Hundreds of thousands of Jewish youths will march in Lag B’Omer parades all over the world this Sunday, organized by the Chabad Lubavitch movement.
Special emphasis has been placed on parades in the Soviet Union.
Chabad emissaries went there to prepare for the marches, which will take place in about 60 locations all over the country, including Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev and as far away as Siberia.
About 700 parades are expected in Israel.
The parades will honor the sage Shimon Bar Yohai, who helped compile the Mishnah and the Zohar. He is revered for the years he spent hiding in a cave during the Jewish revolt against Rome, to devote himself to Torah study.
According to Jewish tradition, Bar Yohai died on Lag B’Omer and willed that he not be mourned, but rather that bonfires be lighted in his memory. This became a Lag B’Omer tradition.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
