“Based on traffic reports, congestion, weather
and wind conditions, the level of moisture in the ground in each part of the
country, and incidents that are phoned in, we know how many firefighters we
will need to deploy in Meron or in central Tel Aviv, and whether they need to
be deployed right at the site or can be held back in case of emergency. When
you have a lot of people and a lot of bonfires, you know something bad is
likely to happen, but with Matash, we can determine more
closely where that bad thing might take place, and be ready for it.” Times of Israel
Bonfires.
We’re not talking “fire pits” in the backyard. We are talking about flames leaping around an
impressive stack of wood, lighting up the night. In the town of Meron, hundreds of thousands
of ultra-Orthodox families will camp near the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai
on Mt. Meron and light bonfires. In
Jerusalem and Tel Aviv and cities and towns throughout Israel, children will
scavenge wood from construction sites and set their bonfires ablaze. Soldiers throughout the state will build them
with wood, pride and camaraderie.
Fire as a symbol goes back to the earliest roots of
our religion. God spoke to Moses from
within a burning bush. We were
instructed to keep a fire burning at all times on the altar of the Tabernacle
in the desert. The lamp in the Holy of Holies was to be lit at all times, a
tradition we carry on even today with a Ner Tamid above our Ark. The Israelites were led through the
Wilderness by a pillar of fire. And fire
is a symbol of passion, hence the phrase “Aish HaTorah” “Flame of the
Torah.” Jews have died a martyr’s death
wrapped in Torah scrolls and burned at the stake. Whole communities have been locked in
synagogues and set ablaze. At Yad Veshem’s Hall of Remembrance The Eternal
Flame, burning from a base fashioned like a broken bronze goblet continuously
illuminates the smooth stones on which are engraved the names of concentration
camps.
What drives so many Jews to celebrate this minor
holiday regardless of their religious or secular affiliations? Perhaps the
flame meets a need for a symbol to which Jews in every generation can attach
their own significance, but which brings with it a feeling of unity.
Now, more than ever, as Jews we need to find a common
ground, a common torch in which to place that flame. In both the State of
Israel and the U.S. our Jewish brethren have become diverse, fragmented,
antagonistic, even hostile. Having defeated our external foes, we fight amongst
ourselves, even as our own survival is at stake. In Israel, the Jewish State, Jew is pitted
against Jew in a struggle for both religious and political power. In America, Jews no longer even make a show
of unity. The cohesion of the immigrant experience that bound us together has
been lost, as well as the ability to put aside differences to bring about and
sustain the newborn State of Israel.
Today, when polled on our Jewish Affiliation, too often we check the box
that says, “none.”
If we are to survive as a people, a nation, a
religion, an ethnicity, or however we chose to define ourselves, we must find a
way to rekindle and sustain the flame at the core of Jewish peoplehood. As we
observe Lag B’Omer, each Jew should take the time to look within the flames and rekindle within their own heart, the spark that
will ignite, once again, unity among the Jewish People.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Rose
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