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Lag B’Omer festival of Israel

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    History & Culture
  • Published
    3rd May, 2021

A stampede at the religious annual festival Lag B’Omer, which was attended by more than 1,00, 000 of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed dozens of people and injured around 150.

Context

A stampede at the religious annual festival Lag B’Omer, which was attended by more than 1,00, 000 of ultra-Orthodox Jews in northern Israel killed dozens of people and injured around 150.

What is the Lag B’Omer festival?

  • Jewish festival: It is an annual Jewish festival which is observed during the Hebrew month of Iyar.
  • Homage: People pay homage to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, a second century sage and mystic.
    • He is believed to have died on this day.
    • It is believed that he shared the knowledge and wisdom on the same day.
    • That is why bonfires are often lit on the day to represent it.
  • Occasion: It is celebrated on the 33rd day of the Omer that is the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot.
    • This is the only day during the 49-day period when the celebration is permitted.
  • Celebrations: Jews usually schedule weddings on this day every year.
    • The hair, of young boys who reached at the age of three, is cut for the first time on this occasion.
  • Location: To mark the celebration every year, tens of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jewish pilgrims reache to the base of Mount Meron.
  • The Rabbi’s tomb is a revered holy site in Israel.

Rabbi Shimon

  • Rabbi Shimon was a Talmudic scholar and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva, one of the greatest Jewish sages.
  • Work: Rabbi Shimon wrote the ‘Zohar’, which is the main work of Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism.



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