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Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai | |
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![]() Dancing in the yard of the tomb, 2016 | |
Observed by | Jews |
Significance | Anniversary of death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai |
Celebrations | Lighting of a bonfire, mass dances |
Date | 18 Iyar |
2023 date | Sunset, 8 May – nightfall, 9 May |
2024 date | Sunset, 25 May – nightfall, 26 May |
2025 date | Sunset, 15 May – nightfall, 16 May |
Frequency | Annual |
Related to | Lag BaOmer |
Every year on Lag BaOmer , some 200,000 people flock to the 'Yom Hillula' (day of rejoicing) at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, Israel. [1] The highlight of the event is the traditional bonfire lit after nightfall on the roof of the tomb, after which celebration with music and dancing begins. From the 13th century onwards, the site became the most popular Jewish pilgrimage site in all of Israel, [2] the celebration first being mentioned by an Italian traveller in 1322. [3] Today it forms the largest mass annual event in Israel.
According to the Idra Zuta , one of the works printed together with the Zohar, when Shimon bar Yochai died, a divine voice called for the occasion to be celebrated as a feast. [4]
Neither the Chazal nor the Rishonim mention that the date of his death was Lag Baomer. [5] The source for this idea appears to be a passage by Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, which read שמחת רשב"י "the celebration of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai" but was mistaken printed as שמת רשב"י "when Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai died" - a difference of one letter. [5] The actual origin of kabbalistic traditions of visiting Meron on any of several dates in the month of Iyar date to the Middle Ages; but it is not clear when, by whom, or in what way Lag baOmer was first connected to Shimon bar Yochai. [5]
The most well-known custom of Lag BaOmer is the lighting of bonfires. The custom symbolises the "spiritual light" brought in to the world by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, to whom the Zohar is ascribed. At the tomb of Rabbi Shimon, the honour of lighting the main bonfire traditionally goes to the Rebbes of the Boyaner dynasty. This privilege was purchased by Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman of Sadigura from the Sephardi guardians of Meron and Safed. He bequeathed the honour to his eldest son, Rabbi Yitzchok Friedman of Boyan and his progeny. [6] The first hadlakah (lighting) is attended by hundreds of thousands of people annually; in 2001, the crowd was estimated at 300,000. [7] In 2018, 18 different Hassidic Rebbes took turns leading the festivities surrounded by their followers. [8]
An account published in 1848 describes how vast numbers of Jews would arrive at the tomb to celebrate the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon's death. It relates that over the tombs of each of the three rabbis buried in the compound was a cupola and a pillar about 3 ft high which had a hollow scooped out which would hold about 80 pints of oil each. The privilege to set the oil ablaze was sold to the highest bidder, who would use a "costly shawl or richly ornamented dress" to ignite it. "The Jews remain here for 3 days and nights, praying, and reading, and feasting. The money thus obtained, which amounts to a large sum, is employed to keep the building in repair." [9]
A custom observed during the Hillula is the free distribution of drinks. According to Taamei HaMinhagim, it is a segula (propitious practice) to distribute chai rotel (Hebrew : ח״י רוטל), a liquid measure of about 54 liters. The Hebrew word chai is the numerical equivalent of 18. Rotel is a liquid measure of about 3 liters. Thus, 18 rotels equals 54 liters (about 13 gallons). It is popularly believed that if one donates or offers 18 rotels of liquid refreshment (grape juice, wine, soda or even water) to those attending the celebrations at bar Yochai's tomb on Lag BaOmer, then the giver will be granted miraculous salvation. [10] This practice was endorsed by Obadiah of Bertinoro [11] and Isaiah Horowitz. [12] The Bobover Rebbe, Ben Zion Halberstam, sent a letter from Poland to his Hasidim in Israel asking them to donate chai rotel in Meron on this holy day on behalf of a couple that did not have children. [12] Several local organizations solicit donations of chai rotel and hand out the drinks on the donor's behalf in Meron on Lag BaOmer. Nine months after Lag BaOmer, the Ohel Rashbi organization even invites couples who prayed at the tomb and had a child to come back to Meron to celebrate the births. [11]
It is customary at the Meron celebrations, dating from the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria, that three-year-old boys be given their first haircuts ( upsherin ), while their parents distribute wine and sweets. Similar upsherin celebrations are simultaneously held in Jerusalem at the grave of Shimon Hatzaddik for Jerusalemites who cannot travel to Meron. [13]
In a tradition started in 1833, on the afternoon preceding Lag Baomer, a Torah scroll belonging to the descendants of Rabbi Shmuel Abu is carried on foot from their home in Safed to the tomb. [8]
The gathering has been described as a display of Jewish unity, with all different types of Jews attending, Ashkenazim and Sephardim, religious and secular. [14]
In 2018, the crowd was estimated in excess of 250,000 [15] with 5,000 police officers deployed. The event was allocated $4m in funding by the Ministry for Religious Affairs. [8] Organizers said they would be supplying 100,000 liters of cold water and juice and offering parve food which they claimed most pilgrims preferred, (half of the 500 litres of prepared cholent was meatless). [8]
Various government bodies, such as the Ministry of Religions and the Israel Police, prepare for it while investing resources in maintaining order at the event and facilitating traffic to the site. An extensive array of thousands of shuttles is used with more than 1,000 buses bringing the celebrants from all over Israel, making it the largest annual public transportation event in Israel.[ citation needed ]
A 2008 report by the State Comptroller of Israel deemed the site inadequate to cater for the large number of annual visitors [16] [17] and a 2016 police report warned of issues with infrastructure and crowd control. [18] An attempt by the state to take control over the site in 2011 to address health and safety concerns [19] was met with anger by the private trusts operating the site and a court approved settlement in 2020 ruled that control would remain with the owners. [20]
Every year, many people are injured due to over-crowding. On 15 May 1911, a crowd of about 10,000 filled the compound. A railing of a nearby balcony collapsed with about 100 people falling from a height of roughly 7 metres (23 ft) to the ground, resulting in the deaths of 11 people and 40 injured. [21] [22] On 30 April 2021, with about 100,000 people in attendance, a deadly crush occurred in which 45 people were killed and more than 150 injured.
Shimon bar Yochai or Shimon ben Yochai, also known by the acronym Rashbi, was a 2nd-century tanna or sage of the period of Roman Judaea and early Syria Palaestina. He was one of the most eminent disciples of Rabbi Akiva. The Zohar, a 13th-century foundational work of Kabbalah, is ascribed to him by Kabbalistic tradition.
Counting of the Omer is a ritual in Judaism. It consists of a verbal counting of each of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. The period of 49 days is known as the "omer period" or simply as "the omer" or "sefirah".
Lag BaOmer, also Lag B'Omer or Lag LaOmer, is a Jewish religious holiday celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar.
Upsherin, Upsheren, Opsherin or Upsherinish is a first haircut ceremony observed by a wide cross-section of Jews and is particularly popular in Haredi Judaism. It is typically held when a boy turns three years old.
Meron is a moshav in northern Israel. Located on the slopes of Mount Meron in the Upper Galilee near Safed, it falls under the jurisdiction of Merom HaGalil Regional Council.
Boyan is a Hasidic dynasty named after the town of Boiany in the historic region of Bukovina, now in Ukraine. The Hasidut is headquartered in Jerusalem, with communities in Beitar Ilit, Bnei Brak, Manchester, Australia, Beit Shemesh, London, Antwerp, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles, Monsey, Lakewood, and Atlanta. Boyan is one of the branches of the Ruzhiner dynasty, together with Bohush, Chortkov, Husiatyn, Sadigura, Kapishnitz, Vaslui and Shtefanesht.
Sadigura is a Hasidic dynasty named for the city of Sadhora, Bukovina, which was part of the Austrian Empire. The dynasty began in 1850 with Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman, a son of Rabbi Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhyn, and was based in Sadigura until 1914. During the interwar period the dynasty was led by rebbes in Vienna and Przemyśl, Poland, and just before World War II moved to Israel.
Ohel is a structure built around a Jewish grave as a sign of prominence of the deceased. Ohelim cover the graves of some Hasidic Rebbes, important rabbis, tzadikim, prominent Jewish community leaders, and biblical figures. Typically a small masonry building, an ohel may include room for visitors to pray, meditate, and light candles in honor of the deceased.
Mount Meron is a mountain in the Upper Galilee region of Israel. It has special significance in Jewish religious tradition and parts of it have been declared a nature reserve. At 1,204 metres (3,950 ft) above sea level, Mount Meron is the highest peak in Israel within the Green Line, though many peaks in the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon, which was annexed by Israel in 1981, are higher.
A Yom Hillula is another word for yahrzeit. However, it differs from a regular yahrzeit in two respects. It refers specifically to the yahrzeit of a great tzaddik who taught Kabbalah and/or Chassidus, and unlike a regular yahrzeit, which is marked with sadness and even fasting, a Yom Hillula is commemorated specifically through simcha (joy), and festive celebration. This term is most often used in Hasidic circles to refer to the day of the death of Hasidic Rebbes.
Meiron was a Palestinian village, located 5 kilometers (3.1 mi) west of Safad. Associated with the ancient Canaanite city of Merom, excavations at the site have found extensive remains from the Hellenistic and Early Roman periods. The remains include a 3rd-century synagogue, and Meiron served as a prominent local religious centre at the time.
Nachum Dov Brayer is the Rebbe of the Boyan Hasidic dynasty. He is the grandson of the former Boyaner Rebbe of New York, Rabbi Mordechai Shlomo Friedman. On Hanukkah 1984, at the age of 25, he was crowned Boyaner Rebbe. He lives in Jerusalem.
Mordechai Shlomo Friedman, sometimes called Solomon Mordecai Friedman, was the Boyaner Rebbe of New York for over 40 years. In 1927 he left Europe to become one of the first Hasidic Rebbes in America, establishing his court on the Lower East Side of New York City and attracting many American Jewish youth with his charismatic and warm personality. He also played a role in American Jewish leadership with positions on Agudath Israel of America, the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah, and Holocaust rescue organizations. In 1957 he built the flagship Ruzhiner yeshiva, Tiferet Yisroel, at the top of Malkhei Yisrael Street in Jerusalem.
A segula is protective or benevolent incantation or ritual in Kabbalistic and Talmudic tradition.
Avrohom Yaakov Friedman was the first Rebbe of the Sadigura Hasidic dynasty. He lived in the palatial home constructed by his father, Rabbi Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhyn, who fled to the Austrian town of Sadhora due to persecution by the Russian Tsar. He maintained his father's extravagant lifestyle while immersing himself in Torah study and mysticism. He was considered the greatest Rebbe of his era, attracting hundreds of thousands of Jews as well as prominent Christian leaders to his court.
"Bar Yochai" is a kabbalistic piyyut extolling the spiritual attainments of Simeon bar Yochai, the purported author of the preeminent kabbalistic work, the Zohar. Composed in the 16th century by Rabbi Shimon Lavi, a Sephardi Hakham and kabbalist in Tripoli, Libya, it is the most prominent and popular kabbalistic hymn, being sung by Jewish communities around the world. The hymn is sung by Sephardi and Ashkenazi Jews alike on Lag BaOmer, the Yom Hillula of bar Yochai, and is also sung during synagogue services and at the Shabbat evening meal by certain groups. Incorporating expressions from the Tanakh, rabbinical commentaries, and the Zohar, the hymn displays its author's own mastery of Torah and kabbalah. According to Isaac Ratzabi, the song's use of "bar Yochai" is the probable reason for "bar Yochai"'s modern ubiquity.
Congregation Aish Kodesh is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in Woodmere, Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, in the United States.
Shimon Lavi was a Sephardi Hakham, kabbalist, physician, astronomer, and poet. He is credited with the founding of religious institutions and the revival of Torah study in Tripoli, Libya, in the mid-sixteenth century, where he served as spiritual leader and dayan for more than three decades. He authored a commentary on the Zohar titled Ketem Paz and the piyyut, "Bar Yochai", a kabbalistic hymn which became widely popular in the Jewish world. Libyan Jews consider him their greatest scholar.
On 30 April 2021, at about 00:45 IDT (UTC+3), a deadly crowd crush occurred on Mount Meron, Israel, during the annual pilgrimage to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai on the Jewish holiday of Lag BaOmer, at which it was estimated that 100,000 people were in attendance. Forty-five men and boys at the event were killed, and about 150 were injured, dozens of them critically, making it the deadliest civil disaster in the history of the State of Israel. The crush occurred after celebrants poured out of one section of the mountainside compound, down a passageway with a sloping metal floor wet with spilled drinks, leading to a staircase continuing down. Witnesses say that people tripped and slipped near the top of the stairs. Those behind, unaware of the blockage ahead, continued. The people further down were trampled over, crushed, and asphyxiated by compression, calling out that they could not breathe.
The tomb of Shimon bar Yochai, or Kever Rashbi, on Mount Meron is the traditional burial place of the 2nd-century Mishnaic rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. A place of pilgrimage since the late 15th century, it is today the second-most-visited Jewish site in the world after the Western Wall with as many as two million annual visitors.
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