Two years after the Miron disaster on Lag B'Omer that claimed the lives of 45 people, the annual revelry at Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's grave took place with tens of thousands of people participating in the largest religious event in Israel. The event began at 20:30 with the traditional lighting that was led by the Rebbe of Bayan and Rabbi Nachum Dov.
During this time, 29 minor bonfire lightings took place, led by rabbis from the ultra-orthodox and Religious Zionist world. Most of the lighting, attended by thousands, took place in a separate complex on the edge of the mountain, and not in the immediate vicinity of the tomb itself. Also, during the evening, a candle-lighting ceremony took place in memory of those killed in the Mount Miron disaster two years ago.
CAA wishes the Jewish community a joyous Lag B’Omer! pic.twitter.com/Ih5dTiBwh1
— Campaign Against Antisemitism (@antisemitism) May 9, 2023
Those responsible for the revelry, Minister Meir Proosh and Commissioner Yossi Deitch have run an organized campaign in recent weeks according to which each visitor will stay on the mountain for a maximum of five hours, at the end of which they will leave and allow the turnover and entry of newly arrived revelers. Last year, as a result of no such plan, the police had to block the entrance to the revelry for many hours, and all the parties involved reported a failed event.
Unlike this, and as a lesson learned from last year, in the parking lots where most of the worshipers wait to ascend to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, toilets, grills, and food and drink stalls were also erected and prepared, so that the wait to enter Mount Meron would be in proper conditions, and the chilly weather seemed to not bother the masses.
Today:
— @Parlez_me_nTory (@Parlez_me_nTory) May 9, 2023
Lag BaOmer (Hebrew: לַ״ג בָּעוֹמֶר, LaG Bāʿōmer), also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. pic.twitter.com/JTWB7QZknK
In accordance with the interim recommendations of the investigation committee, all the tents, improvised booths, and noisy music complexes on the sides of the road to the Holy Jewish site were not used this year. No insurance company gave its consent to ensure the revelry, and the State of Israel insured the event. The staff of the Accountant General at the Ministry of Finance signed indemnification letters for this purpose.
Most of the participants see the ascent to the grave as an opportunity to release energies of deep emotion and soul transcendence. Some of them light candles on the stone wall surrounding the grave site, or alternatively throw them into the bonfire while muttering a chapter of Psalms or other parts of prayer. The popular belief is that the ascension to Rabbi Shimon's tomb will reward the celebrants with a hidden or visible miracle, each according to one heart's desire.
Today we mark the Jewish minor festival of Lag B’Omer. It’s an oasis of respite during a period of reflection and mourning (the Omer) - learn more here https://t.co/OextUVy9o9
— Vicky Hart (@vhartsw) May 9, 2023
The holiday of Lag B'Omer commemorates the end of a plague said to have decimated Jews who were disciples of the famed Rabbi Akiva during Roman times. The holiday also celebrates the life of the great sage and mystic, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai who wrote the Kabbalistic mainstay, the 'Zohar'.
