Skip to content
Congregation Beth Sholom-A San Francisco Jewish Conservative Synagogue
Lag B'Omer

Lag B'Omer is the 33rd day in the counting of the Omer (sheaves of barley) that marks the period between Pesach and Shavuot. It is a day of celebration that commemorates many favorable and joyous incidents. From Torah to Kabbalah, it has many layers of significance in Jewish sacred writings and traditions. Lag B'Omer is considered a favorable day for a wedding, and it is the only day during the counting of the Omer when an observant male is supposed to cut his hair. Although this minor holiday often passes unnoticed in the diaspora, a visit to Beth Sholom on Lag B'Omer is an opportunity to hear Rabbi Hyman talk about Jewish tradition.


 

 

 
[ Back ]
SEO by Artio
Tsfat: A town in northern Israel, also known as Safed, which has been a center of Kabbalistic teaching since the sixteenth century.

Kabbalah: Literally that which has been received - the Jewish mystic tradition.

Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai

Even though it was really written in Medieval Spain, the Zohar, the book of Jewish mysticism, is attributed to R' Shimon bar Yochai. To celebrate his memory, on the evening of Lag B'Omer there is a great pilgrimmage to the traditional site of his grave in the town of Meron near Tsfat. The pilgrimmage is followed by kindling of bonfires and all-night singing and dancing.