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Lag Ba-omer (the thirty-third day of the omer) is a minor holiday, for a number of reasons. Tradition has it that Rabbi Akiva’s students ceased dying on that day. Additionally, Lag Ba-omer was when Rabbi Akiva began teaching new students, who succeeded in spreading Torah far and wide.
One of Rabbi Akiva’s new students was Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He taught the mystical dimensions of the Torah and is associated with the Zohar, the great kabbalistic work. Lag Ba-omer is Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s yahrzeit. In celebration of his life, some have a custom to light bonfires (both at his grave and elsewhere) since light symbolizes Torah and mitzvot.
