Lag b'Omer

Lag b'Omer is a minor Jewish holiday whose name refers to the 33rd day of the "Counting of the Omer," which refers to the seven weeks from the second night of Passover to the day before Shavuot.

This counting is a reminder of the link between Passover, which commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt, and Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai.

The 33rd day of the Omer, which falls on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar (usually sometime in May), marks a day of rejoicing because a plague that had killed many students of Rabbi Akiva (40-123 CE) did not do so on this particular day.

Today in Israel it is a tradition to hold bonfires and picnics on Lag b'Omer. Many also visit the burial place at Meron of the Jewish sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who died on this day.