the Talmud, and to whom is attributed authorship of the kabbalistic book of the Zohar. However, the existence of his tomb at Meron is only attested in the 12th Century, a thousand years after his life, and is not mentioned in the accounts written in his own time. Lag BaOmer During the annual mass public commemoration of Lag BaOmer, hundreds of thousands of Jews make a pilgrimage to the site. With torches, song and feasting, the Yom Hillula is celebrated by hundreds of thousands of people. This celebration was a specific request by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai of his students. It is a custom at the Meron celebrations, dating from the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria, that three-year-old boys are given their first haircuts (upsherin), while their parents distribute wine and sweets. 2021 stampede On 30 April 2021, 45 people were crushed to death while trying to exit through a narrow passage, at the mass gathering to celebrate the Lag BaOmer, in the deadliest civil disaster in the history of Israel. References Bibliography Gitlitz, David M. & Linda Kay Davidson. Pilgrimage and the Jews (Westport: CT: Praeger, 2006). Lag BaOmer Populated places established in 1949 Moshavim Religious Israeli communities History of Israel by location Jewish pilgrimage sites Populated places in Northern District (Israel) 1949 establishments in Israel Ancient Jewish settlements of Galilee