Lag B'Omer 2021

The Feast of Weeks is the anniversary of the Revelation on Mount Sinai. In order to raise the importance of this day, we count the days that pass since the preceding festival, just as one who expects his most intimate friend on a certain day counts the days and even the hours. This is the reason why we count the days that pass since the offering of the Omer, between the anniversary of our departure from Egypt and the anniversary of the Lawgiving. The latter was the aim and object of the exodus from Egypt, and thus God said, "I brought you unto myself" (Exod. 19:4). As that great revelation took place only on one day, so we keep its anniversary only one day: but if the eating of unleavened bread on Passover were only commanded for one day, we should not have noticed it, and its object would not have been manifest. For it frequently happens that we take the same kind of food for two or three days. But by our continuing for a whole period [of seven days] to eat unleavened bread, its object becomes clear and evident.

Rabbi Akiva says that the verse should be understood as follows: If one studied Torah in his youth he should study more Torah in his old age; if he had students in his youth he should have additional students in his old age, as it is stated: “In the morning sow your seed, etc.” They said by way of example that Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land that stretched from Gevat to Antipatris in Judea, and they all died in one period of time, because they did not treat each other with respect.

It is customary not to get married between Pesach and Shavuot, until Lag BaOmer (the 33rd day), because during that time, the students of Rabbi Akiva died. However, to do "erusin" and "kiddushin" (engagement and betrothal) is OK. And even for "nisuin" (marriage), if someone did so, we do not punish him. Rema: however, from Lag Ba'Omer onwards, all this is permitted (Abudraham, Beit Yosef & Minhagim). It is customary not to cut one's hair until Lag BaOmer, since it is said that that is when they stopped dying. One should not cut one's hair until the 34th day, in the morning, unless the 33rd day falls on Friday, in which case one may cut one's hair then, in honor of the Sabbath ("kavod Shabbat"). Rema: But in these countries, we do not follow the custom he advocates; rather, we cut our hair on the 33rd day, and we rejoice a bit, and we do not say Tachanun (Maharil and Minhagim). And one should only cut one's hair on the 33rd day itself, but not on its evening. However, if it falls on Sunday, our custom is to cut our hair on Friday in honor of the Sabbath (Maharil). Someone who is performing a brit milah (i.e., the sandak, mohel and the infant's father), or circumcizing his son, is allowed to cut his hair during sefirah in honor of the circumcision (Hagahot Minhagim).

Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: One who sees his friend after thirty days have passed since last seeing him recites: Blessed…Who has given us life, sustained us and brought us to this time. One who sees his friend after twelve months recites: Blessed…Who revives the dead. As Rav said: A dead person is only forgotten from the heart after twelve months have elapsed, as it is stated: “I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind; I am like a lost vessel” (Psalms 31:13), and with regard to the laws of lost objects, it is human nature to despair of recovering a lost object after twelve months (see Bava Metzia 28a).

Genesis 31,48. “whereas Yaakov named it Galed.” ‎This verse contains an allusion to the thirty third day of the ‎counting of the Omer, [significant to us only since ‎the time of Rabbi Akiva, Ed.] The subject is elaborated on ‎in Pessikta rabbati, chapter 21. The letters in the word ‎גל‎, ‎numerical value 33, symbolizes the first 33 days after the Exodus ‎during which G’d is supposed to have appeared to the Jewish ‎people as if a young man, a mighty warrior, whereas at the giving ‎of the Torah He is supposed to have appeared to them in the ‎guise of an aged scholar. The parable is meant to describe a young ‎child whose father takes him by the hand when he brings him to ‎school and his father trains him to like school by presenting ‎school as an image of something he knows the child longs for. As ‎the child learns more Torah his spiritual horizon expands so that ‎when in his early youth the image of a young man had the ‎greatest appeal for him, gradually he aspires to become like a ‎revered elderly scholar. [The Midrash endeavours to ‎explain the expression ‎פנים בפנים דבר ה' עמכם‎, “G’d spoke to you ‎once with one face and once with another face.” (Deut. 5,4.) ‎Ed.]‎
The 33rd day of counting the Omer represents the point at ‎which the Jewish people after having experienced G’d performing ‎a string of supernatural miracles began to experience a longing ‎for the Holy Torah, after receipt of which they could serve the ‎Lord with all their hearts having gained more insight into His ‎thinking after they would study His Torah. As of then their ‎service would be whole-hearted. By naming the pile of stones ‎גל ‏עד‎, “the thirty third would serve as witness,” Yaakov alluded to ‎an event in the future, just as he did many more times, especially ‎when he blessed his children before his death. The word ‎עד‎ also is ‎derived from ‎עדי‎, ‎עדיים‎, as in Ezekiel 16,7 where it signifies ‎puberty, adolescence, or as in Exodus 33,4 ‎עדיו‎, “its jewelry,” ‎where the phylacteries are described as the Jewish people’s ‎jewelry, and having sinned grievously against the Torah they ‎were not allowed to display that jewelry which symbolized Torah. ‎In other words, until the 33rd day after the Exodus the people ‎were still primarily under the influence of the events ‎accompanying the redemption, whereas from that time on, ‎‎[probably including the partial Torah legislation at Marah, ‎Ed.] they were under the impending revelation of G’d’s ‎Torah at Mount Sinai. This stage is hinted at in the letters ‎עד‎ of ‎the word ‎גלעד‎.‎

And now, blessed are you by God, oh sweet reader. Be enlightened and understand that on this day began the revelation of the goodness of the Torah within which was hidden “the light that was good,” that light which allowed Adam to see from one end of the world to the other, and through which we can see the mysteries of the Creator. R’ Shimon bar Yochai was called “the holy lamp” because through him were revealed the secrets of Torah, that is the secret of “the light that was good” which is hidden in the Torah. Therefore his holy book is called the Zohar (lit. brilliance), meaning a light which shines from one end of the world to the other – the ‘good light’ which is hidden away in the Torah. That is why this day is the best of days for the giving of Torah. This is when the good light in the Torah began to shone forth, as we have learned. And this day is the 33rd day of the Omer, Lag Baomer. This is the day of the hilulah (lit. rejoicing) of R’ Shimon bar Yochai, the very day on which he ascended to the highest heavens. It also makes sense to assume that he was born on this day as well, because the Holy One sits and completes the years of the righteous from day to day (Kiddushin 38a). The very day on which ‘the light that is good’ began to shine out from the Torah, that is the best of days before the giving of the Torah, is the very day on which the holy soul that would reveal the path of ‘the light that is good’ in Torah was itself revealed. That is why this holy soul was called “the holy lamp,” on the very day that he rose up to the highest heavens he commanded R’ Aba to write down all the storehouses of hidden knowledge which he had revealed in order to leave behind a blessing from the illumination of the hidden light (that is good, as it says “How abundant is the good that You have in store for those who fear You…” (Psalms 31:20)) It is preserved there for us and our children until the light of our righteous Messiah is revealed, speedily and in our day! It is as our Sages said “And God said, let there be light…” this refers to the light of the King Messiah (Pesikta Rabbati 36), in the merit of our occupation with ‘the light that is good’ which the holy lamp left behind as a blessing and life, and a light for all Israel.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai and his son, Rabbi Elazar, went and hid in the study hall. Every day Rabbi Shimon’s wife would bring them bread and a jug of water and they would eat. When the decree intensified, Rabbi Shimon said to his son: Women are easily impressionable and, therefore, there is room for concern lest the authorities torture her and she reveal our whereabouts. They went and they hid in a cave. A miracle occurred and a carob tree was created for them as well as a spring of water. They would remove their clothes and sit covered in sand up to their necks. They would study Torah all day in that manner. At the time of prayer, they would dress, cover themselves, and pray, and they would again remove their clothes afterward so that they would not become tattered. They sat in the cave for twelve years. Elijah the Prophet came and stood at the entrance to the cave and said: Who will inform bar Yoḥai that the emperor died and his decree has been abrogated? They emerged from the cave, and saw people who were plowing and sowing. Rabbi Shimon bar Yoḥai said: These people abandon eternal life of Torah study and engage in temporal life for their own sustenance. The Gemara relates that every place that Rabbi Shimon and his son Rabbi Elazar directed their eyes was immediately burned. A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: Did you emerge from the cave in order to destroy My world? Return to your cave. They again went and sat there for twelve months. They said: The judgment of the wicked in Gehenna lasts for twelve months. Surely their sin was atoned in that time. A Divine Voice emerged and said to them: Emerge from your cave. They emerged. Everywhere that Rabbi Elazar would strike, Rabbi Shimon would heal. Rabbi Shimon said to Rabbi Elazar: My son, you and I suffice for the entire world, as the two of us are engaged in the proper study of Torah. As the sun was setting on Shabbat eve, they saw an elderly man who was holding two bundles of myrtle branches and running at twilight. They said to him: Why do you have these? He said to them: In honor of Shabbat. They said to him: And let one suffice. He answered them: One is corresponding to: “Remember the Shabbat day, to keep it holy” (Exodus 20:8), and one is corresponding to: “Observe the Shabbat day, to keep it holy” (Deuteronomy 5:12). Rabbi Shimon said to his son: See how beloved the mitzvot are to Israel. Their minds were put at ease and they were no longer as upset that people were not engaged in Torah study.

§ Rabbi Simlai taught: There were 613 mitzvot stated to Moses in the Torah, consisting of 365 prohibitions corresponding to the number of days in the solar year, and 248 positive mitzvot corresponding to the number of a person’s limbs. Rav Hamnuna said: What is the verse that alludes to this? It is written: “Moses commanded to us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob” (Deuteronomy 33:4). The word Torah, in terms of its numerical value [gimatriyya], is 611, the number of mitzvot that were received and taught by Moses our teacher. In addition, there are two mitzvot: “I am the Lord your God” and: “You shall have no other gods” (Exodus 20:2, 3), the first two of the Ten Commandments, that we heard from the mouth of the Almighty, for a total of 613.

Therefore, because they devoted so much time to the Bible, the first Sages were called: Those who count [soferim], because they would count all the letters in the Torah, as they would say that the letter vav in the word “belly [gaḥon]” (Leviticus 11:42) is the midpoint of the letters in a Torah scroll. The words: “Diligently inquired [darosh darash]” (Leviticus 10:16), are the midpoint of the words in a Torah scroll. And the verse that begins with: “Then he shall be shaven” (Leviticus 13:33), is the midpoint of the verses. Similarly, in the expression: “The boar out of the wood [miya’ar] ravages it” (Psalms 80:14), the ayin in the word wood [ya’ar] is the midpoint of Psalms, with regard to its number of letters. The verse: “But He, being full of compassion, forgives iniquity” (Psalms 78:38), is the midpoint of verses in the book of Psalms.

כי תשא This has the meaning of obtaining: WHEN THOU TAKEST [THE SUM], (not of “lifting up” as in Genesis 40:13); as the Targum has it, תקבל. The sense is: when you wish to obtain the sum total of their number — to know how many they are — do not take their census by their polls but each of them shall give half a shekel, and you shall count these, and so ascertain their number.

When you take a census of the Israelite people according to their enrollment, each shall pay the LORD a ransom for himself on being enrolled, that no plague may come upon them through their being enrolled.

§ It was taught in the mishna that if both of them were equal and neither preceded the other, the appointed priest says to all the priests: Extend your fingers [hatzbiu], and a lottery was performed. A tanna taught the meaning of the unusual term hatzbiu: Put out your fingers for a count. The Gemara asks: Let him count the priests themselves directly, rather than counting their fingers. The Gemara answers: This is a support for a teaching of Rabbi Yitzḥak, as Rabbi Yitzḥak said: It is prohibited to count Jews directly, even for the purposes of a mitzva, as it is written concerning King Saul and his count of his soldiers: “And he numbered them with bezek”(I Samuel 11:8),meaning that he counted them through shards, one shard representing each man, rather than counting them directly. Rav Ashi strongly objects to this interpretation of the verse: From where do you derive that this word bezek is a term related to the verb meaning to break apart, so that it means shards? Perhaps it is the name of a town, and it means that Saul counted them in Bezek, as it is written: “And they found Adoni-bezek in Bezek” (Judges 1:5), which shows that Bezek is the name of a place. The Gemara answers: Indeed, the proof is not from that verse but from here, where it says: “And Saul summoned the people and numbered them by sheep” (I Samuel 15:4), meaning that Saul tallied his soldiers by having each one take a sheep and put it aside to represent him in the count. Rabbi Elazar said: Whoever counts a group of Jews violates a negative mitzva, as it is stated: “And the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured” (Hosea 2:1). Rabbi Elazar interprets the verse to be saying: Which may not be measured. Rav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak said: One who counts a group of Jews in fact violates two negative mitzvot, as it is stated in that verse: “Which cannot be measured and cannot be counted” (Hosea 2:1). Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥmani said that Rabbi Yonatan raised a contradiction: It is written in this verse: “And the number of the children of Israel will be like the sand of the sea,” suggesting that they will have a specific number, though it will be very large. On the other hand, it continues and says: “Which cannot be measured and cannot be counted,” which means they will not be countable at all. How can these two statements be reconciled? It is not difficult: Here, in the second statement, it is referring to a time when the Jewish people fulfill the will of God; then they will be innumerable. There, in the first statement, it is referring to a time when the Jewish people do not fulfill the will of God; then they will be like the sand of the sea, having a specific number. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi said a different resolution in the name of Abba Yosei ben Dostai: It is not difficult: Here, in the second statement, it is referring to counting by the hand of man; the Jewish people will be too numerous to count by man. There, in the first statement, it is referring to counting by the hand of God, and He will find that they are like the number of the grains of the sand of the sea.

ולא יהיה בהם נגף THAT THERE BE NO CALAMITY AMONG THEM — for numbers (i. e. things that have been numbered) are subject to the influence of the “evil eye”, and therefore if you count them by their polls pestilence may befall them, as we find happened, in the days of David (II Samuel 24:10 and 15).