As the leading green organization in Israel, KKL-JNF works very hard leading up to Lag B’Omer to educate the public about fire safety rules and the environmental impact of bonfires. KKL-JNF takes preventative measures to avoid catastrophes, such as the widened access road that they built on Mount Meron to ensure that the tens of thousands of annual visitors to the burial site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai would be able to evacuate in the event of an emergency. When celebratory bonfires turn into tragic forest fires, KKL-JNF’s firefighting team is on the front-lines battling the flames. KKL-JNF encourages people to go beyond bonfires, running alternative programs connected to Jewish heritage and the history of the Bar Kochba Revolt.
Click here to read about Lag B’Omer in Jewish tradition on the KKL-JNF website.
Click here to learn about KKL-JNF’s recreation areas and hiking trails in the Adulum-France Park. The park is full of archaeological remnants from the Jewish communities of the second temple period, the days of the Bar Kochba revolt, and the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud. Because Lag B’Omer marks the passing of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and the end of the plague that killed 24,000 of Rabbi Akiva’s students, KKL-JNF organizes events that focus on this fascinating period of Jewish history at relevant sites throughout the country.