Low-key Lag B’Omer celebrations kick off at Mount Meron, under heavy shadow of war

26 May 2024, 5:49 am

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A Jewish man blows the shofar near a bonfire during the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer in Meron, northern Israel, May 25, 2024. (David Cohen/Flash90)

The annual Lag B’Omer festivities have begun on Mount Meron in the north in a significantly scaled-down format, under the shadow of war and the threat of Hezbollah fire toward the area.

After police enforced a strict travel ban around the mountain’s holy sites, the Hillula of the 2nd-century sage Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai — typically attended by hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews — is underway with only 30 people allowed to enter at any given time.

According to Hebrew media, three traditional bonfire lightings are taking place — one by the leader of the Boyan Hasidic dynasty Nachum Dov Brayer, one by Chief Rabbi of Jerusalem Shlomo Amar, and one by Chief Rabbi of Safed Shmuel Eliyahu.