The story of Lag B'omer

There once was a man whose name was Akiva. He was a shepherd. Akiva never had the opportunity to learn in Yeshiva. He didn't even know how to read aleph-bet. Akiva once noticed a trickle of water dripping onto a large rock. Over time, it made a hole in the rock. He thought to himself, "If a tiny drop of water could soften a solid rock, surely a drop of Torah could be absorbed into my heart." So, Akiva got to learning, and he eventually became a great rabbi. And he had thousands of students. Unfortunately, his students didn't have respect for one another. And a heavenly decree was made against them. On the day of Lag BaOmer, his students stopped dying. One of his students, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, had to run away from the Romans and learn Torah in a cave for 12 years with only a carob tree for food. Rabbi Shimon passed away on Lag BaOmer. He insisted that the day be treated like a holiday. We march with pride and joy in honor of the Sfi and the students of Rabbi Akiva spreading their message of Torah and mitzvahs and Ahavat Yisrael to the whole world. Come on and join the riot. Come on and join the opera.