Iyar: Duality

Notable Events

Holiday of Lag B'Omer (represented by a boy’s upsherin (first haircut), a bow and arrow, bonfire on arrowhead), death of Shimon bar Yachai (symbolized by Kabbalistic Tree of Life on the carob tree that sustained him while in the cave studying)

A spring month, Iyar is all about new beginnings and second chances—thus, there are many references to rebirth and the number two:

• An Upsherin, traditional first haircut for Jewish boys, marking their entrance into formal Jewish education (bottom left)
• The rededication of the walls of Jerusalem, after they were initially destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar (bottom right)
• Pesach Sheni, the sacrifice for people who were ritually impure during Passover (the two altars; top left)
• A bow and arrow, representing God giving humanity a second chance; a symbol of Lag B’Omer, it itself references when God displayed a rainbow after almost destroying the entire world with the flood. It supposedly was like a bow and arrow pointed away from the Earth (middle)
• Shimon Bar Yochai himself was given a second lease on life, fleeing to safety after the Roman government put a death warrant on his head for his criticism of their rule. Legend has it that he found refuge in a cave, and a carob tree and spring miraculously burst forth and sustained him. It is said that he developed Kabbalah, or Jewish mysticism, while in his cave exile
• The Kabbalah discusses the Tree of Life and the Tree of Death, the bow and arrow has been drawn into light and dark areas, accordingly
• The kabbalistic symbol of the hamsa, also adorning the bow and arrow, reference the two hands
• The three angels who visited Abraham, giving his wife Sarah a second chance at a child
• Many iterations of the number two: two animals (donkey and bull), two loads on the donkey representing Issachar, two people (child and old man), two of each instrument, and two altars
• On Yaakov’s deathbed, he compared his son Issachar to a donkey with two loads, who finds it more comfortable to settle down than carry on (meaning he preferred to study, compared to his counterpart Zebulun who became a merchant).