Lag B'Omer

At one point while we were in Beersheva, I smelled quite a bit of campfire smoke, and mentioned it to one of the researchers. She told me it was Lag B'Omer -- the 33rd day in the count from Pesach (Passover) to Shavuot (Pentacost). People celebrate it by having bonfires. The reasons behind the holiday are apparently varied, and I was a little sad I'd missed it...but not *too* sad, as we head back to the village. ;-)

One of the other Fulbright fellows was here in Haifa for it, so if you'd like to learn more, you can visit her blog (and of course wikipedia has info on it, as well.): http://brooklyn2haifa.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/lag-baomer-part-2-bonfire-archery-cake/