New Year’s Card with Lag B’Omer Illustration, 1910

This is a Shana Tova card from 1910 with an illustration of children celebrating Lag Ba'omer. The text at the top of the card says, “A Happy New Year” in Hebrew and English, and the caption in Hebrew beneath the illustration reads, “Lag Ba'omer in the Petach Tikvah colony, Eretz Yisrael.” The illustration depicts six children playing with bows and arrows which is a traditional Lag Ba'omer activity. The girls are wearing dresses with sashes, and the boys are wearing suits with short trousers and kippot (yarmulkes). The children, who are aiming their arrows in many different directions, are in an open field with the houses of Petach Tikvah in the background.

There are several explanations for the custom of playing with bows and arrows on Lag Ba'omer. One reason is that while Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was hiding from the Romans in a cave, his students would continue to study with him. They were afraid of being discovered by the Roman soldiers, so they brought bows and arrows with them and if asked by a Roman soldier where they were going, they would say that they were hunting. Another explanation is that bows and arrows remind us of the Bar Kochva revolt which is commemorated on Lag Ba'omer.

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Discussion Questions

Observation

• What is this item?
• What catches your attention when you first look at the picture?
• Describe the people depicted in the picture.
• Describe the surroundings and the objects in the picture.
• What is written on the picture?

Reading Between the Lines

• When was this card used?
  What was its purpose?
• What other festival is featured on this card?
• Why do you think the artist used this scene to decorate this greeting card?
• What is Lag Ba'omer?
  What is the origin of this festival?
  What customs are practiced on this day?
• Why are the children playing with bows and arrows on Lag Ba'omer?
• Why do you think the artist chose to feature this scene on this greeting card?
• What city is mentioned on the card?
  Find the city on a map.
  When was the city founded?
• The card depicts Petach Tikvah at the beginning of the twentieth century.
  Search for additional resources portraying Petach Tikvah on the National Library Educational website.
  How is the city portrayed in these images?
• This Shana Tova card was published in America.
  What do you think American Jews knew about Israel in 1910?
  Why do you think they would have been interested in this card?

Connections

• Do you celebrate Lag Ba'omer?
  What types of celebrations take place in your community?
• Do you send Shana Tova cards?
  What other ways are now available for wishing friends and family a Happy New Year?
• This image is of the city of Petach Tikvah.
  Find modern photographs of the city online or explore the city on Google Earth.
  How has the city changed?

Creative Ideas

• Design a Shana Tova card featuring a different Jewish festival.
• Write a diary entry for one of the children on the card. Explain what you did on this day, who you did it with, how you felt, etc.

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