By COLlive reporter
There’s a new sheriff in Meron.
Israel’s Religious Affairs Minister Matan Kahane, who clashed with rabbis over his planned overhaul of the Rabbinate and kashrus system, is contemplating another public move.
Sources close to Kahane said he plans to cancel the various public bonfire lightings at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (Rashbi) in honor of his yartzeit on Lag Baomer.
Kahana, a member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett‘s Yemina party, was given the authority to make broad changes to how Lag Baomer is observed on the mountain following last year’s disaster.
Lag Baomer 5781 (2021) was the largest civilian disaster in Israeli history with 45 people being killed in a crowd crush and many more wounded. The state has since resolved to take control of the festivities which is the largest annual gathering in the Holy Land.
Responsibility for the celebration will be under the Public Transportation Authority with Kahana being the point-person.
An investigation committee of the tragedy has released initial recommendations to Kahana which include restricting the crowd, prohibiting any distribution of food and allowing only the bonfire lighting of the Boyaner Rebbe, Rabbi Nachum Dov Brayer.
The Boyaner Rebbe traditionally lights the first bonfire at the annual Lag BaOmer celebration in Meron. This long-held privilege was passed down to him by the first Sadigura Rebbe, Rabbi Avrohom Yaakov Friedman (1820–1883), who purchased it from the Sephardi guardians of Meron and Safed.
The Sadigura Rebbe bequeathed this honor to his eldest son, Rabbi Yitzchok Friedman who was the first Boyaner Rebbe (1850–1917) and his descendants. The current Boyaner Rebbe treats the lighting with great reverence and is joined by hundreds of thousands of people each year. Over the years, additional bonfires take place like that of the Toldot Aharon lighting where the Meron Tragedy occurred last year.
Despite the committee’s recommendation, a person close to Kahana told the media that he plans to revoke all the lightings, including the Boyaner. Instead, he plans to appoint a “stately rabbi” who will lead a single lighting and forgo the age-old traditions.
“Whoever thought what was is what will be, probably did not get to know Kahana in the last six months,” the source in his office told the media. “A new sheriff has arrived in town. The Meron event will be completely different from anything we knew.”
VIDEO: The Meron bonfire lighting in 2019
He is playing with fire, literally
The Boyaner Rebbe
Should take responsibility by giving up his traditional lighting of the fire.
People lost there life. and all your thinking about is if The Boyaner Rebbe will be lighting the fire?
If they don’t have very big changes nobody will shows up
There is no suggestion whatsoever that his lighting poses any danger to anyone! So why on earth should he give it up? How would that be “responsible”? And this upstart government has no right to take it away from him. That would be stealing, and would cause Hashem’s anger and invite another disaster, chas vesholom. The government does not own the world. The holy hadloka predates the State of Israel, and will continue long after the State is gone. Remember that Chabad is anti-zionist. The State should not have been established in the first place, and has no right to… Read more »
your wrong. The tragedy happened at the toldos aaron lighting which was much later in the night. Also, the previous year at the height of corona, they limited attedence (didn’t let the public into meron, only about 50 officials) but the Boyaner Rebbe still lit, as is tradition! This minister trying to take everything away in the name of “safety” is nothing but a power trip.
The brazen spokesperson:
“Whoever thought what was is what will be, probably did not get to know Kahana in the last six months”
To which I reply:
Whoever thought they can change the way lag baomer is celebrated, probably did not get to know rabbi Shimon, who has been known for over 2,000 years.
This Kahana guy doesn’t realize he’s playing with fire. I’m actually pretty interested in seeing what will happen to him…
The custom of lighting a fire is less than 200 years old.
If I remember correctly that zechut of lighting the first bonfire was purchased from chabad who had owned it previously
You are confusing with the bonfire in Chevron which the Rebbe Rashab purchased
WHO CARES who lights the bonfire.
45 people died. Everyone knew for years that it was a huge safety hazard.
But we have to keep doing what’s always been done because that’s the way things are done?
Don’t you think LIVES are more important than who lights the bonfire?
Maybe one of the women of the wall call light the fire?
Most of his reforms that are eliciting such howls of protest are actually sensible and are restoring things to how they should always have been. But he simply has no right to take away the Boyaner Rebbe’s right to the hadloka. It is private property and the State of Israel has no right to take it. If he goes ahead the Rebbe should sue him in a beis din, and if he refuses to acknowledge that the halacha is superior to the laws of the state then he should be put in cherem.
What is your suggestion to prevent that from happening
Not sure how legally Kahana can do this? The “Zechus” of lighting the torch was PURCHESED (and inherited by the Boyaner Rebbe) .
Kahana can be sued in court
If the area is public property, there’s no “zechus.”
This is why I’m glad I live in the goldene Medina where the government doesn’t (or at least it’s very hard to) infringe on us. It’s a shame what is happening to eretz yisrael.