During the Holocaust, his wife, 11 children, and most of his followers were murdered. The Klausenberger Rebbe (Rabbi Yekusiel Yehuda Halberstam 1905-1994), had thousands of followers in the Romanian town of Klausenberg. In fact, the Jewish nation in general and its leaders in particular have been characterized by such fortitude and conviction. To my understanding, it is this rebirth-after-tragedy to which the Pri Chodosh is attributing the joy of Lag Ba’Omer. His fortitude and conviction of purpose spurred him to waste no time in moving forward and it was this initiative which perpetuated the study and the teaching of Torah for generations to come. Rather, he sought out new students and immediately resumed teaching. After experiencing the blow of a lifetime he did not close up shop.

To have every one of his students wiped out within a relatively short period of time is a loss and a tragedy the weight of which is unfathomable.Īnd yet, Rebbi Akiva was not crushed. When eventually the Romans decreed that the teaching of Torah would be punishable by death he gave up his life to continue teaching. He spent many years away from his family in order to dedicate himself solely to the study and the teaching of Torah. Rebbi Akiva invested everything that he had in educating his students.

A study hall that possessed 24,000 students who were of the caliber to be considered students of the great Rebbi Akiva is truly beyond our comprehension.

Even today, with the widespread rebirth of Torah study after the Holocaust, the largest Yeshiva numbers approximately 8,500 students. If one stops for a moment to contemplate Rebbi Akiva’s loss, it is mind-boggling. As it is recorded in the aforementioned Talmud, Rebbi Akiva went on to teach Rebbi Meir, Rebbi Yehuda, Rebbi Yossi, Rebbi Shimon and Rebbi Elazar ben Shamua, and it was these students “ who upheld the study of Torah at that time.” The Pri Chodosh answers that our joy is in recognition of the five new students who Rebbi Akiva went on to teach after all of his original students died. Why then would there be reason to celebrate? After all, there were simply no students left to die? We are told that Rebbi Akiva had 12,000 pairs of students who all died during this time period. The Pri Chodosh (Rabbi Hezekiah Da Silva, 1656-1698) one of the primary commentators on the Shulchan Aruch, asks the obvious question. The Shulchan Aruch explains that this is due to the tradition that it was on that day that the students stopped dying. We begin to engage in the aforementioned pleasurable activities and are encouraged to be particularly joyous. On the 33 rd day of the Omer (known worldwide as Lag Ba’Omer) such practices end. This law is based on the historical tragedy of the death of the 24,000 students of the great Tanaaic sage Rebbi Akiva which is recorded in the Talmud (Yevamos 62b). We may not get married, cut our hair/shave, or listen to music. This association has spawned several well-known customs and practices on Lag BaOmer, including the lighting of bonfires, pilgrimages to the tomb of Bar Yochai in the northern Israeli town of Meron, and various customs at the tomb itself.Jewish law stipulates (Shulchan Aruch OH Chapter 493) that during the days between Passover and the 33 rd day of the counting of the Omer one must refrain from a number of pleasurable activities. This day marks the hillula (celebration, interpreted by some as anniversary of death) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a Mishnaic sage and leading disciple of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century, and the day on which he revealed the deepest secrets of kabbalah in the form of the Zohar (Book of Splendor), a landmark text of Jewish mysticism. Lag BaOmer (Hebrew: ל״ג בעומר‎), also Lag B’Omer, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. Lag B’Omer (Lag BaOmer) and When is Lag B’Omer 2016Ībout Lag B’Omer, When is Lag B’Omer and Lag B’Omer 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 dates and everything you need to know about Lag B’Omer.

Lag ba omer 2016