Question:
I have heard that Lag BaOmer is the day on which Rabbi Akiva granted semichah to his remaining students. However, I have not seen this stated explicitly in the classic early sources. What is the source for this assertion?
Answer:
The first source that explicitly formulates this idea is the Kaf HaChaim, written approximately one hundred years ago. However, he is not presenting an innovation of his own, but rather grounding his words in earlier kabbalistic tradition, particularly the writings of the Arizal.
The Arizal explains that the celebration of Lag BaOmer is tied to the joy (simchah) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was one of the five remaining students of Rabbi Akiva after the deaths of the original twenty‑four thousand students. This establishes Lag BaOmer as a pivotal moment not merely of personal celebration, but of spiritual rebuilding.
The Chida strengthens this idea even further. In two different places, he writes that Rabbi Akiva began teaching the five remaining students on Lag BaOmer. In essence, this day marks the rebirth and continuity of the Oral Torah following its near‑collapse.
Based on these sources, the Kaf Hachaim deduces that Lag BaOmer was not merely the first day of renewed learning, but the actual moment of semichah—the ordination of the five students. This was the decisive act that ensured the transmission and endurance of Torah Sheba’al Peh for future generations.
When all of these sources are considered together, it becomes clear why Lag BaOmer possesses such great spiritual power. It is the day on which the Oral Torah’s continuity was secured.
An interesting side point may be added. The Rama passed away on Lag BaOmer. As is well known, the practical semichah and halachic authority that we rely upon today flows from the Shulchan Aruch of the Mechaber together with the glosses of the Rama. In this sense, Lag BaOmer emerges as a day deeply connected to semichah and the unbroken continuity of Torah Sheba’al Peh across generations.
Sources:
Kaf Hachaim 493:26 “From the words of the Sha’ar HaKavanot cited above, it is implied that the joy of Lag BaOmer is because on this day Rabbi Akiva granted semichah to his five remaining students, among them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who was the greatest of those students. This is also the implication of the Birkei Yosef. Accordingly, it is possible that both ideas are true: that Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai passed away on this day, and that he also received semichah on this day.”; See Shaar Hakavanos Shaar Sefiras Haomer p.87a; Chida in Tov Ayin 18:87 and in Maaras Ha’ayin Likkutim 7:8, Sdei Chemed Asifas Dinim 6 and Kaf Hachaim ibid; See also Peri Chadash 493, brought in Kaf Hachaim 493:26
