The Hidden Meaning Of Lag B'Omer

By Helena Lehman of the

Pillar of Enoch Ministry

http://pillar-of-enoch.com

On May 9th, 2012, I read an article at the Five Doves web site that I found to be quite interesting. This short article, which I’ve linked to below, is a bit hard to read, but has some profound insights to share about the minor Jewish Feast of Lag B’Omer. Basically, the author believes that the Rapture could be tied to this Jewish Feast day, which is today, May 10th, 2012. Though it IS possible, however, this day is already half over in Israel and we are still here. So I am not counting on this being the day of the Rapture, though it could happen at any time.

What the article did do, however, is get me motivated to find out more about Lag B’Omer, and this is my report of what I found out. Fascinatingly, Lag B’Omer is another Jewish Festival devoted to Weddings. In that respect, it bears much in common with Tu B’Av, or the 15th of Av, which is the Jewish equivalent of Valentine’s Day, and also a great attractor of weddings in Israel. The celebration of Tu B’Av will be from dusk on Friday, August 3rd to dusk on Saturday, August 4th in 2012, and this joyous arrival marks the end of the period of mourning surrounding the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem.

Fascinatingly, Lag B’Omer, which literally means “33rd of Omer”, occurs on the 33rd day of the counting of the Omer in Israel. Counting the Omer refers to counting of the 7 weeks or 49 days between Passover and Shavuot or Pentecost. Though this activity was once viewed as a joyous time between the beginning of the barley harvest at Firstfruits and the beginning of the wheat harvest at Shavuot, this 49-day period is traditionally viewed among Jews as another long period of mourning since the destruction of the Second Temple.

Interestingly, the number 33 in Hebrew consists of their 12th letter Lamed or L, which equals 30, and Gimel or G, which equals 3. But Gimel also means “camel”, which is a still common means of transportation in the Middle East. Fascinatingly, however, Gimel is also derived from the Hebrew word Gemul, which means “to give what is due”, whether it is a reward or punishment. Also, possibly due to Gimel’s resemblance to a leg and foot in the process of moving, it has been visualized as representing a rich man that excitedly gives alms to the poor represented by the neighboring Hebrew letter Dalet. In keeping with this meaning, some Hebrew letter fonts have a crown denoted atop the letter Gimel to indicate the wealth and prestige of the alms giver.

Meanwhile, the letter Lamed signifies a rod or staff of authority. This makes it taller than any other letter in the Hebrew Aleph-Bet. In addition, Lamed is the 12th letter of the Aleph-Bet, and this symbolically connects it to the 12 Tribes of Israel and the 12 Signs of the Mazzaroth, or the full length of one year or prophetic period of time. This may be why Lamed is considered to be the central letter or “heart” of the 22-letter Hebrew Aleph-Bet. Due to its regal height and central place, Lamed is also viewed as a symbolic representation of the King of Kings, or the Messiah to come. Fittingly, therefore, Lamed is also the central letter in the Hebrew word Melech, or King. In addition, Lamed can mean “teacher”, which is a significant title that Yahshua our Messiah was given during His first earthly incarnation.

Now, When Lamed is combined with Gimel in the number 33 and we consider their meanings together, these two letters paint a word picture of the Messiah Yahshua, the King of Kings, who is the greatest among all of His Jewish brothers, carrying His staff of authority while coming quickly to Earth to retrieve his beleaguered saints - those who are the poor in spirit that will inherit the Kingdom of Heaven during the Wedding Supper of the Lamb! Could this be why the Freemasons and other secret organizations seem to be obsessed with the number 33? After all, the dark forces in our world know that when Yahshua comes to save His deserving saints, the Devil will have his inglorious and infamous day.

As a side note, the Omer should be counted from the day of the Firstfruits offering in the Temple. Scripture teaches that this would have been the first day after the regular Sabbath during Passover Week. However, the Jewish tradition is to begin the count right after the Feast of Passover. But since Passover was on the Sabbath day of Passover Week, and the day before Easter, which would be the true day of the Firstfruits offering, the 33rd day is the same either way this year.

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At Five Doves: From Jean Stepnoski (8 May 2012)
"Lag B' Omer: THE WEDDING DAY: 5-9 to 10, 2012"
http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/may2012/jeans58.htm

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More About Lag B'Omer:
   
The Counting of the Omer -
http://www.jewfaq.org/holidayb.htm

All About the Meaning of Lag Ba'Omer -
http://judaism.about.com/od/holidays/a/lagbaomer.htm