Lag BaOmer, the 18th of Iyar, marks the anniversary of the passing of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar, who asked that the day be one of celebration.
It also recalls the end of a plague among the students of Rabbi Akiva in the weeks between Passover and Shavuot. Its name comes from its place in the Omer count: “Lag” is the number 33 in Hebrew letters.
