Today the Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Lag B’Omer. There are several ideas behind what this holiday is remembering.
One is the passing of an ancient rabbi, Shimon bar Yochai. Another is the end of a plague killing 24,000 that ripped through the disciples of Rabbi Akiba during the first century. This was seen as a judgment by God for their failure to love and respect each other. The tragedy, apart from the loss of life, was the knowledge and understanding of the oral tradition that was lost in those weeks.
This holiday is a time to remember that Torah, and the Bible entire, is not of private interpretation (2 Peter 1:20). That, in contrast to those disciples, we are to learn and live out the Word in community. We all lose out on the learnings and perspectives of the body as a whole when we isolate.
Shimon bar Yochai, who was a disciple of Akiba following that great plague, became one of the great rabbis of the next generation. It is said that on the last day of his life a bonfire built illuminated his whole house while he taught his disciples. He died that night as the flames died out. It is this memory that is the basis for the bonfires that are set all over Israel on this day. The book of his writings is called Zohar – meaning glow or illumine, because his writings illuminate the darkness of this world ending the confusion.
It calls to my mind another passage – “by His light we see light” (Psa 36:9). As I see bonfires, may I be reminded that God has given us His light – so that we can see light and truth.
0 Responses