Minor Festivals

Yebamot 62b states that 24,000 of Rabbi Akiba's students died from a plague, because they did not show proper respect to one another. Lag La’Omer is the day that the plague ended.

Others say that the students were killed in the Bar Kokhba revolt; the plague being the Romans. Lag La'Omer marks a temporary Jewish victory over the Romans, and the holiday is a symbol of the struggle for national liberation.

The day is the anniversary of the death of Shimon bar Yohai, author of the Zohar.

Section	Pizmon	Page	Song	Commentary	Recordings	Application
Baqashot	53	61	בר יוחאי נמשחת אשריך	Shimon Labi Maqam Sigah The pizmon "Bar Yohai" (SIGAH, page 61), is written by H Simeon Labi (b. Spain, 1486- d. Tripoli, Libya,1585), in honor of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, a 2nd century Tannaitic sage strongly associated with Jewish mysticism. Rabbi Simeon Labi, whose name forms the acrostic at the beginning of each stanza, was en-route to the Land of Israel, but on his way, he was stopped in Tripoli. Upon seeing the community's low spiritual situation, he decided to stay there his entire life, where he contributed to their revival of Jewish life. Excluding the first line, which is meant to be a repeating verse, there are ten stanzas to this song; all filled with rich allusions to Bar Yohai's life. In our tradition, there is a slow melody and a fast "Beirut" melody to this song. During the Baqashot of Shabbat, we use the slow melody for the first and last stanzas, and the fast melody for all the middle stanzas. On Lag La'Omer, which is the anniversary of his death, the slow melody of this pizmon is applied to Naqdishakh. A Z Idelsohn notes, 1923 Aharon Rahamim Hares Baqashot Manuscript, 1917	G. Shrem Archives G. Shrem Ohabe Zion 1960 Recording Beirut Version I Cabasso - Naqdishakh Y Bozo- Naqdishkah I CABASSO QEDUSHA I CABASSO QEDUSHA	נקדישך
Bayat	363	280	שובי העדי	Moses Ashear Written May 26, 1940. Song in memory of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, for Lag LaOmer. Leaflet	G. Shrem I. Cabasso G. Shrem G. Shrem	כתר
Hoseni	424	345	אוחיל יום יום אשתאה	אני דוד בר אהרן בר חסין חזק This pizmon (HOSENI, page 345), whose title is translated as “I Will Pray Day By Day,” is song dedicated to Rabbi Haim Abulafia (1660-1744) and his efforts to re-establish the Jewish community in Tiberias. This lengthy song with 18 stanzas is composed by the well-known Sephardic Moroccan poet, Rabbi David Haseen (1727-1792), and the acrostic of the song spells "Ani David Ben Aharon Ben Haseen Hazaq" (אני דוד בן אהרן בן חסין חזק). Tiberias, located on the Western shore of the Sea of Galilee (Kineret), was considered one of the four "holy cities" in the Land of Israel. According to the Talmud, in 145 CE, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, spent one decade hiding there; “cleansing the city of ritual impurities.” As a result, this city became the location of resettlement of the Sanhedrin after the Jewish exile from Jerusalem, and later, the seat of Jewish religious scholarship. It was in this early period when the Jewish sages Rabbi Meir Ba’al HaNes and Rabbi Akiva lived here and were buried. Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi compiled the Mishna here circa 200 CE, and Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai compiled the Jerusalem Talmud in between 230-270 CE. Throughout subsequent centuries, important rabbis lived in this city and it maintained its status as the center of Jewish learning in the Land of Israel. Tiberias is also the burial ground of some of the most respected rabbis in Judaism; even those who did not live here, such as the Maimonides in 1204, who was brought to the city after his death to be buried. In the mid 18th century, the Ottoman authorities encouraged further Jewish settlement in the city, and Rabbi Haim Abulafia of Smyrna (modern day Izmir, Turkey) was invited to help spearhead the rebuilding efforts, and build Jewish centers of learning. This is the background of why this song was written and dedicated to Rabbi Abulafia. This song is associated with the Jewish holiday Lag La’Omer due to its reference to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai in the fifteenth stanza. H Moshe Ashear, as documented in his notes from 1937-1940, had a custom of using this as the PIZMON SEFER TORAH on the Shabbat prior to Lag La'Omer. Attiah Manuscript Abraham Sitehon Manuscript Yabess Manuscript	G. Shrem I. Dayan (Alternate version) G. Shrem Recording Moshe Dwek Moshe Dwek - Haleluya Moshe Dwek - Haleluya	כתר
Saba	504	418	איש אלהים קדוש הוא	Ben Ish Hai Lag LaOmer. For R' Shimon Bar Yochai. Written by the "Ben Ish Hai" of Babel in the 19th century. Song is an acrostic (Aleph Bet) and has many allusions to the life of R' Shimon. Abraham Sitehon Manuscript	Fule Yanani G. Shrem Recording S Antebi- Pizmon Dr Isaac S Mordecai	כתר