Rethinking Lag Ba'Omer

Rethinking Lag Ba'Omer


A Guest Post by Nili Philipp

Most Israelis I speak to have only fond recollections of Lag Ba'Omer. What could be more wholesome than singing songs around a bonfire all night long? Now, I realize I will be accused of being the Grinch that stole Christmas, but other than nostalgia, what redeeming qualities does Lag Ba'Omer have? Has anyone considered some of the less than positive aspects of this pyromania-fest?

Every year at this time, we begin to see the tell-tale signs: groups of kids dragging shopping carts filled with wood. Of course, they'll tell you they 'paid' 5nis for the cart and can do with them as they please, but in fact this holiday sanctions theft in broad daylight. The stolen carts haul wood stolen from construction sites, vandalized public benches and trees, and of course, other kids' wood stockpiles, which are probably stolen as well. What a charming national past-time. All is legitimate in the spirit of Lag Ba'Omer.

And if sanctioning theft weren't enough, Lag Ba'Omer sanctifies a mysterious pyromania instinct embedded in our Jewish spirit. This one day fire-festival has a ripple-effect, and seems to be a license for setting fires from April through June. The Big Burn is 33 days after the start of Pesach, but we're already getting into the mood on erev Pesach. Why else would otherwise responsible fathers pour cannisters of gasoline over whole loaves of bread – still wrapped in plastic mind you, for the sake of a mitzvah?  Is this really the best kind of education we can give our children? Is playing with fire, risking both bodily and property damage, and placing an extra burden on our emergency care workers a part of our Jewish tradition that I was not aware of? The arson continues well after Lag Ba'Omer until Shavuot, when every year without fail, the wheat field opposite our home is torched just before harvest. We get to watch the short green sprouts grow into long yellow stalks, and then go up in smoke in the blink of an eye. Can we really teach children that, for one day only, it's alright to be an arsonist? If so, maybe our religious leaders can indulge us by sanctioning one day of the year to eat cheeseburgers? You know, we'll have our arson day, our treif day...

Since we are an enterprising nation, on Lag Ba'Omer we burn anything that is flammable - in fact, the more flammable the better. Why stop with wood when you can burn an old couch filled with polyester stuffing that releases toxic fumes? I can't imagine how people with respiratory illnesses manage on Lag Ba'Omer. The entire country stinks of smoke the following day.

Finally, how many people are seriously hurt every year because of this 'holiday'? What is the human cost due to burns and smoke inhalation resulting from this festival? And what about the health care cost resulting from fire-related medical emergencies. Are our emergency staff so bored all year long that we need to give them more work? What does it take to realize the price for this holiday is too high?

It's time for a new approach to Lag Ba'Omer. We can build on the story of Torah scholars hiding from the Romans to promote Lag Ba'Omer as a day to celebrate democratic values such as fair government and freedom of expression. Alternatively, we can transform it into a day for environmental awareness, for promoting responsible attitudes towards our physical surrounding, and for valuing, protecting, and appreciating our green spaces. In fact, the traditional Lag Ba'omer story of R. Shimon bar Yochai even supports this interpretation. The gemarrah (Shabbat) tells us that R. Shimon and his son hid from the Romans in a cave where they were nourished by a nearby stream and a carob tree. On leaving the cave, R. Shimon saw people working in a field instead of immersed in Torah study and became so enraged that he incinerated them with his gaze. For this he was reprimanded and ordered back into the cave for an entire year. The next time he left the cave, he saw a man carrying myrtle branches in honor of Shabbat and finally understood nature's contribution to our spiritual well being. Only then could he leave the cave. In summary, there is no place in our society for destructive fires, rather, humankindness and love of nature safeguard our existence. Isn't it time to shift our focus on Lag Ba'Omer to these values?

This country is too small, too crowded, and too precious for the kind of irresponsible behavior traditionally associated with Lag Ba'Omer. It's time to get over the nostalgia of the quaint bonfire with the youth movement, and smell the smoke for what it is.

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