Orange County, NY – IN PHOTOS: Thousands Gather For Bonfire In Kiryas Joel

    9

    Orthodox Jews of the Satmar Hasidim dance near a bonfire as they celebrate the Jewish holiday of Lag Ba'Omer which marks the anniversary of the death of Talmudic sage Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai approximately 1,900 years ago, in the village of Kiryas Joel, New York, U.S., May 25, 2016.  REUTERS/Mike SegarOrange County, NY – Thousands turned out Wednesday night in the Satmar Chasidic village of Kiryas Joel to mark the Jewish holiday of Lag Baomer with the annual bonfire.

    Join our WhatsApp group

    Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email


    Traditionally, a large platform is prepared, wood is piled in the center and large amounts of oil are poured on the wood.

    Similar bonfires are held in many Jewish communities, but Kiryas Joel’s is by far the largest such celebration in the United States. This year, a turnout of nearly 20,000 people took part in the event.

    The origins of this celebration lie in the village of Meron in the Holy Land, burial site of the Talmudic sage Rabbi Simeon bar Yochai.

    Lag Baomer marks the anniversary of his death approximately 1900 years ago. It is a day when Jews traditionally express happiness and thanks to G-d for inspiring Rabbi Simeon to write portions of the Talmud, the Zohar and other important Jewish texts.

    Photos credit: Yossi Goldnerger & Y. Sondik.
    {NewsPhotosEmbed 613718448}


    Listen to the VINnews podcast on:

    iTunes | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Podbean | Amazon

    Follow VINnews for Breaking News Updates


    Connect with VINnews

    Join our WhatsApp group


    9 Comments
    Most Voted
    Newest Oldest
    Inline Feedbacks
    View all comments
    ALTERG3
    ALTERG3
    7 years ago

    Wow wow… what a huge oilem…. what a kiddush hashem, what a revenge for hitler ym”s, im sure the holy satmar rabba z”l are proud of his chasidim.

    WakeUp2
    WakeUp2
    7 years ago

    Can you show us some pictures from the Bonfire on Passover Eve?

    jakyw
    jakyw
    7 years ago

    Very nice, Can women or girls attend and enjoy Lag B’Omer?

    aleph
    aleph
    7 years ago

    Thousands of women attended and enjoyed. VIN chose not to publish those pictures.

    aleph
    aleph
    7 years ago

    #6 the floodlights in the KJ Beis Hamedrash parking lot were actually very bright. The photographer was among the women so I guess they couldn’t get a good shot. Or the deal was not to photograph them.