This Year, Lag Ba’omer A Day Late

The Education Ministry belatedly announced that following a request from the Chief Rabbinate, the Lag Ba’omer school vacation will be delayed from Sunday to Monday to prevent chillul Shabbos and to provide kids with more time to enjoy bonfires. Chief Rabbi Rav Dovid Lau noted that schools delayed Lag Ba’omer in 2014 for the same reason.

Following the announcement, Transportation Ministry officials insisted that Lag Ba’omer festivities in Meron should also be delayed by a day because a quarter of the buses used for transporting crowds there on Lag Ba’omer will now be needed to get kids to and from school. Minister of Religious Affairs David Azoulai of Shas suggested freeing children from school for two days to solve the issue.

MK Menachem Moses asked Interior Security Minister Gilad Erdan to take measures to ensure that police do not desecrate Shabbos during their security preparations for Meron. In past years, Meron residents have complained that police arrived in the area as early as 5:00 p.m. on Shabbos afternoon.

“Hundreds of thousands come to pray at the grave of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai during Lag Ba’omer,” Moses wrote. “All of them are Shabbos observant and respectful of Jewish tradition and with this appeal I am emissary of them all. I ask the minister to make every effort to ensure that no policeman is forced to desecrate Shabbos so that our tefillos at the kever of Rabi Shimon bar Yochai do not become a mitzvah that comes through sin.”

In response, officials said that security forces would arrive in Meron before Shabbos. The Rashbi Hachnosas Orchim, which provides free meals to Lag Ba’omer visitors, offered to supply them with Shabbos seudos.

The government increased this year’s budget for the Meron festivities to $4.21 million to cover the costs of added security and preparation of extra areas for lighting bonfires to disperse the crowds for safety purposes.

{Matzav.com Israel News}