Lag BaOmer Celebration

(Northwest CT) As covid rates decline with vaccinations now readily available in Litchfield, Jewish community members are expected to gather at Litchfield on April 29th at 6:30 pm for an outdoor celebration of Lag BaOmer, a Jewish holiday that marks the end of a plague some 2,000 years ago as well as the passing of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar, the foundational work of the Kabbalah. The 26th annual community-wide celebration is a project of Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut.

This year, the holiday will take on new meaning as hundreds of newly-vaccinated members of the Jewish community will mark their own emergence after a year of isolation amid the covid pandemic. While the event is another step toward resuming pre-pandemic life in Litchfield, safety precautions of distancing and mask-wearing will be practiced.

“For many in the community, this will be the first time in over a year that they’re able to safely spend time with friends,” said Rabbi Eisenbach, of Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut. “How apropos that this gathering will take place on a holiday that marks the end of another plague, many years ago.”

Chabad-Lubavitch, the largest Jewish organization in the world, is hosting thousands of similar Lag BaOmer celebrations in cities across the globe where safe. The celebrations all share a common theme: Jewish unity and pride.

Historically, the holiday of Lag BaOmer was celebrated by going out to the fields for introspection and celebration. In 1953, the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, considered the most influential rabbi in modern history— initiated the Lag BaOmer parade as a display of Jewish pride and unity. Since then, hundreds of thousands take part in parades and outdoor celebrations each year. The Litchfield event is organized in keeping with the Rebbe’s call to celebrate Jewish pride on Lag BaOmer.

For more information on Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut’s Lag B'Omer festivities or on the holiday of Lag B'Omer and its observances please visit: chabadNW.org/RSVP

ABOUT LAG BAOMER

Lag BaOmer—this year, on the eve and day of April 30, 2021—is a festive day on the Jewish calendar, celebrating the anniversary of the passing of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar, the foundational work of the Kabbalah. It also commemorates another event: In the weeks between Passover and Shavuot, a plague raged amongst the disciples of the great sage Rabbi Akiva and on Lag BaOmer the dying ceased. For more information, visit ChabadNW.org/LagBaOmer.

About Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut

Chabad Lubavitch of Northwest Connecticut offers Jewish education, outreach and social service programming for families and individuals of all ages, backgrounds and affiliations. For more information, please visit www.chabadnw.org.