Prof. Yael Zerubavel
What REALLY Happened on Lag Ba’Omer: The Multiple Traditions of Lag Ba’Omer—A Jewish-Israeli View (Zoom Only)

Part of our “What REALLY Happened on…” series

Lag Ba’Omer (the 33rd day of the counting of the omer from Passover to Shavu’ot) first appeared in the Middle Ages as a fairly obscure holiday connected to Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Much later, Zionist interpretation linked it to the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman empire (132-135 C.E). The revolt ended in catastrophic destruction and the rabbis of that time and thereafter treated Bar Kokhba with great ambivalence, but the Zionist movement valorized him as a hero of national liberation and gave rise to new lore. This minor holiday thus offers a fascinating case study of transforming traditions, the reshaping of Jewish memory, and the coexistence of various ritual traditions in contemporary Israel.

This program will not be recorded.

Thursday, May 16 @ 5–6:30pm; FREE

Image: Coins minted during the Bar Kokhba Revolt