In Jewish tradition, Lag BaOmer is seen as a day of special activities with children.<\/p>\r\n
Teachers in Jewish communities used to go out into the field with their students on this day, play archery, tell them about Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai, and instill in the children's hearts a love for the people of Israel, the Torah of Israel, and the customs of Israel.<\/p>\r\n
The Lag BaOmer processions held today, according to the call of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, are a new dress for this ancient Jewish tradition.<\/p>\r\n
But this custom is also very ancient, and in Hasidic tradition there is a story about a children's procession organized by the Baal Shem Tov on Lag BaOmer back in the days when he was a hidden tzaddik.<\/p>\r\n
To tear down the walls<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n In our time, tensions are increasing between parts of the nation, but deep down there is a great longing for unity and for gathering around the common denominator of all members of the Jewish people. The children's parades of Lag BaOmer bring this message to expression in a most enjoyable way.<\/p>\r\n Hundreds of thousands of children, from all walks of life, march together in the streets of cities and towns, demonstrating their love for these values.<\/p>\r\n Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai was blessed that his day of celebration - Lag BaOmer - succeeds in uniting hundreds of thousands of Israeli children around the values \u200b\u200bof love of Israel and love of Torah. It is impossible not to be moved by the sight of thousands of children shaking the air with the cry "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." This demonstration proves that our Jewish roots are stronger than all attempts to separate and divide us.<\/p>\r\n In our polarized times, these marches have enormous value in breaking down the barriers that separate parts of the people. The atmosphere that politicians and the media create raises a wall between the publics.<\/p>\r\n Here, in the Lag BaOmer processions, everyone suddenly feels that we are one people and that all these divisions are artificial and baseless.<\/p>\r\n Because the truth is that we are all Jews and that the Torah belongs to all of us. This is his prayer in an Ashkenazi tone and his friend curls it in an Eastern tone, but we all pray to one God and unite in saying, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one." Even those who do not usually pray are connected within their souls to the prayer that their ancestors prayed and to the tradition that is common to all of us.<\/p>\r\n Common essence<\/span><\/b><\/p>\r\n Unity does not mean giving up on perceptions and positions. Its greatness lies in its ability to tolerate differences. It is possible to be united even if one does not agree, and even when there are sharp differences of opinion. It is possible to feel respect for each other even if one believes that the other is completely wrong, and even when he firmly opposes his opinion. Unity takes into account that 'their opinions are not equal,' and yet it finds the common point, stronger than all the differences and differences between one person and another.<\/p>\r\n The roots of Jewish unity lie in the common essence of all of us. We are the sons of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Within every Jew resides a soul that is a 'part of God from above.' We have one God, one Torah, one land. This common foundation casts a solid anchor for maintaining unity even in the face of disagreements and differences.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The children's parades on Lag BaOmer bring to light the great longing in hearts for unity and for gathering around the common denominator that we all have. \u2022 Unity does not mean giving up on perceptions and positions. \u2022 Its greatness lies in its ability to bear differences.","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[138],"tags":[6238,1513],"class_list":["post-433217","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-138","tag-6238","tag-1513"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n