Despite dreary weather, festivities for the ninth annual Lag B'Omer barbecue at the Lubavitch-Chabad Jewish Student and Community Center were lively Thursday night.The center combined the Jewish holiday of Lag B'Omer with the 60th anniversary of Israel's statehood, celebrating with a kosher barbecue, pony rides, face painting, crafts and live music from the Gainesville Chutzpa Band. Rabbi Berl Goldman said about 150 people attended the celebration and estimated that $300 was raised from ticket sales.Lag B'Omer is a Jewish holiday celebrating the lives of sages Rabbi Akiva, who promoted Jewish unity during the Roman occupation of Israel, and Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, who revealed the mystical secrets of the Torah, called Kabbalah.The holiday, celebrated on the 33rd day after the second day of Passover, also represents a break in the mourning period between Passover and Shavuot. It marks the end of a plague that affected Akiva's disciples.In Israel, thousands of Jews march through the streets in parades and demonstrations during the holiday.
Goldman said the festivities would have continued if it rained, but he was glad the weather cooperated."I prayed for God to move the clouds a little east or a little west and help us out," Goldman said.
