Between the second day of Pesach and the day before Shavuot, the Torah asks us to count each of these forty-nine days that the Omer (barley) offering was brought in the Temple. An Omer is a unit of measurement which is sometimes used to mean “sheaf” (i.e. a quantity of grain large enough to require binding).

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After the Children of Israel entered the promised land, the Omer was defined by tense anticipation for the crucial, and fragile, wheat crop. Over time, further layers of meaning developed, all interconnected.

The first talmudic passage below contains the origin of the period's traditional mourning practices – no shaving, weddings, etc – and the following ones points to the emergence of the mystical hero, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai (also known by his acronym, Rashbi).

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Lag B'Omer is the thirty-third day of the Omer ("Lag" means 33). According to tradition, this is the day that R' Akiva's first wave of students stopped dying (see below) and it is also the day that R' Akiva's later student, Rashbi, passed away, in Meron, a village near Tzfat (Sefat) in the Galilee. 

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Who was Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and what are we celebrating?

• R' Shimon Bar Yochai was a 2nd-century tannaitic sage in ancient Israel, in the period following the destruction of the Second Temple.

• He wrote or contributed to many key early works of Jewish law (Halachah) and is often quoted in the Mishnah (the first code of Jewish law and foundation of rabbinic Judaism).

• He studied in the great academies of Yavneh, founded by R' Yochanan ben Zakkai, and Bnei Brak, led by R' Akiva – his principle teacher, who was murdered by the Romans for his faith.

• The Talmud relates that after the initial 12,000 pairs of R' Akiva's students died, R' Shimon was part of a small group of students to whom R' Akiva transmitted his teachings.

• Later in life, he founded an academy in the town of Tekoa whose students included R' Yehudah HaNassi, who compiled the Mishnah.

• Rabbi Shimon and his students are the primary protagonists and teachers in the central work of Kabbalah or Jewish mysticism, the Zohar ('Radiance' or 'Splendor')

• This day is observed by many as a Yom Hillula, a day of celebration, and hundreds of thousands of Jews make a pilgrimage to his grave to pray, celebrate and light bonfires.

• The bonfires are said by some to represent the inner light of the spiritual Torah, which Rashbi brought to the world.

• Whereas Shavuot, which follows the entire Omer period, is a celebration of the revealed Torah, Lag B'Omer is an opportunity to connect with, and appreciate our mystical tradition.

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This subject is explored in depth in the Kabbalah Through the Calendar course.