lag-baomer

Today, or rather tonight , the Israeli nation celebrated Lag-baomer with bonfires and barbeques. In Sede Boqer, the MASHAV people and a few students gathered on the cliffside, just along the Wadi Zin to light our own fire. But it turned out that the cliff side was a rather popular place for such fiery activities tonight. I went there after darkness had already fallen, and as I headed past the few buildings onto the open field, all I could see in the dark was these fires burning all over the place. Looked quite a bit surreal. It was easy to spot our group: all the other fires had hebrew voices. Since the mashav people come from so many countries, all kinds of accents floated through the night.. I joined them for an hour or so, and various songs in various tongues were sung. It was good to sit under the stars and watch the fire. And listening to songs intermixed with the chatter of a dozen languages.