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    Lag Baomer is a very interesting holiday. Perhaps no other Jewish holiday has such a range of different customs. For instance, here in America, the typical observance might be a school outing to the local park or perhaps getting a much needed haircut. In Eretz Yisrael, on the other hand, you typically find that the whole country is lit up with hundreds of bonfires, each one larger than the next. However, perhaps the most interesting aspect of Lag Baomer is the fact that it is not mentioned anywhere in the Gemara and is just barely mentioned in the Shulchan Aruch. Let’s take a closer look at this intriguing holiday and the origin of some of its various customs.

    The reason for the very different customs of Lag Baomer comes from the fact that two separate events occurred on this day. First, as the name Lag Baomer suggests, it is the thirty-third day of Sefirat Haomer. The Gemara tells us that during the period of time between Pesach and Shavuot, known as Sefirat Haomer, some 24,000 students of Rebbe Akiva died. Sometime during the period of the Gaonim, between 589 and 1038 CE, Klal Yisrael took upon themselves the observance of an annual period of mourning to commemorate this event. Although the exact dates of death are a matter of dispute, everyone does agree that on Lag Baomer no students died. For this reason, the mourning is suspended on this day and we get the Shulchan Aruch’s one brief comment telling us that tachanun is not said. This is also the reason why we are permitted to get haircuts on Lag Baomer.

    The other event that happened on this day was the death of the great Tanna Rav Shimon bar Yochai. Rav Shimon bar Yochai was well known for the depth and breadth of his Torah knowledge. Once, when Rabbi Shimon was together with Rabbi Yehudah ben Ilai and Rabbi Yose ben Chalafta, Rabbi Yehudah praised the Romans for beautifying Eretz Yisrael and making it a nicer place to live by constructing markets, bridges and bathhouses. Rabbi Yose remained silent. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai said that all these great buildings and improvements were made not for the Jewish people, but rather for their own self-interest. When the Romans heard this, they rewarded Rabbi Yehudah by appointing him to a position in government, Rabbi Yose was punished with exile for not supporting him and Rabbi Shimon was condemned to death for his criticism. To escape this death sentence, Rabbi Shimon fled with his son, Elazar, to a cave. There they remained for thirteen years, studying Torah together and being miraculously sustained by a carob tree which had grown especially for them in the cave. During these years they learned both the revealed and the hidden or mystical Torah.

    It is an ancient tradition that on the day of his death, Rav Shimon bar Yochai taught the secrets of the Torah to his students who then later recorded them in the Zohar. It’s said that it was a day of great rejoicing and light for both Rav Shimon bar Yochai and his students, akin to the day when the groom rejoices under the chuppah. It’s recorded in the Zohar that the sun did not set until he had revealed all the secrets that he was permitted to reveal. Only then did the sun set and Rav Shimon pass away.

    Although the anniversary of the death of a righteous person is usually marked by sadness, it was Rav Shimon’s will that his yarzheit be a day of great rejoicing in honor of the Torah that was revealed on that day. The custom of the hillula, or celebration, that takes place at Rav Shimon’s burial place at Mount Meron, is a very old one. It’s mentioned by Rabbi Ovadyah of Bartinura in a letter that he wrote in the year 1389 that people would come from all the surrounding areas to celebrate and they would light great torches. Many explain that the torches and the bonfires are symbolic of the hidden Torah of Kabbalah that Rav Shimon revealed to the world.

    In light of the above, we can see how some of the various customs of Lag Baomer have come down to us. Whether as a day of respite in the period of mourning that we observe for Rabbi Akiva’s students or as a day dedicated to celebrating the secrets of Kabbalah that Rav Simon revealed to the world, Lag Baomer holds an honored place in our tradition and is a day that we all can celebrate and enjoy. May our observance of it reinvigorate us during this period of Sefirat Haomer and enhance our acceptance of the Torah during the upcoming festival of Shavuot.

Rabbi Eliezer Kessler
Houston, Texas