With this year’s end-of-year retreat less than a week away, many Ramaz students were left wondering how the school was going to celebrate Lag Baomer. Lag Baomer is typically celebrated with outdoor retreats for each grade, however this year with the Israel mission less than a week away taking the day off was not practical. Lag Baomer began the night before with Dr. Rotenberg’s nightly Omer post. Following Dr. Rotenberg’s post, Ms. Deeni Hass posted what to expect the following day. 

Since the yearly retreat is a week long this year, Omer celebrations were understandably scaled down as the real celebrations are reserved for the trip. However, in true Ramaz fashion the day was still celebrated with ice cream and haircuts. During the lunch periods, chairs were set up in the auditorium while Rabbi Dov Pianko and Rabbi Schiowitz were giving boys haircuts and shaves. Some people took the razors and scissors into their own hands and gave their friends haircuts. 

Additionally, an ice cream sundae bar was set up in the lunchroom for a sweet treat to celebrate the day. The ice cream sundae bar consisted of vanilla and chocolate ice cream and a plethora of toppings, such as chocolate chips,sprinkles, fruits, and whipped cream. 

Keeping true to the spirit of the day, loving your neighbor like you love yourself, a table in the lunchroom was set up with cards to fill out with notes of gratitude to give to friends. While this year the Lag Baomer celebrations were kept more low key, the day was still acknowledged and celebrated despite the lack of a school-wide retreat.