Lag BaOmer: A Holiday American Jews Will Never Adopt

If Purim has succumbed to American influence, rest assured that Lag BaOmer is far out of the reach of neurotic Jews in the States.

The origins of Lag BaOmer are unclear, but it is connected with the great sages of Jewish tradition. There was a plague in the time of Rabbi Akiva that killed off 24,000 of his students, and Lag BaOmer was the day it ended. It's also the day one of his best students, Shimon Bar Yochai died.

Israeli children celebrate the holiday by dragging wooden boards, old furniture and anything flammable to bonfire sites and then torching it all, with or without parental supervision. There's usually a grill going at the same time. Also, there are often special campaigns to convince kids to stop throwing live cats and dogs into their fires.

Unsupervised children, unsanded wooden surfaces, kids being out at night alone, fire - the average American insurance policy for this sort of holiday would cost more than all the wood, meat and lighter fluid used in Tel Aviv on the occasion.

The bonfires go up in the countryside and in Kikkar Hamedina, a tiny circular park surrounded by Ralph Lauren, Prada, Gucci and the other flagships of Tel Aviv's upscale shopping district.

I biked to the circle to see how Tel Aviv's classy area would look like with bonfires blazing ten feet apart. I have never seen so many observant Jews in my city of sin. They were giving out yellow "Mashiach" (Messiah) flags and hanging out for the most part in gendered groups.


Foreground: bonfire. Background: the signs of the shops in Kikkar Hamedina.

There was a bewildered-looking woman in a hijab with her husband shooting video of the bonfires. I went over and talked to them - Abdulhamid is an accountant at the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv, and Zainab is his wife. I tried explaining the story of the holiday in Arabic, which was a challenge. They walked off with a "those crazy Jews" expression on their faces.

Abdulhamid and Zainab, two confused Egyptians.

I spent about half an hour trying to get free food from the families who were grilling. At first I played the curious tourist and asked about the holiday. This got me diet coke. Then I went for the direct approach: "Do you need help getting rid of leftovers?" This got me nothing. I decided to keep my dignity and bought grilled meat at the overpriced neighborhood restaurant.

Here, a fire is born.

Kids put the finishing touches on the teepee-shaped bonfire skeleton.


They dump live coals onto the base and fan like hell.


Soon the whole base starts to glow, again with the city lights in the background.


And eventually the whole structure is up in flames, and parents are unruffled.


And the fire rages on unattended.