Jews Celebrate Lag B'Omer This Week
How was it commemorated 90 years ago?
Today Jews around the world are celebrating Lag B'Omer,
the end of a month-long mourning period when traditional Jews
refrain from weddings or joyous gatherings. The mourning remembers
the thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva, a reknowned spiritual
leader at the time of the Talmud. They died in a great plague
that ended on Lag B'Omer.
Hundreds of thousands of celebrants are expected to
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| Dancing at the Meron tomb (Central Zionist Archives, Harvard Library, 1925) |
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| The tomb on the hill (enlarged) |
In Israel, Lag B'Omer is celebrated with bonfires,
hikes along nature trails, and gatherings at the
tombs of of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai in the Galilee
town of Meron and of Shimon the Just (Hatzaddik)
in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Bar Yochai, a student of Rabbi Akiva's, was known
for his opposition to the Roman rule in the Land of Israel.
He and his son were forced to flee to the Galilee where
they hid in a cave for 12 years. Lag B'Omer is the
day of his death, but it is actually celebrated in recognition
of the Torah teachings he gave over to his students.
Hundreds of thousands of celebrants are expected to
visit Shimon Bar Yochai's tomb in Meron by Wednesday night.
Shimon Hatzaddik was a High Priest of the second Temple
Shimon Hatzaddik was a High Priest of the second Temple
in Jerusalem for 40 years.
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Jewish women praying at the Shimon Hatzaddik tomb (Central Zionist Archives, Harvard Library, c. 1930) |
According to Jewish tradition, Shimon clothed
himself in his High Priest's vestments to receive
Alexander the Great as he marched toward Jerusalem.
Alexander stepped from his chariot and bowed to Shimon,
who, he said, had appeared to him in a dream
predicting his victories.
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| Jews gathered at Shimon Hatzaddik's tomb in Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem (Central Zionist Archives, Harvard Library, c. 1930) |
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| Children's Lag B'Omer procession near Shimon Hatzaddik's tomb (1918) |
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| Shimon Hatzaddik's tomb today |
Many traditional Jews who cannot travel to Meron
in the Galilee celebrate Lag B'Omer at Shimon Hatzaddik's
tomb located in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood in northern Jerusalem.
Jewish homes around the tomb had to be evacuated
in the 1948 fighting. In recent years Jewish families
have returned to the neighborhood.
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