CTeenConnection

Lag BaOmer, the thirty third day of the Omer count, is a festive day on the Jewish calendar. Many people have the custom to celebrate it by lighting bonfires and going on special outings, but where did it all come from? I mean, as much as bonfires are fun, what does it have to do with this holiday?

It all started with the great sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who passed away on the thirty third day of the counting of the Omer. He lived in the second century of the common era and was the first to teach about the mystical dimension of the Torah (called the Kabbalah). On the day he died, he requested from his students that they celebrate this “joyous” day.

Many explain that when such a righteous and important person dies, all of their deeds, teachings, and works are celebrated. As a result, it is the custom that we, the following generations of  Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, celebrate his life and teachings of the Torah.

But back to the real question, why fire? Lighting bonfires commemorates the light that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai brought into this world through his mystical teachings. The Zohar, the book of mystical teachings of the Torah, relates that his house was filled with fire and intense light, to the point that those who surrounded the house could not approach or even look at Rabbi Shimon.  

You may be asking: “well, what does this have to do with me?” Kabbalah teaches very empowering lessons on the importance of unity and its power. We, the current generation of the Jewish nation, have the power to unite together to create the strongest “light” in this world. Now come on, that in it of itself is pretty LIT, no?

I hope that your Lag BaOmer is LIT and filled with unity:)