Lag B'Omer - Light Your Fires!

According to the Torah (Leviticus 23:15), we are obligated to count the days from Passover to Shavuot. This period is known as the "Counting of the Omer." (an omer is a unit of measure.) On the second day of Passover, in the days of the Temple, an omer of barley was cut down and brought to the Temple as an offering. This grain offering was referred to as the Omer.

Today, we are counting the days of the Omer (from Passover to Shavuot) as a way to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the Exodus, and Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah.

Traditionally, this period is a time of partial mourning, during which weddings, parties, and dinners with dancing are not conducted, in memory of a plague during the lifetime of Rabbi Akiva. However, the 33rd day of the Omer (the eighteenth of Iyar) is a minor holiday commemorating a break in the plague. The holiday is known as Lag b'Omer. The mourning practices of the omer period are lifted on that date. In Israel, special bonfires are lit and people gather together to sing, talk and eat around the campfire. It's a beautiful sight to see - large fields containing various bonfires throughout the land!

Questions for further discussion:

• Why do we count the days in between Passover and Shavuot?
• The Reform Movement does not follow the limitations of the Omer period, but other Jews do. Why do they refrain from celebrating during this time? What day is the exception?