Today is Lag B’Omer, the 33rd day of the counting of the omer, from Passover to Shavuot. It is a celebration, the hillula of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a Talmudic rabbi and leading disciple of Rabbi Akiva in the 2nd century CE. Or maybe it is his yarzeit, the anniversary of his death.

How is celebration connected to mourning? I think of the Psalm for the Dedication of the Temple, Psalm 30 which we read every week in synagogue.

“To you, Lord, I called;
to the Lord I cried for mercy:
“What is gained if I am silenced,
if I go down to the pit?
Will the dust praise You?
Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
Hear, Lord, and be merciful to me;
Lord, be my help.”
You turned my wailing into dancing;
You removed my sackcloth and robed me with joy,
that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will praise you forever.

That is what Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai did. In the midst of the Roman occupation, where the study of Torah was forbidden, he found a way to continue to teach Torah. His students would pack a picnic and go out of Jerusalem as though on an outing. They would sit in a cave and study Torah. In that way he lived out the verse that there would be no value if his voice was silenced. In that way, his mourning was turned to joy and his wailing to dancing.

Each of us, has an opportunity to do precisely that. When Rabbi Harold Kushner wrote his seminal book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People, the title was not why bad things happen. Sometimes there is no explanation. The question becomes how do we respond. Each of us has bad things that happen to us. The challenge is to find balance, to find meaning so that slowly over time we can turn our mourning to joy and we can continue to praise G-d. It is isn’t easy.

There are a number of ways Lag B’Omer has been celebrated.With pilgrimages to the tomb of Bar Yochai in northern Israel. With bonfires. And singing. With bows and arrows. With weddings and haircuts.

In 1942 there was a most miraculous celebration of Lag B’Omer in the shadow of the pyramids. The Jewish Palestinian soldiers (this was before Israel was a state!) conscripted by England and serving in Northern Africa, gathered to light a Lag B’Omer bonfire. They sang Israeli folk songs and danced into the wee hours of the mourning. A fascinating eyewitness account of this event can be read here: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/15019#.U3oYAcbxUy4

Every year, in Tunisia, Lag B’Omer is celebrated with a festive procession to the El Ghriba synagogue, one of the oldest in Africa. It brings hundreds of Jews and Israelis to Tunisia. Earlier in the year Norwegian Cruise Lines cancelled stops at ports in Tunisia after Tunisia denied entry to 20 Israelis. Pilgrims from Israel traditionally until this year entered the country on special visas issued by Tunisia in advance since Tunisia does not have diplomatic relations with Israel. This year it has flipped flopped on whether Israelis can enter on their own Israeli passports or need a special visa. The minister of tourism has said that Tunisia needs this event to be successful so the tourism season is successful. Others questioned whether there should be diplomatic ties with Israel. So much for the promise of an Arab Spring.

I learned for the first time about an ancient tradition for Lag B’omer. Some have a tradition of giving chai rotel at the grave of Shimon bar Yochai. 18 measures of liquid. It is believed that if you donate 18 “rotel”, about 54 liters, then the giver will be granted miraculous salvation. At the grave this is liquid refreshment, grape, juice, wine, soda or even water.

At Congregation Kneseth Israel we knew it would be Lag B’Omer, the last day of religious school and our semi-annual blood drive. The children would complete making their own Torah scrolls that they had been working on all year, with the phrase, “Pekuach nefesh” to save a life. The 6th and 7th graders finished their wimples, using their personal verses from the Ashrei and tying (pun intended) their studying of baby naming/bris traditions to their upcoming B’nei Mitzvah where they may use their wimples as a Torah tie. We dedicated a tree to a teacher who has been teaching with us for 25 years. We had a hot dog lunch for tzedakah. We had a child naming. Our building was full. It was filled with joy. And songs of praise. There was no mourning.

And the blood drive?  Heartland Blood Centers collected 18 pints of blood. I am told that each pint saves at least 3 lives: 54 lives. What better way to celebrate Lag B’Omer!