The second-century Jewish mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai delved so deeply into the mysteries of Kabbalah and the universe that upon his death, or so his followers believed, many of the broken fragments of creation were at last reunited. Hasidim celebrate the anniversary of his passing as Lag B'Omer, a day-long respite in the traditional period of mourning between Passover and Shavuot. Rabbis and yeshiva students in Israel enjoy a day's outing to a forest near the sage's tomb, where they say a blessing... More >>>