BY: Rockland Daily Staff 

Klal Yisroel around the world has been holding his collective breath for months now to see what the Meron celebrations—a spiritual high point of the year for thousands—will look like, after the tragic events of Lag Ba’omer of last year. 

Although it was always clear that the event cannot proceed in the same way as in the past, one year seemed too short to transform the hillula in a way that will accommodate the masses safely. 

Today, with less than two months to the hillula, the Toldos Aaron Rebbe announced that he will not be conducting his own hadlakah this year in Meron, although many of his chassidim will continue to make their way there in the afternoon hours. 

The reason given for this hiatus was the recent passing of the Rebbetzin, a”h, in recent months. This will give the committees an additional year of planning so that the celebrations will once again take place, but in a far safer manner than in the past.  

Our readers will recall that the events of last year took place on the ramp exiting from the Toldos Aaron hadlakah, and that a Toldos Aaron representative assured the committee that they would follow all its recommendations, including “not holding the hadlakah at all.”