Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

OCALA—Chabad-Lubavitch Jewish Center of Marion County and The Villages is hosting a communitywide celebration, featuring a barbecue, music, magic show, pony rides and petting zoo from 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 28 at the Chabad Jewish Center, 3500 SW 34th Ave. The event, open to the public, will mark the observance of the Jewish holiday of Lag B’Omer, which is traditionally commemorated by large outdoor celebrations and bonfires, which harbor spiritual significance. Chabad-Lubavitch, the largest Jewish outreach organization in the world, is hosting thousands of similar Lag B’Omer celebrations in cities across the globe. The celebrations all share a common theme: Jewish Unity.Lag B’Omer marks the passing nearly 2,000 years ago of the great Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. He is best known as the author of the Zohar, the fundamental text of the Jewish mystical tradition, the Kabbalah. On the day of his passing, Shimon instructed his disciples to mark the date as “the day of my joy.” The holiday also marks the end of a tragic epidemic, which killed 24,000 students of the great Talmudic sage Rabbi Akiva, who served as Shimon’s teacher. On Lag B’Omer the dying ceased. Thus Lag B’Omer also carries the theme of Ahavat Yisrael, the imperative to love and respect one’s fellow.

Lag B’Omer is literally translated as the 33rd day of the Omer, a period of seven weeks between Passover, which commemorates the Jewish people’s Exodus from Egypt, and Shavout, which commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments.

For more information on the Chabad Jewish Center of Marion County’s Lag B’Omer festivities or on the holiday of Lag B’Omer and its observances, contact Rabbi Yossi or Chanie  at:

352-291-2218, email info@JewishMarion.org or visit our website at www.JewishMarion.org.