This is a photograph from 1992 of people praying Shacharit (the morning prayer service) outside the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on Mt. Meron at Lag B’Omer. Mt. Meron, one of the highest mountains in the Galilee and in Israel, can be seen in the background. A small group of women, most wearing headscarves, can be seen praying behind the partition in the lower left-hand corner of the photograph. The larger group consists of men, most wearing black suits and hats and wrapped in a tallit (prayer shawl). Some of the men can be seen with tefillin (phylacteries) on their heads, as is customary in morning prayers. Black hats can be seen perched on the fence behind the men. Large outdoor lighting can be seen in the photograph, indicating that visitors also come to the tomb at night.
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Lag B’Omer – Lag B’Omer, literally the 33rd day of the Omer, is a minor holiday celebrated during the Counting of the Omer, the forty-nine-day period between Pesach and Shavuot described in the Torah. According to the Talmud, this period became a time of semi-mourning due to a plague that killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students. Tradition holds that the plague ended on the 33rd day of the Omer (Lag B’Omer), also the day on which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai – the mystic who, according to tradition wrote the Kabbalistic text, the Zohar – is said to have died. Lag B’Omer is celebrated with bonfires, visits to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s grave on Mt. Meron, and music. Some people also celebrate Lag B’Omer by having their three-year old sons’ first haircuts at Mt. Meron.
Mt. Meron – Mt. Meron is located in the Upper Galilee and is one of Israel’s highest mountains. It is the site of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s grave. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Mt. Meron on Lag B’Omer, the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s death. In the sixteenth century, Rabbi Isaac Luria established the tradition of bringing three-year old boys to Mt. Meron on Lag B’Omer for their first haircut.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai – Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai lived in the second century and was a student of Rabbi Akiva. According to legend, when the Roman Emperor Hadrian proclaimed that Torah study was punishable by death, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Eliezer, hid in a cave in order to continue to study. A carob tree and a spring appeared miraculously at the entrance to the cave, enabling them to eat and drink during the twelve years that they lived in the cave. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is believed to be the author of the Zohar, the foundational text of the Kabbalah, although many scholars believe that it is, in fact, of a much later origin. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is said to have died on Lag B’Omer and was buried on Mt. Meron. It is therefore traditional to visit his tomb on this day.
