In his book MEGILAT HAMERED VEHACHURBAN, (“The Tale of The Rebellion and The Destruction), Dr. Chagi Ben Artzi, professor of history at the University of Bar Ilan, tells the story of the destruction of the second Bet haMiqdash and mentions a not very known (at least to me) opinion as to why LAG LAOMER (aka LAG BAOMER) is considered a festive day.
In the first place, according to an important rabbinical opinion (Chatam Sofer), on the 18th day of Iyar, we Jews began to receive the “man” (manna), a food that was provided by God every day in the desert of Sinai, for 40 years. According to this opinion, on the 33rd day of the Omer, we celebrate the miracle of the “man”.
Second, the Sages say that between Pesach and Shabuot, 24,000 students of Ribbi Aqiba died in an epidemic, and on the 33rd day of the Omer, this epidemic ended. According to Rabbi Sherirah Gaon (906-1006), Rabbi Akiba’s students actually died fighting the Roman Empire, and it is possible that the Gemara speaks of “an epidemic” as a euphemism.
Third, and as we explained earlier, on this day, we celebrate the life and achievements of Ribbi Shimon bar Yochai (see here).
Finally, Professor Ben Artzi reminds us of one more event that took place on the same day, the 33rd of the Omer, around the year 130 of the common era.
THE SHEMAD
After the destruction of the Second Temple, Jerusalem was in ruins, and the Jews were not allowed to enter the city. Things got even worse when the Roman Emperor Hadrian came to power in the year 117. Hadrian had an obsessive hatred toward the Jewish people, and like so many antisemites before and after him, he was looking for “the final solution to the Jewish problem”. Hadrian banned Berit Mila (circumcision) and the study of the Tora and punished these “crimes” with death. These times were so traumatic that the Hachamim would not talk much about it, and they call this period of history the generic name: SHEMAD, “destruction, in a similar way to what we call SHOAH “Holocaust”, about all the tragedies that our people experienced during the Second World War.
NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN
To ensure that the name “Israel” was “erased,” Hadrian also changed the name “Judea” (Yehuda) to “Palestine,” thus falsely attributing Israel’s original membership to the Philistines. Ironically, “Philistines”, in Hebrew, “pelishtiim”, means “foreign invaders” and refers to the savage peoples who came from the sea, plundered the locals, and took by force everything they could. Incidentally, the Philistines had already disappeared by Hadrian’s time, but he didn’t care! The main thing was to “cancel” the connection between Israel and the Jewish people. Incredibly, we can see similar tendencies in our own days: A few years ago, UNESCO started a crusade to declare the Jews as invaders of Israel, an “occupied Palestinian territory.” Officially, UNESCO also changed the name of Jerusalem, especially the Temple Mount, to “al-Haram al-Sharif” in all its documents (see more details here).
A PAGAN TEMPLE IN THE MOST SACRED PLACE
Hadrian, like UNESCO, also tried to erase the name of Jerusalem. He had the city plowed and rebuilt and called it a new name: “Aelia Capitolina”. Why Aelia? Before becoming emperor, Hadrian was “Aelius”, so he wanted to celebrate his own glory. But why the name “Capitolina”? Because in order to eradicate the memory of the Bet HaMiqdash, the city would now be re-dedicated to a Roman deity, Jupiter Capitolino, and a huge pagan temple was going to be built on the very place where the Bet haMiqdash stood, guaranteeing that the Jewish temple would never again be rebuilt ח”ו! The Jews learned of Hadrian’s plan, and although they had done their best not to react to Hadrian’s constant provocations, upon hearing this, they decided that they could no longer sit idly by. And so began the Bar Kochba rebellion, which was supported by many Sages, including Ribbi Aqiba.
A GREAT VICTORY AFTER ALL
The brave Bar Kochba rebellion ultimately failed. However, despite the terrible price paid (more than half a million Jewish lives), there was a significant victory. The first objective of this war to liberate Jerusalem and prevent Hadrian from carrying out his nefarious and irreversible plan to build a pagan temple on the ruins of the Bet haMiqdash. The Jews, led by Bar Kochba, fought courageously against the world’s most powerful army, defeated the mighty 10th Legion of the Roman army, and retook control of Yerushalayim. When was Jerusalem recovered from the hands of the Romans? On a day like today, Iyar 18th, the 33rd day of the Omer. Despite losing the war, this Jewish victory caused the Romans to “suspend” the construction of the pagan temple on the site of our Sanctuary.
After a few years, Hadrian died (138), and his plan B”H was never carried out
Rabbi Yosef Bitton
