As Lag BaOmer approaches, Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, Head of the Ethics Center at Tzohar Rabbinical Organization, calls on the public to decrease their use of bonfires because of its harmful effect on health and the environment, without impacting the values of the tradition and the holiday.
“It is a Jewish custom in past generations to light bonfires on Lag BaOmer. This bonfire has no obligating halachic status; however, it is a nice custom that has the potential to bring Jews, and especially the Jewish children, closer to their father in heaven”, Rabbi Cherlow explains.
“Alongside this, the tradition to light bonfires on Lag BaOmer carries a heavy price for health and the environment. Air pollution rises at an extreme rate during the celebrations around the bonfires, above safe levels according to the Clean Air Act. Due to the rise in the level of pollution, there is an increase in the number of people who go to the emergency room because of asthma attacks and respiratory issues, as well as for cases of direct harm from fire, such as burns”.
Rabbi Cherlow emphasizes that this is not a call to completely eliminate the custom: “practically it seems that it would not be right to entirely cancel the bonfire custom, which has positive value. However, it is appropriate to limit the size and number of bonfires, and to be especially careful to avoid burning pollutants.”
Rabbi Cherlow also explains that “by decreasing the number of bonfires and choosing flammable material wisely, we can preserve the custom and the environment at the same time. This is the way to connect to the true spirit of Rebbe Shimon Bar Yochai, who teaches us to always search for a way to repair the world”.
The words of Rabbi Cherlow are based on the halachic compilation “Jewish Sustainability – Environmental Responsibility from Theory to Practice”, which was published as of late by the Ethics Center at Tzohar Rabbinical Organization. In this compilation, spearheaded by Rabbi Cherlow and Rabbi Avraham Stav in cooperation with the Pheonix Group, the environmental discourse is transitioned from its interpretation as “a good act” to obligating halachic language, while offering practical solutions.
This essay was first published on in Yisrael Hayom – link.
