Clergy Blog

Dear Friends,

What holiday practices do you cherish most? Family meals with relatives you rarely see? Hanukah candles? Kids returning with the afikomen and wide grins? Or perhaps, a BBQ?

We typically associate grilling with July 4 and Memorial Day. Yet it's also connected to a sacred day on the Hebrew calendar—today, Lag Ba'omer. Each year, Jews worldwide celebrate with bonfires and BBQs (among other beautiful traditions).

Why all this fire? The rabbis teach us that today is the hilula—the death anniversary of the third-century mystic Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, who wished for the date of his passing to be celebrated. Bar Yohai brought immense spiritual light through his Torah wisdom. On the date of his death, his home reportedly filled with such intense light that students couldn't approach him. Our fires today celebrate that light of Torah.

Lag Ba'omer carries a message of hope. Tradition tells us that during the first 32 days of the omer (Lag Ba'omer literally means "33 days of the omer"), there was either a plague that wiped out thousands of sages, or a military slaughter during the Bar Kochba revolt. On the 33rd day, depending on the story, the plague either stopped or there was a particular day of triumph over the Romans. Lag Ba'omer reminds us that even in darkness, when odds seem impossible, we will find life again.

This week, the release of Edan Alexander brought light amid our people's darkness. On this day of light, we pray he and his family find healing after their ordeal. We must spread his testimony about Hamas' brutality while continuing to fight for the remaining hostages, the dismantling of Hamas, and ultimately a time when Palestinians and Israelis live together in safety, dignity, and peace.

When we trust in the wisdom of Torah, the light of our traditions, the strength of the Jewish spirit, and the perseverance of our people, hope endures, and we will find life anew.

Shabbat shalom,

Dave