London firefighters scold British synagogue for lighting holiday bonfire indoors
(JTA) — London’s fire and rescue service gave a statement reminding Jewish congregations to keep holiday bonfires outdoors after the city’s Jewish News outlet shared video of a synagogue celebrating Lag B’Omer with an indoor fire last week.
The video showed a fire raging inside Beis Medrash Beis Shmuel, a haredi Orthodox synagogue in Golders Green, a heavily Jewish neighborhood of London.
FLAMING MORONS – Golders Green synagogue holds Lag BaOmer bonfire celebration INDOORS due to rain.
— Jewish News (@JewishNewsUK) May 16, 2023
Flames three-feet high, lit by Rabbi Moshe Halpern, brother of Rabbi Chaim Halpern, soar inside the main Charedi synagogue in Golders Green as dozens of children watch on. pic.twitter.com/XvMM34C1al
The congregation purportedly started the fire indoors because of rainy local conditions on the holiday.
Under traditional Jewish law, Lag B’Omer is the one day in the mourning period between Passover (often in April) and Shavuot (often in late May or early June) on which observant Jews can do certain things such as get a haircut or hold weddings. Bonfires are often used to mark the celebratory day.
“Though we are keen to see communities enjoying the festival of Lag b’Omer, we don’t want to see anyone harmed as a result. You should never build a bonfire indoors,” the London Fire Brigade told the Jewish News. “It’s easy for fires to quickly spread out of control, putting properties and people’s lives at risk.”
This article originally appeared on JTA.org.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning journalism this Passover.
In this age of misinformation, our work is needed like never before. We report on the news that matters most to American Jews, driven by truth, not ideology.
At a time when newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall. That means for the first time in our 126-year history, Forward journalism is free to everyone, everywhere. With an ongoing war, rising antisemitism, and a flood of disinformation that may affect the upcoming election, we believe that free and open access to Jewish journalism is imperative.
Readers like you make it all possible. Today is the last day of our Passover Pledge Drive and we still need you to step up and make a gift to sustain our trustworthy, independent journalism.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
Today is the last day to contribute.