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A Historical Treatise on the Lag B’Omer Celebration at Mt. Meron

Prof. Doron Bar
| 20/05/2024

A History of the Pilgrimage to Mt. Meron on Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s death day celebration. Prof. Doron Bar offers a glimpse into this centuries old Jewish institution: 

Every year, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims come to Mt. Meron, in the Upper Galilee, on Lag B’Omer. Their goal is to visit the grave of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, known as the Rashbi, and to take part in the festivities, the celebration surrounding his death.

This year, because of the war raging in the north, the pilgrimage will certainly be different and it seems that only a very few will be able to get there to take part in the traditional lighting ceremony at his gravesite.

Many traditions are tied to the figure of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and a great mystery surrounds his character. It seems that it is precisely these qualities that make his gravesite one of the most prominent Jewish holy places in the Land of Israel and beyond.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a famous Tanna, a sage of the Mishnah who lived in the second century CE.

According to tradition, he was active in the period after the Bar Kochba revolt. A time when the Romans passed harsh decrees on the Jews living in the Land of Israel.

Following suppression of the rebellion, Rashbi spoke out in condemnation against the Romans. In response, the Roman Government announced a death sentence for him and his son. This forced the father and son to flee and hide for 13 years in a cave in Peki’in, a small Galilean village. There, in the cave, according to tradition, Rashbi composed the canonical Zohar book. Later, he made his home in Miron and when he died, was buried in a cave there.

The first person who stated in his writings that the day of Rashbi‘s death fell on Lag B’Omer was R. Isaac Luria (the ‘Ari’), who lived in Safed in the sixteenth century. He, together with his students, located many Tannitic and Amoritic tombs throughout the Galilee. During the centuries, the pilgrimage tradition during Lag B’Omer, in Hebrew: ‘Hilula D’Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai,’ was further established, integrating elements of miracles, popular beliefs, lighting fires and burning items.

According to tradition, the graves of Rashbi and his son Elazar are in an underground burial cave. Over the years, markers in the form of tombstones were built over the cave.

In the nineteenth century, the place received its current design including a large two-story building with a white domed roof. This building became a hostel for sages who came to study Torah and Kabbalah. At that point, the Safed’s Sephardi community took responsibility for upkeeping the place.

LAG BA’OMER, NEAR THE TOMB OF RABBI SHIMON BAR YOHAI, ON MOUNT MERON

The tomb’s location in the heart of the impressive landscape of the Upper Galilee enhanced the pilgrimage experience even more thereby drawing more and more people to the place.

A crowd of thousands of celebrants would come to Mt. Meron on Lag B’Omer. Safed’s Jews and pilgrims who arrived from many places throughout the Land of Israel and the Diaspora gathered in the alleys of Safed.

On the evening of Lag B’Omer, these pilgrims come out in great numbers to Meron winding up to the site in a long and joyful procession. At the procession’s head, ancient Torah scrolls were carried. After arrival in Meron, the pilgrims sang special songs in honor of Rashbi and lit many candles and fires with great joy on the holiday eve inside the tomb complex.

Pilgrims making their way from Safed to Mt. Meron for Lag B’Omer

It was customary to throw scarves and other valuable clothing into the fire to honor the righteous.

During the gathering, the local  custom known in Arabic as ‘halake‘ was also common: the first haircut for a three-year-old male. This “rite of passage” turned babies into children and was accompanied by great joy, with fathers carrying their children on their shoulders and dancing with them along with the crowd in the tomb’s central courtyard.

LAG BA’OMER CELEBRATIONS ON MT. MERON.  THE TRADITIONAL HAIR CUTTING OF 3-YEAR OLD BOYS. 1957, Moshe Pridan, Israel GPO (from Wikicommons)

After the establishment of the State of Israel, Lag B’Omer celebrations at Meron received a great deal of momentum with crowds of tens of thousands visiting the place annually. Organized shuttles drove pilgrims to Meron and up the mountain leading to the tomb. Sephardic Jews and those from North Africa set up colorful tents and moved to the area for several weeks.

It became a social and family gathering combined with a visit to the holy place.

Along the winding road leading up to the tomb, a vivid and vibrant colorful market developed serving pilgrims. Not only were food and drink sold, but also holy needs such as sacred pictures, amulets, various souvenirs, and candles to light in the grave.

This was the case for many years. However, in the last generation the nature of the Rashbi festival has changed greatly. From a popular event that cuts across strata and denominations, it has become a gathering with a very distinct ultra-Orthodox character.

 

Shabbat Shalom from Schechter

 

Doron Bar, former president and dean of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, is a professor of Land of Israel studies. He earned his PhD from The Hebrew University in Historical Geography. Professor Bar is researching the development of popular and national holy places. He is a seventh generation descendant of an Old Yishuv Jerusalem family.

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