Lag B'Omer 4/30/10

Today we spent our session discussing the Holiday of Lag B'Omer which means the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer. Historically, this day commemorates the death of the second century rabbi, Shimon Bar Yochai, the author of the book of the Zohar ( the foundation for Kabbalah). It is also commemorates the end of the plague which killed 24,000 students of the first century Rabbi Akiva.

History teaches that the students of Rabbi Akiva were disrespectful to one another which brought about a plague. The focus of the Lag B'Omer today is to enhance Ahavat Yisrael, or brotherly love, as a response to mistakes these students made. Our art making therefore was interactive today, and the group was split up into pairs in which each person made artwork for the other. We spent the first several minutes answering personal questions including:  happy memories, sharing special people in our lives, favorite holidays and advice for young people.

We chose to paint pictures of fire, particularly bonfires, which reflects the custom for the Lag B'Omer holiday. Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai was nicknamed "The Sacred Lamp" and the light he brought to Torah is supposed to be reflected in these bonfires which can be experienced across Israel and Jewish communities around the world on the day of Lag B'Omer. Some participants needed assistance of an outline of a fire, but were able to execute most of the project alone. Upon completion, we attached a note of what the picture represented along with a kind statement for the recipient of each peice by each artist. This was a great activity for encouraging socializing and focusing on positive memories.