COLUMNS Lag B’Omer-Joy in the Journey

A man sitting on the deck of a boat reaches into his toolbox, pulls out a drill, and proceeds to bore a hole in the hull. Suddenly, the people sitting next to him begin to shout, “Stop! What are you doing?”

“I’m drilling a hole,” the man says. “I can do what I want. Why is it any of your business?”

“Are you kidding? We’re all together on this boat!” They exclaim. “You may think you’re only making a hole under your own seat, but because of your actions, we are all going to sink!”

This famous parable reminds us that our personal choices have ripple effects, consequences that affect others. Though we may think we can be self-sufficient, in fact, we are interconnected. As such, we must be respectful in our dealings with others, and always aware of our responsibility to treat people fairly, in our pursuit of a just and moral society.

Do you remember the character of the Count, the Dracula-like figure on Sesame Street who loved to enumerate? If the Count were Jewish, he would love this time of year, for we Jews are currently in the middle of counting the Omer. This is a daily practice intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the exodus from Egypt, and Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. The counting of the Omer brings home the notion that our redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah and became a holy people.

The Talmud recounts that the students of Rabbi Akiva died in a plague during this season because they did not give each other proper respect. Rabbinic sources attested that the plague ended on Lag B’Omer–the thirty-third day of the Omer. By Lag B’Omer, the thirty-third day of this counting period, the Jews began to treat each other with kindness and humility, and the plague receded. For this reason, Lag B’Omer is a happy occasion for Jews all over the world, who are permitted to celebrate anew with weddings, music, and outings. Families and neighbors gather together around bonfires, barbecues, and picnics, uniting to enjoy a day of community and camaraderie in a celebration of Jewish history.

In modern day Israel, this day has morphed into one that’s celebrated with barbecues. We must not forget, however, that the Omer is also a semi-mourning period, commemorating the many thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students who died via plague so long ago. Although they were brilliant scholars, they perished because they did not treat each other with the appropriate respect granted to men of their station.

The Israeli mountain-town of Meron turns