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Burn Baby, Burn

Lag BaOmer, is a Jewish holiday celebrated on the thirty-third day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. According to the Talmud and Midrash, this day marks the hillula (anniversary of death) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a Mishnaic sage and leading disciple of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century, and the day on which he revealed the deepest secrets of kabbalah in the form of the Zohar, a landmark text of Jewish mysticism. In modern Israel,  Lag BaOmer is a nationalist holiday, connecting it to the Bar Kokhba revolt against the Roman Empire. As part of the celebration it is customary to set up bonfires that in relation to the Bar Kokhba revolt represents the way the rebellions communicated.

 

Bnei Brak is a city near Tel-Aviv that the majority of its population is of orthodox Jews. throughout the city there are many bonfires scattered from small to huge sizes. In the Hasidic temples a small fire is set up and a Tish is being held.

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