Editing Jewish holidays (section)

====Lag Ba'Omer====
{{Main article|Lag Ba'Omer}}
{{further|Hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai}}
* Lag Ba'Omer: 18 [[Iyar]]
''Lag Ba'Omer'' ({{lang|he|לַ״ג בָּעוֹמֶר}}) is the 33rd day in the Omer count ({{lang|he|לַ״ג}} is the number 33 in Hebrew). By Ashkenazi practice, the semi-mourning observed during the period of Sefirah (see above) is lifted ''on'' Lag Ba'Omer, while Sefardi practice is to lift it ''at the end of'' Lag Ba'Omer.<ref name="sefira" /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beyondbt.com/2012/05/09/mournings-end-understanding-sefira-and-lag-bomer |title=Mourning's End – Understanding Sefira and Lag B'Omer |last=Travis |first=Rabbi Daniel Yaakov |date=April 29, 2010 |access-date=May 2, 2010 |publisher=Beyond BT |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501164650/http://www.beyondbt.com/2012/05/09/mournings-end-understanding-sefira-and-lag-bomer/ |archive-date=May 1, 2013 }}</ref> Minor liturgical changes are made on Lag Ba'omer; because mourning practices are suspended, weddings are often conducted on this day.

Lag Ba'Omer is identified as the ''[[Yom Hillula]] ([[yahrzeit]])'' of [[Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai]], one of the leading ''[[Tannaim]]'' (teachers quoted in the Mishna) and ascribed author of the core text of [[Kabbalah]], the [[Zohar]]. Customary celebrations include bonfires, [[picnic]]s, and bow and arrow play by children.<ref name="peter" /> Boys sometimes receive their first haircuts on Lag Ba'Omer,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jewishmag.com/10mag/israel/israel.htm |title=Meron on Lag B'Omer |last=Rossoff |first=Dovid |access-date=April 28, 2010 |publisher=The Jewish Magazine}}</ref> while Hasidic rebbes hold ''[[Tish (Hasidic celebration)|tish]]es'' in honor of the day.

In Israel, Lag Ba'Omer is associated with the [[Bar Kokhba revolt]] against the Roman Empire. In Zionist thought, the plague that decimated Rabbi Akiva's 24,000 disciples is explained as a veiled reference to the revolt; the 33rd day representing the end of the plague is explained as the day of Bar Kokhba's victory. The traditional bonfires and bow-and-arrow play were thus reinterpreted as celebrations of military victory.<ref name="peter">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1TA-Fg4wBnUC&pg=PA283 |pages=283–286 |title=The Bar Kokhba War Reconsidered: New perspectives on the Second Jewish Revolt against Rome|last=Schäfer|first=Peter|year=2003 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |isbn=3-16-148076-7}}</ref> In this vein, the order originally creating the [[Israel Defense Forces]] was issued on Lag Ba'Omer 1948, 13 days after Israel declared independence.<ref name="Ynet">{{cite news |url=http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3540212,00.html |title=Lag B'Omer |date=May 13, 2008 |access-date=May 5, 2012 |work=[[Ynetnews]]}}</ref>