Rabbis: Avoid Gharqad Wood In Lag BaOmer Bonfires (PreOccupied Territory)

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Jerusalem, May 6 - In advance of the minor festival of Lag BaOmer that begins Wednesday night, Israel's Chief Rabbinate issued a warning not to use the wood of the gharqad bush in the customary bonfires, as the gharqad is needed to protect Jews from righteous Muslims.

Lag BaOmer, or the thirty-third day of the Omer period between Passover and Shavuot, marks a break in the quasi-mournful practices that characterize the Omer. The day is traditionally accepted as the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai's passing, whose parting gift to the world was the teachings appearing the foremost work of Jewish mysticism, the Zohar. "Zohar" means "glow" or "radiance," and the radiance of Rabbi Shimon's revelatory teachings is symbolized by bonfires.

Additionally, Lag BaOmer is also celebrated as the day a devastating plague on the disciples of Rabbi Akiva - the teacher of Rabbi Shimon - ended, ushering in a period of renewed growth in Jewish lore. The bonfire represents, among other ideas, the energy and life that persists even in the driest, deadest wood. Zionist youth movements adopted the Lag BaOmer bonfire as an expression of the renewal they sought to bring to Jewry through the resettlement of the land. Tens of thousands of such bonfires take place every Lag BaOmer, many of them continuing into the morning, with many tons of twigs, fallen branches, scrap lumber, and old furniture fueling the pyres.

However, Muslim tradition foretells that at the end of days, when Muslims finally rise up to eliminate the Jews, the latter will hide behind trees and bushes. All but the gharqad will call out to the Muslim pursuers that Jews are hiding behind them, because the gharqad "is the tree of the Jews." To ensure that such plants remain to hide behind when the time comes, the Rabbinate issued the customary annual instructions that include avoiding the burning of gharqad wood.

"First, the most important part of this celebration is fire safety and precautions," read the announcement. "Please follow the directions and orders of local police, fire and park officials. Second, certain species of tree are protected, and must not be used as fuel for bonfires. Among them is the gharqad, which we must preserve for the End of Days."

Gharqad is a thorny, flowering shrub, and its branches would be an unlikely choice for bonfire fuel. Nevertheless, says Judaism authority Ali Abunimah, the Rabbis saw fit to warn Israelis not to use it because of their fundamental insecurity about their faith. "The truth will always out, and the truth here is that even the religious leaders of the Zionists know their project is a sham and doesn't represent real Judaism," he explained.