During Lag Ba’Omer it is traditional to light ridiculously huge bonfires to commemorate the death of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who many believe authored of the Jewish mystical text called the Zohar (meaning brilliant in Hebrew). It also marks the end of the divine plague that, according to the Talmud, wiped out 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s students.
Although Lag Ba’Omer is officially one day, fires are lit all week long by school children and families who begin collecting firewood months in advance. This year Ra’anana Mayor Nahum Hofree asked to refrain from lighting bonfires or at least not large ones because of the damage it does to the environment.
Potato snakes, held together by a stiff wire running through them
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice pictures! I really hope there is only going to be a minimal amount of bonfires in my area but during the week I have seen little boys carrying so many things intended for bonfires that I am not that optimistic……
This looks like so much fun! And the bread roasting on the open fire is so tempting…
Thank God it’s over. How I hate Lag-Baomer. Great pics btw.
I was in NY for Lag B’omer and went to a barbecue…outside in a tiny city parking lot alongside cars that were elevated one above another. What a difference from the huge bonfires in Israel!
lag ba’omer is a bit ridiculous in Israel because every class and kindergarden organizes a bonfire- each one competing to build the biggest and the brightest. So instead of one day of smoky air it is almost a week before the fires die out.
The kids love this holiday- a country full of pyromaniacs