A Message from Us

Hello from the Dead Sea — and a Happy Lag B’Omer!

If you happen to find yourself in Israel this evening, you may notice something rather magical: a faint haze of woodsmoke drifting across every neighbourhood, every park, and every hillside in the country. This is Lag B’Omer — and it is, quite possibly, the most enthusiastically celebrated children’s holiday of the Jewish calendar.

Lag B’Omer falls on the 33rd day of the Omer, the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot. Its origins are wrapped in centuries-old tradition, commemorating the end of a plague in the time of Rabbi Akiva and honouring the life of the great mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. But for the children of Israel, the holiday means one thing, and one thing only: bonfires.

Preparations begin weeks in advance. Children scour their neighbourhoods for any scrap of wood that isn’t nailed down (and occasionally some that is), guarding their hoards with the seriousness of seasoned quartermasters. By the time the festival arrives, every open space is dotted with crackling fires, the smell of roasted potatoes fills the air, and small faces glow in the firelight long past bedtime.

Here in the Tamar region, our skies are wide and our horizons clear — and on Lag B’Omer evening, you can see the bonfires twinkling for miles across the desert.

Wishing you all a chag sameach from the Dead Sea!