Hundreds of Odessa Jews celebrated Lag b’Omer under guard in the city’s first large Jewish gathering since deadly riots there two weeks ago. The participants gathered near the city’s Chabad Jewish school on Saturday evening for a bonfire accompanied by song and dances while a dozen guards secured the perimeter, according to Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein,…
Growing up, the only thing that Lag Ba’Omer signified was a time for bonfires. In the New York suburbs the closet we got was barbeques, which for me meant an opportunity to eat watermelon. Barbeques were never particularly exciting to me, and when I got older and became a vegetarian, they held even less appeal….
What do you get when you combine 1300 lbs of brisket, a 20 ft smoker and BBQ rig and a brilliant mind well versed in Texas BBQ recipes? May I present to you, the new kosher travelling hot spot in NYC: Hakadosh BBQ. Ari White, founder and owner of Hakadosh BBQ is the brainchild behind…
Bonfires lit throughout Israel in honor of Lag b’Omer burned out of control, as thousands remained stranded in Meron after celebrating at the gravesite of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Hot, dry and windy conditions in Israel contributed to several heat-wave related fires burning out of control. Eleven people were injured at Maasiyahu Prison in central…
Bah humbug, it’s Lag B’Omer. I’m usually game for Israel’s national and religious holidays, eating the correct patisserie items on the correct days (honey and cheese cake on Rosh Hashanah and Shavuot respectively), sweating in a succah on Succot, and even finding a certain comfort in the melancholy of the Fast of Av. But I’m…
On April 28, Jews will light bonfires and celebrate Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer. For many, Lag B’Omer is a joyous respite from the customary mourning between Passover and Shavuot. But neither the festivities of the day, nor the sobriety of the seven weeks, have their origins in any…
Soon it will be Lag B’Omer, or didn’t you know? If you’re like me, you didn’t. Not a clue. After all, this is not a front-of-the-pack holiday. (“Lag” is right there in the name.) But it’s a holiday with a very cool history and one enduring quirk. Historywise, it celebrates a pause in a plague….
Video: Nate Lavey A year and a half after the ouster of Tunisian dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the president of the Tunisian Jewish community is wistful for the one-party government that ruled the country for decades. “You cannot find a better government than what we had,” said Roger Bismuth, who has held the…
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