• Lag Ba-Omer – the fire of charity in the heart of Khesed

    In the evening, on the eve of the holiday of Lag B’Omer, the State of Israel is illuminated by the glow of thousands of fires. They are burn up by the schoolchildren who travel on the nature with the whole classes accompanied by teachers. It is connected with the memory of the famous Kabbalist Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (Rashbi). On this day he died and, according to legend, at the time of his death his body miraculously kindled with the visible pillar of flame. There is a tradition dedicated to his memory, to visit the place where he is buried  - the Mount Meron in the region Safed (Tsfat).

    And the holiday of Lag B’Omer is celebrated since the times of the Temple in Jerusalem and is associated with the tradition of the so-called the Counting of the Omer. The omer in Hebrew means a sheaf, on the second day of Passover the omer of barley of the new harvest was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. It was the first Omer, the next day, after the Temple priests prayed for a good harvest and started to count the days of Omer. There are only 49 days, between Passover and  Shavu’ot, equal to the number of the days from the Exodus from Egypt to the receipt of the Torah.

    Each day has its ordinal number. On the fiftieth day people brought the second omer in the Temple – a sheaf of wheat of the new harvest. According to the Torah, the time between the first and the second omers involves a large number of restrictions: Jews of the world have to pass a number of mourning customs: do not cut a hair, do not celebrate merry feasts and weddings.

    This time is called the period of trepidation and hope, because in these seven weeks the fate of the entire year is decided – should it be plenteous or not.

    And on the 33th day of the Counting of the Omer all restrictions removed, there is something like a break in the anxious seven weeks – Lag B’Omer, a joyous Jewish holiday. On this day, particularly, Orthodox Jews cut the hair of their three-year children for the first time.

    In the heart of Hesed is always lit the fire of charity. It warms our wards. Never let the fire in your heart go out…

    See also

    Archive

    Hot links

    Social Cultural Projects

    Need assistance

    Contact

      4A Londonska st., Kyiv

      +380 (50) 353 75 17
      pr@kievhesed.org.ua
     

    2016 © ICF «Jewish Hesed «Bnei Azriel». All rights reserved. Social services for Nazi victims have been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.