by religious systems and provides us with the righteousness that our own “good deeds” could never merit.[23]
May you have a joyous Lag BaOmer as you count the 50 days and consider the Passover-Pentecost connection fulfilled in Yeshua’s atoning work (Passover) and the gift of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost).
Written by Wes, Life in Messiah Global Ambassador
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Endnotes:
[1] Biblical holidays include Passover, Feast of Weeks (Pentecost), Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement, Tabernacles, and Purim. Hanukkah is the best-known extra-biblical Jewish holiday.
[2] These “national” holidays are not observed by the haredim (ultra-Orthodox) as they do not recognize the legitimacy of the modern state; in contrast, Orthodox Jews like Bezalel Smotrich (Religious Zionism party) and Itamar Ben-Gvir (Jewish Power party) are religious Zionists who do celebrate these days.
[3] Just as the Romans used letters to represent numbers (e.g., M = 1,000; C = 100), so the Hebrew alphabet is used to write numbers. The “Lag” in Lag BaOmer is the numerical representation of 33, where “L” (lamed) = 30 and “G” (gimel) = 3.
[4] See Leviticus 23:15-16 where God commanded the Jewish people to count off 49 days after Passover. Day 50 is Shavuot (“weeks” in Hebrew), in recognition of counting seven weeks plus one day since Passover. “Pentecost” is from the Greek word for fifty. See https://www.oneforisrael.org/holidays/the-biblical-tradition-of-counting-the-omer/ for more details.
[5] https://aish.com/the-life-of-rabbi-shimon-bar-yochai/ details some of the fantastical legends attached to “the Rashbi,” Rabbi Shimeon bar Yochai.
[7] Meron is a small town about half an hour’s drive northwest of Capernaum in Galilee.
[9] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tomb_of_Rabbi_Shimon_bar_Yochai.
[10] E.g., https://www.timesofisrael.com/follow-in-the-footsteps-of-pilgrims-to-these-holy-tombs-across-israel/.
[11] https://religionunplugged.com/news/2019/9/26/jewish-pilgrimage-to-this-ukrainian-rabbis-grave-is-growing. For Lubavitch Jews, the Ohel of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson in Queens, NY draws thousands of “Chabadniks”; many others who can’t visit in person can send prayer requests to be printed and placed on the rabbi’s grave (see https://www.ohelchabad.org/templates/articlecco_cdo/aid/3402126/jewish/About-the-Ohel.htm).
[12] https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/380618/jewish/Praying-At-Holy-Gravesites.htm.
[13] Video of Lag BaOmer revelers in 2019: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ_tlD-GGSA. In 2009, participants numbered 400,000: https://www.lubavitch.com/400000-head-to-mt-meron-for-lag-bomer/.
[14] A special song is sung annually to Rabbi bar Yochai: https://www.chabad.org/kabbalah/article_cdo/aid/379964/jewish/Bar-Yochai-Song.htm. Note the lofty “messiah-like” descriptives.
[15] Famous rabbis are known by acronyms, such as Rambam (Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, aka Maimonides). Thus “Rashbi” is shorthand for Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.
[16] “Ben” is the Hebrew word for son, while “bar” is Aramaic.
[17] The Expanded ArtScroll Siddur: Wasserman Edition, Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi Meir Zlotowitz, eds., Brooklyn, N.Y.: Mesorah Publications, 2016, pg. 1025.
[18] https://www.timesofisrael.com/eleven-minutes-at-meron-video-shows-how-deadly-crush-unfolded/. See also https://www.jta.org/2021/04/30/israel/long-before-lag-bomer-stampede-mount-merons-history-has-been-a-mix-of-tragedy-and-euphoria.
[19] Those descended from the priestly line in Israel are forbidden to enter cemeteries. In order to allow priests privileged access to Shimon bar Yochai’s grave, a special “multi-layered” path and bridge is being installed at significant expense: https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/headlines-breaking-stories/2079011/gesher-kohanim-to-be-rebuilt-in-meron.html; https://all-world.news/172747/; https://www.kikar.co.il/haredim-news/rt7ibv.
[20] https://www.jdn.co.il/flashes/1945865/. [Use Google Translate for English version.]
[22] The cost is 20 million NIS; see https://col.org.il/news/144506.
[23] Ephesians 2:8-10; Titus 3:5-6.