What do we know about Lag Ba-Omer? Most of us would say (and they would be right) that this fun holiday is about picnics with bonfires and barbecues, and children shooting bows, playing outdoor games, and having fun in every way.
But first of all, it should be said that this holiday has a spiritual basis. It is the day of the death of the great Jewish sage and righteous man, Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi), the author of the book Zohar - the main work of Kabbalah (the mystical teachings of Judaism). Rashbi commanded his disciples to celebrate the day of his death as a day of great joy, because it was on that day that all the fruits of his teachings reached their greatest completeness and perfection.
This holiday is associated with another joyful event: the Talmud tells us that for several weeks after the holiday of Pesach, a terrible epidemic raged, taking the lives of 24 thousand students of Rabbi Akiva “as punishment for not showing due attention to one another.” On Lag B’Omer, the epidemic stopped. Therefore, another theme of this holiday is Agavat Yisrael – the duty to love and respect one’s neighbor.
We told this and many other interesting things to our visitors today: separately to the members of the women's and men's clubs. Since the weather is not exactly conducive to going outdoors, we held those two events in Hesed. We lit bonfires, fried sausages, baked potatoes. We had delicious treats, told interesting stories from life, Jewish stories, and jokes. We also talked about politics - we are not at all indifferent to what is happening around us in these anxious war days.
