• News
  • Features
  • Culture
  • Op/Eds
  • Sports
  • Mission
  • Print Editions
  • Staff
  • Leffell School Website

The Lion's Roar

The Online student-run newspaper of The Leffell School

Menu
  • News
  • Features
  • Culture
  • Op/Eds
  • Sports
 › News › Lag BaOmer at Leffell: Fun Facts and Ways to Celebrate Lag BaOmer

Lag BaOmer at Leffell: Fun Facts and Ways to Celebrate Lag BaOmer

TLRoar April 30, 2021     News

by Robin Bosworth

Lag BaOmer, the 33rd day in the count from Passover to Shavuot, is a joyous time for Jews around the world. To ensure that we enjoy celebrating Lag BaOmer this year, here are some fun facts and ways to observe this festive day: 

  1. Lag BaOmer marks the end of a plague that killed the famous Rabbi Akiva and 24,000 of his students. For that reason, this day marks the end of the mourning period that traditionally takes place from the second day of Passover up until this point. On Lag BaOmer, it is common to have weddings and other festivities in order to truly make it a celebratory day.
  2. Around the world, people build huge bonfires to memorialize Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochi and his teachings of mysticism. In Israel, people throw potatoes into their bonfires to eat, and in America, the tradition has been modified slightly to eating s’mores. Lag BaOmer marks the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochi’s death, so we light bonfires to celebrate his life and his impact on the Jewish people.
  3. The largest celebration of Lag BaOmer occurs in Meron, a town in northern Israel that contains Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochi’s tomb. On this single day of the year, hundreds of thousands of people gather to take part in festivities, including singing and dancing.
  4. It is a custom for Jewish children around the world to play with bows and arrows on Lag BaOmer. During the time when the Romans forbade the Jews from studying Torah, the Jews pretended to hunt with bows and arrows but actually learned in secret. Therefore, on Lag BaOmer Jews both study Torah and play with bows and arrows to show their freedom from the Romans. 
  5. At The Leffell School this year, students played kickball and enjoyed ice cream to experience the joyfulness of the holiday. 

However you choose to celebrate, have a great Lag BaOmer!

News

Author: TLRoar

Related Articles

Introducing the 2023 Student Government Executive Board
November Issue 2022
Food to Fertilizer: TLS Begins Composting
Eggcellent New Teachers: A Dozen New Faculty join the Leffell HS Kehilah
Cara Levine Q&A: Get to know the new high school student life coordinator

Facebook

The Lion's Roar

Search

Latest Print Editions

November Issue 2022
May 2022 Issue
January 2022 Issue
May 2021 Issue
March 2021 Issue

Archive

Copyright © The Leffell School Lion's Roar 2019