NSHAHS Celebrates Lag Ba'Omer

On Tuesday, May 9, NSHAHS celebrated the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba’Omer. Not only did the day mark the start of many students’ fresh new haircuts and shaven faces, but it was celebrated with a beautiful outdoor lunch. All clamored for the hot dogs, hamburgers,

and the fan favorite, French fries. Some students even had the opportunity to attend a “tisch” hosted by our very own Rabbi Weinberg.

Lag Ba’Omer, which really has no English equivalent, is the 33rd day of counting the Omer- a tradition that dates back to the time of the giving of the Torah. The Omer is a period of 49 days spanning the time between Pesach and Shavuot, when we received the Torah so many millennia ago. This period was sadly marred approximately 2,000 years ago with the death of thousands of students of Rabbi Akiva, a major Torah leader at the time. The deaths lasted until the 33rd day, and we mark the weeks until then with the restriction of certain activities, like concert-going or hair-cutting (this explains the four-week beards that many students sported).

As is traditional, the end of this commemorative period was marked with celebration; The school sponsored a delicious lunch for all the students and faculty. Lag Ba’Omer for us also marked a return to outdoor lunch here at NSHAHS; The food was served outside, and many students sat down at the tables that had been set up to enjoy the great weather and beautiful sun. Inside, the Beit Midrash served as the venue for a “tisch.” “Tisch” is a Yiddish word for table, and as such the desks of the Beit Midrash were arranged to form a central table in the middle. This allowed the assembled group to properly absorb Rabbi Weinberg’s speech about the holiday. Eli S., a sophomore who attended the event said it was “inspiring to listen to”.

Since Lag Ba'Omer, tables have been set up outside to take advantage of the beautiful weather. Recent events, like a Friendship Circle Fun in the Sun Chesed event on Wednesday and a walkathon held on Thursday in memory of the Dee women, took place outside, too. There has been an overall lighter mood at school as students prepare for Shavuot with a parent-child learning event happening on Monday. And of course, they are looking ahead to the summer.