Count the Days
On Friday, May 27, we will celebrate Lag B’Omer. We remember the students of Rabbi Akiva who used to hide from the Romans in the forest and secretly studied Torah. If Roman soldiers came along, they would whip out their bows and arrows and act as if they were hunting.
In Israel, children light bonfires and play with toy bows and arrows as part of the celebration.
Shield Thyself
Like Rabbi Akiba’s students, you can have a tree branch shield.
First, you must go out into the forest (or to your backyard). Find two curved branches and use tape or thick string to make them into a hoop.
Now tie a long string to the hoop. Stretch it to the other side and loop it. Now stretch it
to another spot on the hoop and loop it.
Keep on doing this and it will start to look like
a bicycle wheel, and then like a dreamcatcher
or spider web. Keep on doing this until there is
no space left between the string.
Passover Again?
On Iyar 14, which falls this year on May 23, some people celebrate a holiday called Pesach Sheinei, or, The Second Passover. This was for people who, for reasons they could not control, were not able to bring the Pesach offering to the Temple. Decode the message to describe what this holiday was for these people. (Hint: It’s what everyone wants when they mess up the first time around.)
Here is the message:
t evdxbs djtbdv
A=t,B=c, C=d, D=s, E=v, F=u, G=z,H=j…
Do the math!
Can you solve this?
A X 3 = B
B + 3 = C
C/3 = 4
4 – D = E
E X 3 = A
What are A and D?
(Hint: It has to do the meaning of one of the words in Lag B’Omer.)
