In the weeks between Passover and Shavuot, a plague wiped out 24,000 students of the great sage Rabbi Akiva, a result, as the Talmud explains, of their lack of respect for one another. The plague ceased on the 18th of Iyar\u2014the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, or Lag BaOmer. This is one of the reasons we celebrate this day.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, this day marks the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (2nd century CE), a disciple of Rabbi Akiva and one of the most important sages whose teachings on Torah law are recorded in the Mishnah. He is also the author of the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah. On the 18th of Iyar, Rabbi Shimon gathered his disciples and taught them the deepest secrets of Divine wisdom, instructing them to mark this day as "the day of my joy."\"<\/p>\n
It is customary to go out into the countryside, play with bows and arrows, and make bonfires in remembrance of these joyful events.<\/p>\n