Rabbi Howard Morrison

Our Parsha today enumerates the festivals of the Jewish calendar year. This is not the first time the Torah lists the holy days. However, today's reading introduces the period known as Sefirat Ha'Omer, the counting of the Omer, the seven-week daily count which connects Pesach to Shavuot. Originally, a joyous time, the seven weeks united the beginning of the harvest season with the ripening of the first fruits, and these weeks also united the festival of freedom with the festival of the giving of the Torah.

In the aftermath of the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70CE, our ancestors sought to fight back against the Hadrianic persecutions of the Roman empire in the early 130's CE. The Talmud tells us that 12,000 pairs of Rabbi Akiva's students died of a plague. We are also taught that these 12,000 pairs of students died because they were not civil toward each other. Are these two explanations independent of each other or combined? One can argue that a breakdown of civility and respect from one to another can actually break down the moral semblance of a society and result in the plague of death. Do we not see such breakdowns of common decency among humanity in many sectors of the world right now?

According to many scholars, the Talmud's references are really euphemisms to the slaughter of thousands of Jews who tried to fight back under the leadership of Shimon bar Koziba, known as Bar Kochba, thought by many zealots of his time to be the Mashiach. Amongst his leading followers was Rabbi Akiva, who joined in the fight against Rome. As we read in the martyrology of Yom Kippur, Rabbi Akiva was brutally murdered while saying the Shma in his last moments, the basis for the Shma as a focal point of the deathbed confessional prayer to this very day. 

The Talmud speaks of 12,000 pairs of Rabbi Akiva's students and not simply 24,000 in total because in Jewish learning, it is commendable that one learns with a study partner for the sake of a healthy exchange of ideas. Known as Chavruta, fellowship; to this day, many Jews study classical texts in groups of two or more.

One of Rabbi Akiva's prize students was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. He became known as the forerunner of Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism. The medieval code of mysticism known as the Zohar traces its origins to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. He died in Meron, in Northern Israel, on the date of Lag B.Omer, the 33rd day of the Omer, which was yesterday.

Because of the tragedies associated with the season of the year, there are 32 days of bereavement in which weddings and haircuts are banned. According to folk legend, the atrocities went on for 32 days. Ashkenazim observe the restrictions from the second night of Pesach up to Lag B'omer, the 33rd day in the counting, on which day according to legend the plague came to an end. Sefardim observe the restrictions from Rosh Chodesh Iyyar, two weeks after Pesach, pause on Lag B'Omer for one day, and continue observing the 32 days of restrictions right up to the eve of Shavuot. Some Jews combine both customs and observe bans the entire seven weeks of counting the Omer.

In the eleventh century, much of the horror associated with the Crusades also took place during the period of the Omer, further accentuating the sadness associated with this season of the year.

I and the bulk of our shul follow Ashkenazic practice. Thus, the ban on joyous events ended with Lag B'Omer yesterday. I have a bunch of weddings to officiate in the coming days and weeks thankfully.  Jewish day schools generally cancel regular classes with picnics and sporting events on the day of Lag B'Omer. In Israel, bonfires are lit to commemorate the Yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Lag B'Omer has become a day to celebrate Jewish learning and Jewish teachers since on this date the plague which had affected Rabbi Akiva's students, however it is understood, came to an end or a pause on Lag B'Omer. 

I am not sure how many of us on a Diaspora weekday yesterday were able to take the time to truly appreciate Lag B'Omer. Given the origin of counting the Omer in today's Torah portion, this is why I have dedicated my remarks to a day and date which should not be forgotten.

While today is the 34^th day of the Omer, I wish us all one day late a belated Lag B'Omer Sameach and Shabbat Shalom.

Rabbi Howard Morrison