Related Blog Posts on Lag BaOmer

Lag BaOmer

Rabbi Daniel Allen

Lag BaOmer is a break, a time out, a moment to recall an ancient plague that may or may not have occurred, and perhaps a moment for reflection.

Living Lag BaOmer

Jay Asher LeVine

The Hebrew letter equivalent of 33 is pronounced Lag (lamed gimel), giving rise to the name Lag BaOmer for this particular day. There is no one particular reason that this day stands out from the other 48 days counted between Pesach and Shavuot, yet many fascinating traditions surround the special nature of this day.

Galilee Diary: New Grain

Rabbi Marc J. Rosenstein

Driving across the Jezreel Valley these days, you can't miss the biblical echoes of the landscape. On Pesach we are to eat only cereal products made from the last year's harvest, baked with no leavening – and at the same time we are to clean out completely any remnants of any grain products from the old supply. 

Counting Our Blessings

Audrey Merwin

An omer is a measure of grain, in this case, barley. In the days of Temple worship, we were to bring the first sheaf of barley to the Temple, followed by other items, as a sacrifice (Leviticus 9–14). 

Galilee Diary: Old Time Religion

Rabbi Marc J. Rosenstein

Rabbi Shimon fled to the cave to escape a death sentence for publicly criticizing Roman culture. According to folk tradition, during his twelve years of isolation, he engaged in mystical meditation and wrote the Zohar, the central work of Kabbalah. 

An Omer Meditation

Leon Adato
The opening moments of Passover are behind me, and I'm left with a sense of something momentous having passed with it. There's a dryness in my mouth and heaviness in my gut that has nothing to do with the matza I've consumed.