Lag B'Omer Part 1

I spent Shabbat in Modi'in this week, with good 'ol Moishe, Dena, and Rivka. Of course, shabbat was the 32nd day of the counting of the Omer, a period of counting the days between the festival of Pesach (Passover) and the Festival of Shavuot, as described in last week's Torah portion, Parshat Emor of the book of Vayikrah.

It is also a period of mourning for a plague which struck the students of Rabbi Akiva (the leader of the Jewish people during the Roman Era,) so we take on some of the customs of mourning, including not shaving.

Seeing Moishe's hat and jacket hanging on the wall, I asked if I could give the Breslov look a spin.


Of course, the 33rd of the Omer, L"G (Lag) B'Omer, is a "happy day" celebrating the Yahrtzeit (anniversary of the death of) Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Customs of mourning are suspended, which means we get to shave.

Before

After