I’m on fire

May 6, 2007 - 3:02 PM by David Brinn

The hills were alive last night with the sounds and sights of … burning, as the nation celebrated Lag Ba’omer.

Now I had never heard of this holiday before moving to Israel. And I still think it’s just an excuse by Israeli adolescents to pilfer anything remotely resembling a wood or wood byproduct, steal shopping carts from supermarkets to transport the woody stuff, and stay all out all night eating too many marshmallows – all with the sole purpose of building the tallest bonfire in history, as close to the neighbor’s home as possible.

Here’s my six-year old son with a friend in front of what looks like a horrible holocaust – and the truth is not far off…

Lag Ba'omer

I packed it in about 11pm, but Matan was still going strong at midnight. And if you ‘re outraged that I’d leave a 6-year-old alone at night with match-laden young maniacs, I.. um… well… there were plenty of other parents around watching him.

In fact, my wife and I hung out with the ‘Am’ (the salt of the earth folk) of our neighborhood, barbecuing chicken wings, gossiping about the municipality goings on, and basically being Israeli. In fact, I never feel as Israeli as on Lag Ba’omer… which is I guess, why it must exist.

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