This Tuesday, to celebrate Lag B’Omer, we’re hosting a community BBQ and celebration with fun for all ages.

But aside from a great excuse to fire up the grill, enjoy some good food, and gather together as a community, what exactly is Lag B’Omer?

Lag B’Omer is the 33rd day of the Omer, the seven-week journey between Passover and Shavuot, when we count the days from leaving Egypt until receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai.

It is a day that carries two powerful stories at its core.

The first is the story of Rabbi Akiva. He began learning Torah only at the age of 40 and went on to become one of the greatest teachers in Jewish history, with thousands of students. Yet during a tragic period, those students were lost in a devastating plague. Lag B’Omer marks the day the dying stopped.

But the story doesn’t end there. Rabbi Akiva did not give up. After mourning the loss, he began again — rebuilding the future of Torah by teaching a new generation of students (5!), including Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the author of the Zohar, is also closely associated with Lag B’Omer, as it is the day of his passing. The Zohar describes how, on the day of his passing, he revealed profound mystical teachings to his students and asked that this day be marked not with sorrow, but with joy.

Over time, this day became associated with light and fire, symbolizing the spiritual illumination of his Torah teachings and the “light” he brought into the world. This is the basis for the widespread custom of lighting bonfires on Lag B’Omer, especially in connection with his yartzeit.

And that’s exactly what we’ll be celebrating together this Tuesday - resilience, joy, and the power of Jewish light that continues to grow even after hardship.

We hope you will join us on this special day! We can’t wait to celebrate with you!

P.S. Although Chaiki will be celebrating her birthday in Israel this year, we’ll still be celebrating here too — with birthday cake and lots of good wishes!

P.P.S. Also — don’t worry about the weather forecast. We’re still on and looking forward to a wonderful afternoon together. ... See MoreSee Less

7 trillion dollars!

That is a conservative estimate of how much money the longevity industry will be worth in 2030. Reminder: this is only 4 years away. And while that number is huge, others are expecting it to reach 30 trillion dollars.

The longevity industry includes a long list of companies with one basic goal: to help us live longer.

Think about the scientist spending long days in the lab studying DNA. Think about the nutritionist telling you to cut back on sugar so you can live longer. Think about your smart watch tracking your sleep so you can feel more rested. All of them, and so many more, are laser-focused on making us healthier and helping us enjoy longer lives.

it's clearly working.

In 1950, the average life expectancy in the US was 68 years old. In 2025, it's 79.4 years old. Unfortunately, there are still too many people dying young, but the trend is clear.

In the not-so-distant future, living into our 90s may become average, with many people living well into their 100s!

Having people live so long is obviously exciting, but it also raises serious questions.

Can people still retire in their 60s if they are expected to live 30 years longer? How will the healthcare system care for a rapidly aging population with unique needs? Will Social Security run out of money? If people work longer, what happens to younger generations trying to climb the career ladder?

All of these questions are important. And with AI, we can expect serious breakthroughs that will sharply raise life expectancy, so we better address these questions sooner rather than later.

Yet, there is one question that seems to get very little attention:

If people live much longer, does each day become worth less?

You see, when people have a shorter life, they are more likely to pay attention to every single day. But if people were told that their lives just doubled, does the value of each day go down by 50%?

I know this question will probably be pushed to the bottom of the list. After all, you can't really monetize it. But to me, this is one question that should be at the top.

Because if all we did was take 75 years' worth of life and stretch it over 150 years, was it really worth it?

There's a question here that numbers and policy can't answer. But Torah has been addressing it for thousands of years.

Now is the perfect time to have this conversation, because we are halfway through the Omer period.

During this time, we count every day from Passover, from day 1 to day 49, and on day 50 we celebrate the holiday of Shavuot.

As we do with every Mitzvah, before we count, we say a blessing, thanking G-d for the opportunity to fulfill this Mitzvah. We repeat this every single day.

If there is one lesson this Mitzvah teaches us, it is this:

Every day has its own blessing.

Every day deserves to be counted on its own. Not as part of a bigger group, like a month or a year, but as its own day, with its own mission, its own purpose, and its own opportunity.

When the time comes and, with the wisdom endowed to humans by G-d, we will be able to 150, it will mean that G-d has doubled our mission, given us more purpose, and handcrafted more days for us to live to the fullest.

And honestly?

We don't need 150 years to live like that.

We can start today.

Shabbat Shalom, Good Shabbos!
Light candles at 7:38 pm
Shabbat ends at 8:44 pm ... See MoreSee Less