The Jewish festival marks the 33rd day of the ‘counting of the Omer’ which begins on Passover and ends on Shavuot. The Omer is a time when weddings and other celebrations are forbidden, and as a sign of grief, observant Jews do not cut their hair. On Lag B'Omer, you can get a haircut, get married, attend weddings, join with singing and dancing, and listen to music. These actions are not permitted throughout the rest of the Omer. The holiday is mostly marked with bonfires which symbolize the flames of the signal fires from the great revolt which took place in the 2nd century when many of Israel’s Jewish population revolted against the Romans. It is also commemorates the day a plague ended in which thousands of students of Rabbi Akiba, a Talmudic scholar, died during the Counting of the Omer. In Israel, religious celebrations are focused around the tomb of the Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of five surviving students of Rabbi Akiva's, at Mount Meron in the Western Galilee near Safed when thousands of religious Jews take the pilgrimage to Mount Meron to light bonfires. We will have a bonfire complete with smores and roasting potatoes for out potato bar. For the children, there will be nerf bow and arrows. This is because when the Romans forbade Torah study, Jews would go into the ya’ar, the forest, and pretend to go hunting with bows and arrows. Instead, they learned Torah. We hope you can join us for this event, in person or through Zoom. A Kabbalat Shabbat service will follow.