We barely had a full normal week and wham, the next holiday is upon us! At least this one is a fun one, and celebrating it has turned into a small tradition in our family. Lag Ba’Omer is about some ancient revolt of the Jews against the Occupying forces (the Romans in that case). Their Intifada was very bloody (the Roman army went for it all the way, and descriptions from the time talk about rivers of blood flowing in the streets, yikes). Either way, they won, and I think that’s why we celebrate.
Ok, I was feeling guilty about not remembering the details of that historical drama, so went to Wikipedia to search for Lag Ba’Omer. Interesting stuff. Apparently, there’s more than one theory about the origins of the Holiday. This is what the Wiki says -
The origins of the holiday begin with the time of Rabbi Akiva. The Talmud (Yevamot 62b) states that 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s students died from a mysterious divine-sent plague. The Talmud then goes on to say that this was because they did not show proper respect to one another, befitting their level. Jews celebrate Lag Ba’omer as the traditional day that this plague ended. This is the view recorded in the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch, 120:1-10.
Others say that these students were killed in the Bar Kokhba revolt (in which Rabbi Akiva was a major figure), the plague being the Roman occupation. As an act of censorship, the Talmud attributed their deaths to lack of respect to one another, afraid attributing their deaths to resisting the Roman empire would be viewed as treachery. Viewed in this context, the lighting of bonfires on this evening seems logical, since in ancient times bonfires were used as signals in wartime.
There is some conjecture that the holiday marks the temporary victory of Bar Kochba’s men over the Romans. The holiday became a symbol emphasizing the struggle for national liberation and freedom. The bonfires and the bow&arrow games coincide with Bar Kocvha’s revolt.
Now, I wouldn’t normally bore you with so much information about a Jewish holiday, but I found it fascinating that although we learned about the holiday in school, every year, the only thing I remembered about it was that we celebrate yet another grand victory of the few vs. the many, the weak vs. the strong, another heroic piece in the history of the Jewish people. I confess, I wasn’t the best in my class, definitely not when it came to history, but I honestly don’t think anyone ever told us anything about a plague. Bar Kochva was the chief character, especially how he fought a lion bare handed in the local coloseum and not only won, but rode the lion all the way out to victory. Or something along those lines. There’s a song about it, all kids know that one:
He was a Hero
He fought for Freedom
All the People Loved Him
He was a Hero
It’s THE Lag Ba’Omer song. I hope for those of you who live outside of Israel, whether Jewish or not, this gives some glimpse into the Zionist educational system. I’m not putting it down either. They never outright lied to us, but there was certainly a very specific way of presenting history that glorified our national past, emphasizing events where the few and the weak fought against stronger powers who tried to destroy them, and won.
All that aside, we’re going to have a big bonfire and a BBQ on Friday night (officially, Lag Ba’Omer is on Thursday night, but we’re non-conformist and Friday is better for us). We’re having about 50 people over, could be more, all friends and family. Should be nice, lots of kids running around, shooting arrows from makeshift bows (no worries, I have yet to see one of these deliver an arrow with any amount of force), a trivia quiz and more. It’s still several days ahead, but we’re already sending out the invitations and arranging everything! The kids are beyond excited and we’re all looking forward to the weekend!
