Torah Study Blog

According to Leviticus 23, on the first full day of Passover (the day after the first night) the Israelites are commanded to bring grain to the Temple, along with a sacrificial offering of a lamb. That counts as Day 1. Then, the Israelites are instructed to count the next 49 days on the calendar and then, “bring an offering of new grain to the Lord.” (Leviticus 23:14)

Today this practice of counting the days after Passover is referred to as Counting the Omer. An “Omer” in biblical times was a unit of measure of grain. The 49th day is also a celebration – originally it was likely an agricultural celebration – but that celebration is not given a name in the Torah. Today, the 49th day after Passover is the day we celebrate Shavuot, the day Jews celebrate the receiving Torah at Mt Sinai.

The time between Passover and Shavuot is treated as a time fraught with danger, and it is treated as a time of semi-mourning. During this time, traditional Jewish people do not have weddings, they do not cut their hair, and they do not listen to music.

There is one day during the Counting of the Omer where these semi- mourning practices are suspended – this is the holiday Lag B’Omer, which, literally, translates to the 33rd day of counting the Omer. Today in Torah Study we looked at why this particular day is excused from the semi- mourning of the days of Counting the Omer.

If we look at rabbinic texts over the centuries, we can find many possible reasons given for the pause in the restrictions. The earliest known writing about Lag B’Omer is from the 13th century CE saying that a plague which had struck the students of the 2nd century rabbi, Akiva, ended on the 33rd day. Then, there is a 17th century writing that says the publication of the Zohar, a mystical text, is celebrated on the 33rd day. And there is, yet another, writing that says the 33rd day was the day that the writer of the Zohar, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochair, became a rabbi. And, still, is another writing that claims that, when the people were wandering in the wilderness and they needed food to eat, manna from heaven started to fall on the 33rd day.

These are all wonderful events to celebrate. However, when we are given lots of possible reasons for something, that tells us that no one knows the real origin of the custom. Rabbi Roberts does not claim to know the origin. But today she led us on an exploration of pagan celebrations that could, possibly, provide an origin.

According to the writings of Ovid, a 1st century Roman poet, the ancient Romans celebrated a festival lasting the month of May called Lemuria, which was a time to expel ghosts from a home. People would clang household items and say, “Ghosts of my fathers and ancestors, be gone!” The word Lemuria has obvious similarities to Lag B’Omer. As an interesting aside, the primates known as Lemurs get their name from the Latin for “ghosts” or “spirits” because they are mostly active at night and have big, glaring eyes.

Another possible explanation lies with a Catholic saint. In the 8th century CE an Anglo-Saxon missionary named Walpurga worked in Germany to convert people to Christianity. The legend goes that the seas were rough on her trip to Germany, so Walpurga prayed and the sea became calm. Because of this, she is a patron saint to sailors. After her death it is said that therapeutic oil flowed from her body. Walpurga was sainted in May of 870 CE. Each May, Christians in Germany celebrate Saint Walpurga’s Eve when they honor her for battling pests, rabies and whopping cough. This celebration also occurs in the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Sweden, Lithuania, among others, and they celebrate with a night of bonfires

It is noteworthy that in Israel today, Lag B’Omer is celebrated by lighting bonfires, and this is a custom that has been in place for centuries. We have lost the original reason for Lag B’Omer, but people have continued with the practice. It is spring, it is nice out. It might just be a great time to be outside lighting bonfires. If the origin of the holiday had pagan roots, it is possible that the rabbis knew that. But they also knew that lighting bonfires in May was something the people enjoyed and no one was going to make them stop. Instead, they created new reasons for the celebration.

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misquotes or misunderstandings in what Rabbi Roberts taught us are the responsibility of Tara Keiter