Lag BaOmer

Lag B'Omer History

The Omer (Hebrew: ל״ג בעומר‎‎‎‎) refers to the 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. Lag B'Omer is the thirty-third day of counting of the Omer and falls on the lunar date of 18th Iyar (May). The counting of the Omer starts on the second day of Passover and culminates on the day before Shavuot (Pentecost). The Omer is mentioned in the Bible (Leviticus 23:15) And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the day of rest, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the waving; seven weeks shall there be complete. Jews were commanded to count the 49 days in accordance with this verse.

Rabbi Akiva was a major leading scholar, who helped develop the Mishnah Tractates and Midrash Halakha. He was a wealthy educator, who lived in 1st-2nd Century and had thousands of pupils. From the 1st-33rd Omer, his pupils died by the thousand. Lag B'Omer was mentioned in the Talmud (Yevamot 62b) as being the day that his pupils stopped dying (24,000 had died).

Date shown reflects the main observance day. This observance begins at sundown on the day before.

Top 10 Facts for Lag BaOmer in 2026

• The observance marks the Hillula, or anniversary of the passing, of the 2nd-century sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who specifically requested that the day of his death be celebrated as a joyous occasion rather than mourned.
• Traditionally attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the foundational text of Jewish mysticism known as the Zohar is a central theme of the holiday, as the sage is said to have revealed its deepest secrets to his disciples on the day he passed away.
• Large bonfires are kindled throughout the evening to symbolize the spiritual light that bar Yochai’s teachings brought into the world and to commemorate the "holy fire" that reportedly surrounded his home at the time of his death.
• The day signifies a joyful reprieve in the seven-week period of semi-mourning known as the Counting of the Omer, which commemorates the cessation of a devastating plague that killed 24,000 students of the great scholar Rabbi Akiva.
• Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims typically converge on Mount Meron in northern Israel to visit the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, making it one of the largest annual gatherings in the Jewish world.
• It is a long-standing tradition for three-year-old boys to receive their first haircuts during the festivities, a ceremony often referred to as an upsherin or chalakah, which marks their transition into a life of Torah study.
• Children traditionally play with bows and arrows during the holiday to recall the Midrashic teaching that no rainbow appeared during the lifetime of bar Yochai, signifying that his personal merit was sufficient to protect the world from divine judgment.
• In the context of modern Israeli history, the holiday is often associated with the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Roman Empire, celebrating the resilience and spirit of Jewish resistance.
• Families and schools often organize picnics and competitive field days, continuing a medieval tradition of students heading into the woods to engage in outdoor activities and sports.
• Many people eat carobs and hard-boiled eggs during their celebrations, a practice that honors the legend of the carob tree that miraculously sustained bar Yochai and his son during the thirteen years they spent hiding in a cave from the Romans.

In the News and Trending in the US for Lag BaOmer

Top things to do in the US for Lag B'Omer

• Attend a Lag B'Omer Bonfire party which are popular at many Jewish communities.
• Attend a Jewish Wedding. Lag B'Omer is a day on which many Jewish weddings are performed as the previous month had no such events.
• It is customary for some Orthodox Jewish boys to have their first haircut after their third birthday on Lag B'Omer. Others also have haircuts, having refrained from so doing in the previous 32 days of the Omer.
• Attend a Lag B'omer parade which is performed at many Local Chabad organizations. Some popular Lag B'omer parades such as one in New York are broadcast over the internet.