Can a Phoenix rise from the ashes? — Can there be utter destruction followed by utter renewal?
Given where we currently find ourselves, fatefully, Lag Baomer, now becomes *that important*
Since the holiday of Lag Baomer commemorates (begins this Thursday evening) the final revolt against Roman destruction and occupation, I thought it might be interesting to show you an archeological remnant of the 10th Roman Legion military base in the Old City (sitting there today). As a note: this was the Legion that sacked and destroyed Jerusalem, turning it into a virtual inferno.
Here below, just inside the Jaffa Gate, and up a few paces towards the walkway entering the current location of the Old City’s Christian Quarter, you can see the secondary usage of a pillar base remnant: (it is now used as a base for a side street courtyard light
now closer:
Above, a close-up of the pillar, which reads that this is the center of the Legio Decomanis Fretensis (also known as the 10th Roman Legion). This is also the same Legion which destroyed Rabbi Akiva’s army of students at Betar and was responsible for decimating and ultimately destroying Jerusalem’s Jewish presence, turning the city into a Roman Polis renamed Aelia Capitolina, and now dedicated to the god Jupiter.
Yes, Lag Baomer was a respite, but also understood as a day amidst a time period marking ‘the beginning of a certain end’ . . . . and the beginning of another
This Thursday evening, the 15th of May, begins the 33rd day of the “Counting of the Omer (sheaves)” and is referred to as: “Lag Ba”omer,” which in terms of numerology or ‘Gematria’ is understood as: “the 33rd day of the Counting of the Sheaves of the Summer Wheat Harvest.
A little more detail:
Lag Ba’omer has for 2,000 years or so been considered a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar, occurring as noted above on the 33rd day of the Omer, the 49-day counting period between the Passover Holiday and the Shavuot Holiday.
Some of the more well-known aspects of Lag Ba’omer include allowing and holding Jewish weddings, as it is the only day during the ‘Counting of the Omer’ (i.e., counting of the sheaves of the harvest) when Jewish law permits them, as well as lighting bonfires and getting haircuts (not unrelated).
Why We Celebrate
There are a few explanations for why we celebrate Lag Ba’omer. important to note, especially during a time of semi-mourning when weddings and other celebrations would otherwise be forbidden and when observant Jews refrain from cutting their hair as a sign of grief. The most frequently cited explanation for this Jewish practice comes from the Talmud, which tells us that during this season, a plague killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva‘s students because they did not treat one another respectfully. (Talmud Tractate:Yevamot 62b) (<- As I mentioned above, this time period, in general, is observed as a semi-mourning period which, in its origins, recalls a let up in the death and destruction of Rabbi Akiva’s students, understood by historians as the Jewish soldiers of the Bar Kokhba Rebellion against the Roman Destruction and ruination of Judea.
According to tradition, the plague ceased on Lag Ba’omer, the 33rd day. (as a Hebraic note: The Hebrew letters lamed and gimel make up the acronym “Lag” which has the combined numerical value of 33. As a result, Lag Ba’omer became a happy day, interrupting what otherwise was a sadness which came to characterize the sadness of the Omer period for 24 hours.
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Shavuot is Ruth’s triumph and ours. The period of the Omer reminds us of the precarious nature of the Harvest, and the 33rd day reminds us that even in the midst of danger and destruction, as foretold by the Prophets and as exemplified by our continued presence in the world . . . we rise, not unlike a Phoenix rising, no less.
Am Yisrael Chai,
Please tune in this evening, because as always, *it is that important.”
Rabbi Seth Frisch
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Here below . . . polling data that may in the long run mean nothing, or may in the short run mean something. Stay tuned . . .
Here’s some polling data, perhaps appropriate to this time of the Omer for certain political groupings to now review and rethink where they have been and where they might be headed.
Polling Data by Democrats vis-à-vis Israel and Jewish Concerns:
A new poll commissioned by a Democratic Jewish group suggests that concerns over antisemitism have receded a bit since post-Oct. 7 record levels, with younger voters notably less concerned than their parents and older generations. The survey, conducted by GBAO, also finds that the depth of attachment for Israel, while still at high levels, has also dipped somewhat as time has passed since Hamas’ attacks, Jewish Insider Editor-in-Chief Josh Kraushaar writes.
The big toplines from the Jewish Voter Resource Center survey, which polled 800 Jewish voters between April 22 and May 1: Only one-quarter of Jewish voters view President Donald Trump favorably. Among respondents, Democrats hold a commanding 70-22% lead on next year’s generic congressional ballot. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s standing among American Jewish voters is also low, with only 34% viewing him favorably, while 61% see him unfavorably.
Over two-thirds (69%) of Jewish voters profess an attachment to Israel, which is down from 82% a month after Oct. 7 but at a similar level to the years preceding the attack. Nearly two-thirds of Jewish respondents (62%) said they’re very concerned about antisemitism — a historically high number, but a marked dropoff from the 79% who expressed the same sentiment in November 2023. Notably, only 33% of younger Jewish voters ages 18-34 said they’re concerned about antisemitism.
Asked whether right-wing or left-wing antisemitism was a bigger threat, respondents were more divided. Nearly half (47%) said right-wing individuals and groups were more responsible, while 34% viewed left-wing groups as a bigger problem. And Democrats fared relatively poorly on which party is better equipped to handle antisemitism, holding just a seven-point edge (34-27%) over Republicans despite a much greater overall partisan advantage.
The most significant takeaway from the survey is the gaping divide within the Jewish community when it comes to Jewish observance — secular and less observant Jews hold diametrically opposing views on many issues compared to their more observant coreligionists.
For instance, 75% of Orthodox Jewish respondents said they approved of Trump’s job performance, compared to only 18% of Reform Jewish voters. While 69% of Orthodox Jews and 60% of Conservative Jews have a “very strong” attachment to Israel, that number falls to 35% among Reform Jews (and 22% among those unaffiliated).
On domestic policy issues, the gap is similar. Most Orthodox voters (78%) favor eliminating DEI initiatives that receive federal funding, while only 21% of Reform respondents say the same. The poll also found two-thirds of Orthodox Jews backing the president’s original punitive tariffs against China, while just 14% of Reform voters agreed.
The results underscore that one of the biggest challenges in both Israel and the United States’ Jewish communities is internal divisions that make it harder to present a united front externally. Those divisions are slowly, but notably, percolating even on issues that once united the Jewish world post-Oct. 7.
