Video by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus ______________ This article is part of Ha’Am’s Friday Taste of Torah column. Each week, a different UCLA community member will contribute some words of Jewish wisdom in preparation for Shabbat.
Lag Ba’Omer: holiday of the collective soul
This past weekend, the Jewish nation celebrated Lag Ba’Omer. For the average American Jew, Lag Ba’Omer may be a bit of a mystery — there is no Christian equivalent, it is not commercialized in any way, and pop culture has…
How to build a Lag Ba’Omer bonfire
This Sunday counts the 33rd day of the Omer, or the period between Passover and Shavuot, when the Omer barley offering was brought in the Holy Temple. Lag Ba’Omer, as it is known, derives its name from the Hebrew system…