Laurie & Joe Brofsky - Hewlett E. Rockaway Jewish Center

holidays
LAG B’OMER HIKE & PICNIC
SUNDAY, MAY 22, 10:30 AM AT MASSAPEQUA STATE PARK
We will meet there, take a nice leisurely hike led by Shari Zagorski and then
everyone is welcome to stay and picnic. Please bring your own food!
Massapequa Preserve is 423 undeveloped acres of woodlands, ponds, lakes and freshwater wetlands with hundreds of
species of plants and animals. We will do a hike on the wooded trails. The terrain is very flat, but because of the roots, boots
(or good footwear) are recommended.
Directions to meeting point (Brady Park, Massapequa Park): Approximately 2 miles east of Rte 135; From NY 27 (Sunrise
Hwy), take Park Blvd north under Massapequa Park LIRR station, then immediate left onto Front Street; go 4 blocks west to Lake
Shore Drive, then right on Lake Shore Drive to Brady Park (on left), 1/2 block ahead. Park in lot or on street, and meet at
parking lot next to small building (restrooms available). MAP IT: http://maps.google.com
Questions Email sharimit@yahoo.com or call Shari at 678-7460.
LAG B’OMER
Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer (the 49 days counted be tween Pesach and Shavuot), which this year falls on
May 22. Having no calendar, the Jews of ancient times counted the days from the second day of Pesach (the start of the
cereal harvest) until Shavuot, when they would gather the harvest. Lag B’Omer is a solitary joyous day in this solemn
period of the Jewish calendar, when so much Jewish persecution is remembered. On this day, we remem ber the miraculous
cessation of a terrible plague that raged among Rabbi Akiva’s students.
The yahrzeit of Simeon Bar Yohai, a great Jewish scholar who hid
in a cave, living off carob and spring water when the Romans forbade the
study of Torah, is also comme morated. When his students came to visit
him, they disguised themselves as hunters with bows and arrows, hence
the bows and arrows children play with on Lag B’Omer today. We also
remember the amazing determination and bravery of Bar Kochba and his
small, ill-equipped Jewish army in withstanding the mighty Roman army
for three long years.
In most countries, Lag B’Omer is celebrated with picnics, field days
and games of skill. In Israel, many Jews visit the grave of Rabbi Simeon
Bar Yohai in Meron. Bonfires are lit and there is singing and dancing
throughout the night because Rabbi Bar Yohai requested that his followers
celebrate, rather than mourn, his death. The bonfires also remind us
that the torch of Jewish learning continues to burn, despite cruel persecutions
by tyrants throughout the centuries.
page 10 MAY/JUNE 2011 www.herjc.org HAKOL