Lag B'Omer
The 33rd day of the Omer, a joyous break in the semi-mourning period between Passover and Shavuot.
Lag B'Omer falls on 18 Iyar in the Hebrew calendar, the 33rd day of the Omer count, usually in May and occasionally in late April.
When Is Lag B'Omer?
Lag B'Omer falls on 18 Iyar in the Hebrew calendar, the 33rd day of the Omer count, usually in May and occasionally in late April.
Because the Gregorian date changes from year to year, check a calendar published by the tradition or your local community for this year's date.
Why It Matters
Lag B'Omer is traditionally observed as the yahrzeit of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the sage to whom tradition attributes the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah. It also commemorates a pause in the plague that killed Rabbi Akiva's students.
How It Is Observed
Bonfires across Jewish communities worldwide, first haircuts (upsherin) for three-year-old boys, haircuts for those who refrained during the Omer, archery, weddings, pilgrimages to Rabbi Shimon's tomb at Meron in the Galilee.
Sacred Text
“Come and see: when the Holy One, blessed be He, created the world, He looked into the Torah and created it.”
, Zohar 2:161a (Terumah) ↗