(Credit: Mark Lieb/Rockland Video Productions)
KIRYAS JOEL – A large bon fire lit up the nighttime
sky Sunday in Monroe as tens of thousands of Hasidic Jews assembled in
the Village of Kiryas Joel to celebrate the life and teachings of Rabbi
Simon bar Yochai, a second century sage.
The annual ritual, observed around the world, is held
on the anniversary of the rabbi’s death. Celebrants, all men
and boys, danced and sang around the large fire.
The event in Kiryas Joel is believed to be the largest individual celebration in the United States.
