Lag B'Omer
Sermon, May 27, 2005
Rabbi Bruce Kadden

In the Jewish calendar we are in a period of time known as s’firat ha-omer, the counting of the omer.  An omer is a biblical measure of grain; in Leviticus we are told, “From the day after the Sabbath, the day that you bring the sheaf of wave-offering, you shall keep count until seven full weeks have elapsed:  you shall count fifty days until the day after the seventh week, then you shall bring an offering of new grain to God” (23:15-19).

In its origin, the omer was a ritual connected to the harvesting of the new grain.  According to Michael Strassfeld, “The omer period…was a marking of the time of harvest with its concern for a successful crop.  The offerings that began and concluded it expressed that hope for the harvest and also expressed a thanksgiving to God for the land and its bounty.”

The harvest period culminated in the celebration of Shavuot, seven weeks and a day after the beginning of Pesach.  Shavuot, itself, was, in the biblical period, a harvest festival.  In the Torah it is called “chag hakatzir, the festival of the harvest,” and yom habikkurim, the day of first fruits.”  However, with the destruction of the Second Temple and the end of the agricultural rituals associated with its observance, Shavuot took on a new meaning:  the celebration of the revelation of Torah by God to Moses at Mount Sinai. 

The counting of the days between Passover and Shavuot serves, therefore, to connect our leaving Egypt with our receiving the Torah at Sinai.  God brought us out of Egypt so that we could receive the Torah, according to the rabbis.

While a variety of legends and traditions developed over the centuries in relationship to this period of time, one particular day became the focus of special attention.  That day is Lag B’omer, the 33rd day of the omer, which was last night and today.  The origins of this minor festival are obscure.

According to the Talmud, in the second century thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students died in a plague, apparently because they didn’t treat each other with respect.  The plague either ended or was suspended on the 33rd day of the omer, making it a day of celebration during a period of mourning.  In fact, the omer is still observed as a time of mourning by Orthodox Jews, where marriages a prohibited, except on Lag B’omer.

Some authorities have suggested that the death of the sages was due to the persecution of the Emperor Hadrian, which murdered Rabbi Akiva and many other sages.  Others think that it really refers to the Bar Kochba revolt, which was supported by Rabbi Akiva and many other scholars, who were killed by the Romans.

Later sources even connect the mourning to the slaughter of the Jews in certain communities in Europe during the Crusades.

In any case, the period of mourning which had come to characterize these days was suspended, at least on the 33rd day of the omer.  Lag B’omer is observed with bonfires and picnics and other outings.  It is also customary for children to play with bows and arrows to mark the occasion.

Modern scholars suggest that these rituals were borrowed from other cultures.  For example, Theodor Gaster argues that Lag B’omer may be related to May Day, when it was customary to shoot arrows at demons.  He also believes that the uncertainty about the harvest extended to human fertility and therefore to a prohibition of weddings.

It occurred to me that if a couple was married at this time, and conceived immediately, their child would be born in the dead of winter, most likely not the ideal time for a child to survive and thrive, so perhaps the prohibition on marriages is rooted in this concern.

Another tradition, still observed today in Israel, connects Lag B’omer with Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of Rabbi Akiva’s students.  On this day, many gather at his burial place in Meron, feast, dance and light bonfires to honor this rabbi who is considered the founder of Jewish mysticism.  It is not clear whether Lag B’omer was the anniversary of his death or a celebration of some other event in his life, but the observance continues to this day.

I’d like to suggest another meaning to Lag B’omer.  In our day, the omer period serves as a link between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot.  It is only appropriate that the weeks following Passover were a time of mourning.  Although the people was obviously excited to leave Egypt and cross the sea, their almost immediate complaints indicate that they have not totally left Egypt.  They are still mourning what they have left behind, the security and comfort of knowing that they would always have something to eat and a safe place to sleep.  Despite the suffering, Egypt was still home and they are mourning the loss of their home.

But there comes a point in the journey from slavery to freedom that mourning gives way to celebration.  There comes a time when they people realize that their hopes for the future have displaced their longing for the past.  There comes a day when rather than looking back, they are ready to look ahead.

Lag B’omer is that day, two-thirds of the way along the journey from Passover to Shavuot, from Egypt to Sinai, when the people were ready to look ahead.  The past has given way to the future.  The next two and a half weeks will be spent in preparation, preparing to receive the Torah on Shavuot.  We, too, should begin looking once again toward standing at Sinai, as we accept the Torah and fulfill the destiny for which we were redeemed from Egypt.

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