On the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar (Thursday evening, May 15th to Friday evening, May 16th, 2025), Jews around the world will be celebrating the holiday of Lag La’Omer. The name “Lag La’Omer” is due to the day being the Lamed-Gimmel, or 33rd, day of the 49 days of counting of the Omer between the two major Jewish holidays of Pesach and Shavu’ot. 

While there are a number of causes for celebration on Lag La’Omer, there are two that drive the day more than any other: The more traditional basis for joy is that Lag La’Omer marks the day that the disciples of the great Tannaic sage Rabbi Akiva ceased to perish. Though Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 disciples were sages themselves, they shared a dire character flaw of not valuing one another, and were struck down for it. The second major reason for festivities on Lag La’Omer is that it is the day that Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai, himself a later disciple of Rabbi Akiva, was allowed to release a spiritual light into the world that had been hitherto repressed, as well as reveal deep kabbalistic teachings. To commemorate this luminous spiritual revelation, many Jews light bonfires, with some in America and Israel drawing crowds in the tens of thousands. May we all treat each other with respect and dignity, no matter whether we hail from America, Israel, or the hills of Eastern Uganda, and be uplifted by the spiritual enlightenment Lag La’Omer has to offer.