Growing up I thought I knew the scoop on L’ag B’Omer . The story I was told was about Rabbi Akiva’s students who disrespected one another and then died in a plague. On L’ag B’Omer (the 33rd day of the Omer count which spans from Passover until Shavuot) they stopped dying and we celebrate.

Now that I lived in Israel I know that L’ag B’Omer isn’t only about Rabbi Akiva: it’s about his star student Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Rabbi Akiva lost 24,000 of his students in the plague. Of the five survivors, Rabbi Shimon was the greatest. It is from this group that all of current knowledge comes.

For years , Rabbi Shimon hid in a cave to escape the Roman conquerors who wanted to kill him . Together with his son who joined him in his exile, he studied the Torah’s esoteric wisdom and ate from the fruit of a carob tree that miraculously grew at the entrance to the cave.

On the last L’ag O’mer of his life he revealed so many Torah secrets that the sun didn’t set until he finished teaching the esoteric wisdom to his disciples. On that day, the world was filled with great joy and light. That is why we remember Rabbi Shimon by lighting bonfires.

For L’ag B’Omer I present Bar Yochai Carob Bars, inauthentic, I know but absolutely delicious . Make a blessing and think of Rabbi Shimon’s elevated soul.

Taken from Joy of Cooking.

Preheat oven to 350F or 175 C.

In a saucepan, melt together one quarter cup butter and one cup brown sugar. Stir until smooth

Let cool slightly then add one egg, 1/2 cup flour, one t baking powder, one t vanilla and a pinch of salt

Stir in 3 tablespoons of carob powder

Bake for 20-25 minutes in a greased 9 by 9 pan. Freezes well.

This year I travelled-along with a quarter of a million others, to Rabbi Shimon’s burial place in Meron where the L’ag B’omer is celebrated with great fanfare.

Here are some candles lit for Rabbi Shimon’s soul.