Counting the Omer
The 33rd day of the Omer
Customs on Lag ba-Omer (33rd Day of the Omer)
Further reading and study
Counting the Omer
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From the historical perspective, these seven weeks also separate two formative events in the people's history: the Exodus from Egypt, commemorated at Passover, and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, which is associated with Shavuot (the Festival of Weeks). Thus, even though the agricultural injunction has not been applied since the destruction of the Temple, the practice of counting off the days of this period of spiritual preparation has continued.
The 33rd day of the Omer
After the destruction of the Second Temple, the Counting of the Omer became a period of mourning connected recalling the suffering the Jews endured under Roman persecution. During this time, joyous celebrations such as weddings are not permitted. According to Jewish folklore, the Jewish rebel Bar Kokhba, after a series of defeats, secured a great victory over the Romans on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer.
According to another tradition related in the Talmud, a plague that had killed 24,000 of Rabbi Akiba's disciples in the 2nd century CE ceased on the 33rd day of the Omer. This 33rd day is called Lag ba-Omer in Hebrew, the Hebrew letters of "Lag" - lamed and gimmel - having the numerical value of 33.[2]
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Customs on Lag ba-Omer (33rd Day of the Omer)
Weddings, which are not held during the solemn period of the Counting of the Omer, are often held on Lag ba-Omer, this day of relief. Traditional Jews often will give their children their first haircut (sometimes at age three) on this day, again because haircutting is avoided during the semi-mourning period of the Counting of the Omer.
Lag ba-Omer celebrations which commemorate the standing up to Roman rule (by such figures as 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai[3] including singing, dancing, picnics, outings, games with bows and arrows, sporting events and the lighting of bonfires. Specifically, the playing with bows and arrow on this day, a custom initiated by children in Europe, may be a reminder of the Jewish-Roman war.
Further reading and study
Black, Naomi.
Celebration: The Book of Jewish Festivals (Jonathan David, 1989).
Donin, Rabbi Hayim Halevy.
To be a Jew: A Guide to Jewish Observance in Contemporary Life
(Basic Books, 1972).
Greenberg, Rabbi Irving.
The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays (Summit Books, 1988).
Greenberg, Blu.
How to Run a Traditional Jewish Household (Jason Aronson, 1989).
Goodman, Philip, ed.
Jewish Holiday anthologies (JPS, 1970, 1992).
Jacobs, Louis.
The Book of Jewish Practice (Behrman House, 1987)
Kitov, Eliyahu.
The Book of Our Heritage (Feldheim, 1978).
Klagsbrun, Francine.
Jewish Days: A Book of Jewish Life and Culture around the Year
(Farrar Straus Giroux, 1996).
Knobel, Peter.
Gates of the Seasons: A Guide to the Jewish Year.
(CCAR, 1983).
Renberg, Dalia Hardof.
The Complete Family Guide to Jewish Holidays (Adama Books, 1985).
Schauss, Hayyim.
The Jewish Festivals: A Guide to their History and Observance.
(Schocken Books, 1996).
Strassfeld, Michael.
The Jewish Holidays: A Guide and Commentary
(Harper & Row, 1985).
Waskow, Arthur.
Season of our Joy: A Celebration of Modern Jewish Renewal
(Beacon Press, 1990).