Identity Card
Iyar is the eighth month in the Hebrew calendar that begins in the month of Tishrei.
The name of the month – like most months of the year in the Hebrew calendar – is taken from the language in which the Jews spoke during the Babylonian exile, and its translation into Hebrew is light (or).
In the Tanakh, we find another name for the month of Iyar: Ziv month, named after the brilliance and light of the sun, which in this month is in full radiance and glory, but still not as hot as in the later summer months.
According to the Kabbalah, the month of Iyar is a month of healing.
The month of Iyar is characterized by carrying within it the mitzvah of “Counting the Omer” from its first day until its last.
During the days of “Counting the Omer”, mourning customs are practiced, but after the 18th of Iyar (Lag BaOmer), the Sephardic communities tend to be lenient with these customs.
The 14th of Iyar is “Pesach Sheni” and “Tachanun” is not said.
The 18th of Iyar is “Lag BaOmer” and “Tachanun” is not said. It is customary to light bonfires in honor of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai and to study his Torah.
