The Lag B’Omer celebration on Mount Meron – National optimistic mood reflected by our economy – More tragedy in India – Evening statistics
“Don’t ever get involved with the Hasids,” my grandfather once told me. “They are terrible people.”
I am bound to say that such advice was superfluous, as I never felt the slightest attraction towards them at any period in my life. My grandfather was Orthodox, but his piety was of that quiet, unobtrusive variety that never was unduly flurried by the knowledge that other people’s attitudes towards religion differed from his. The fundamentalist outlook was anathema to him.
His hostility towards this group would have been reinforced by the episode that occurred in Israel at the celebration of Lag B’Omer on Mount Meron, where a stampede killed 45 people and injured 150 more. The Israeli Ministry of Health had attempted to discourage this assembly in the first place, on the grounds that it might cause another super-spreader event. But case rates in the country have been low for some time, and Israel has already vaccinated 58% of its population. So the Ministry reluctantly gave permission for the event to proceed – not anticipating a cause of death completely unrelated to COVID. None but the ultra-Orthodox bother themselves much about this holiday at all. Lag B’Omer occurs in the midst of the 7-week period between Passover and Shavuot. This interval is regarded as a period of semi-mourning, during which shaving, listening to instrumental music, or conducting weddings, parties, and dinners with dancing are forbidden. Traditionally, the reason cited for these restrictions is in memory of a plague that killed the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva (ca. 40–ca. 137 A.D.). To my mind, such an attitude is a deliberate scorning of the gifts that Nature has chosen to bestow upon us during one of the most beautiful times of the year, but I’m not the one to decide upon such matters. No doubt these co-religionists of mine would look upon my habit of taking to the mountain trails during this period with pitying wonder and condemnation. In any case, Lag B’Omer provides a brief relief to this harsh, gloomy observance. It is a celebration of the memory of Shimon bar Yochai, a sage of the 1st century and a forerunner of the Kabalists. Why anything connected with the Kabbalah should be a matter of rejoicing is something of a puzzler for me, but there it is: the religious authorities have so decreed it, and it is not my business to pass judgment on it. The celebration is marked by the lifting of the afore-mentioned restrictions, as well as bonfires and singing and dancing, and it is, to use Douglas Adams’ phrase, “mostly harmless.” But evidently there are exceptions, and so it proved in this instance. The circumstances that led to the stampede are unclear, but it appears that about 100,000 worshippers emerged from one section of the mountainside compound, down a passageway with a sloping metal floor wet with spilled drinks, leading to a staircase continuing down. Witnesses say that people tripped and slipped near the top of the stairs. Those behind, not knowing of the blockage ahead, continued, crushing the people further down. Five of the dead are Americans, which probably is why this incident has received so much attention in our headlines; otherwise it is doubtful that our journalists would give it more than a brief mention.
Our economy is growing – to a remarkable degree, in light of the recent pandemic. It has gone up 6.4% in the last quarter. The number of people seeking unemployment aid last week reached its lowest point since the pandemic began. The National Association of Realtors said that more Americans signed contracts to buy homes in March, reflecting a strong housing market as summer approaches. Economists expect the economy to expand close to 7% for 2021 as a whole, which would mark the fastest calendar-year growth since 1984. In March, U.S. employers added 916,000 jobs – the biggest burst of hiring since August. Retail spending has surged, manufacturing output is up, and consumer confidence has reached its highest point since the pandemic began. There are many factors: the aggressive scheduling of the vaccine rollout, re-opening of more businesses, the flow from federal spending into domestic economy, the Federal Reserve’s ultra-low interest policy. But whatever the reason, the national mood is overwhelmingly optimistic – perhaps a little too much so. The pandemic is not over yet. Today’s U.S. daily death tally, for example, was 5.5% of the death tally worldwide – far less of a discrepancy than in earlier months, but somewhat high in light of the fact that the U.S. contains only 4% of the world’s population.
The national situation presents a great contrast to that of India, which continues to unravel. It is the world’s largest producer of vaccines, but it is nonetheless beset by vaccine shortages. Mumbai has run out of stock and will be unable to vaccinate anyone from April 30th to May 2nd. During the month of April, the number of COVID cases almost trebled. Nearly 3,500 Indians have died from the virus on this day alone. Biden has sent considerable aid to India in the form of equipment, oxygen cylinders, and test kits. But travel from India to the U.S. has been sharply restricted. Foreigners who have been in India during the past 14 days will not be permitted to enter the U.S. unless they are permanent residents or close family members of U.S. citizens, while the State Department has included India in its “do not travel” advisory for all Americans. Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 151,991,376; # of deaths worldwide: 3,193,044; # of cases U.S.: 33,102,238; # of deaths; U.S.: 590,024.