Log B'Omer

May 23, 2008

This morning I woke up to the smell of burnt out bon-fires all around Jerusalem. Last night was Log B’omer and it is customary to have a bon fire. Log B’omer signifies the end of the Omer, which is a time of grieving for all of Rabbi Akiva’s students. Rabbi Akiva had 24,000 students. He taught them about Torah and how to be a good Jew. There was a plague outbreak because none of the students were practicing mitzvot. Students died everyday for 33 days. No one died on the 33rd day because the students started practicing miztvot. Men don’t cut their hair from the start of the Omer (Passover) until the end of the Omer because they are remembering all who died during the plague (in Jewish tradition, you don’t cut your hair when grieving for a lost one).