Lag BaOmer and Upsherin

Upsherin (Yiddish Upsherinish (lit. shear off) or chalaka) is a Jewish haircutting ceremony,

Kabbalistic in origin, held when a Jewish boy is three years old. The upsherin tradition is (for Judaism) relatively modern and has only been traced back as far as the 17th century.

R. Yehudah Leibush Horenstein, a Chassidic rabbi who emigrated to Ottoman Palestine in the middle of the 19th century writes that "this haircut, called chalaka, is done by the Sephardim in Jerusalem at the kever (grave) of Shimeon bar Yochai during the summer, but during the winter they take the boy to the synagogue or Bayit Midrash and perform the hair- cut with great celebration and parties, something unknown to the Jews in Europe."

Because there was no Hebrew or Yiddish name for the custom, it was called by the Yiddish word for cutting off the hair: "upsheren".

In the Chassidic community, the upsherin marks a male child's entry into the formal edu- cational system and the commencement of Torah study. From now on, it will wear a kippah (yarmulke ) and tzitit. The child will be taught to pray and read the Hebrew alphabet. So that Torah should be "sweet on the tongue," the Hebrew letters are covered with honey, and the child licks them as he reads.

Some communities weigh the hair that is cut off in the upsherin ceremony, and give the amount to charity. If the hair is long enough, it may be donated to a charity that makes wigs for cancer patients. Other customs include having guests snip off a lock of hair, and encourage the child to put a coin in a tzedakah box for each lock that is cut.

Cutting hair is not allowed during the time of the Counting of the Omer, but is permitted on Lag Ba’omer. This is why boys who turned three between Pesach and Lag Ba’omer cele- brate upsherin on this date.

Mt. Meron, Galilee, Israel

The biggest Lag Ba’omer celebrations are held at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, in the Galilee. Shimon bar Yochai was a famous 1st-century tannaic sage in ancient Israel, active after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. He was one of the most eminent disciples of Rabbi Akiva, and is attributed with the authorship of the Zohar, the chief work of Kabbalah.

During the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534- 1572), parents used to distribute wine and sweets while their son had his first haircut. This custom is still popular today. Rabbi Isaac Luria. a Jewish mystic from Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah.

Today, many orthodox Jews travel to Mount Meron to celebrate their son’s upsherin. Jerusalemites who cannot travel to Meron, hold celebrations at the grave of Shimon Hatzaddik.

The Bible sometimes compares human life to the growth of trees. Leviticus 19:23 states that one is not permitted to eat the fruit that grows on a tree for the first three years.

Some Jews apply this principle to cutting a child's hair, and therefore only at the age of three does the child get its first haircut.

Chassidic Jews hope that the child, like a tree that grows tall and eventually produces fruit, will grow in knowledge and good deeds, and someday have a family of his own.

Some communities call a boy before his first haircut an orlah - the same word used for a tree in its early years.

Excerpt taken from the book: “Remember Observe Rejoice” © by Petra van der Zande  

ISBN 978-965-7542-61-3

Order book by clicking on this link

Lag BaOmer

Lag Ba’omer (also known as Lag La'Omer amongst Sephardic Jews) is celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. (Usually in May.)

According to the Talmud, 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died from a divinely sent plague during the Counting of the Omer. In the years that followed, Jews began to celebrate the end of the plague on Lag Ba’omer.

Rabbi Akiva continued with only five students, amongst them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who became the greatest teacher of Torah in his generation.

Akiva decided his students should learn to fight the Roman conquerors. To avoid suspicion, they dressed up as hunters carrying bows and arrows, and went to the woods to practice. Eventually, the students joined the Bar Kochba rebels in their fight for freedom.

During the Roman Empire, the Romans believed it was unlucky to marry in May, before the harvest. They believed that the souls of the dead came back to earth at that time to haunt the living, and would only be appeased by fu-nerals, not weddings. This period lasted 32 days, and ended with a festival on the 33rd day. The Roman practice coincided with the Jewish practice of Counting of the Omer, which ended with Lag Ba’omer, on the 33rd day.

In the Middle Ages, Lag Ba’omer became a special holiday for rabbinical students. On this so-called "Scholar's Day," it was customary to practice outdoor sports.

In ancient times farmers used to worry (they actually still do) during the Counting of the Omer, whether the new grain crops would succeed or fail. Israeli spring weather is always unstable. Hot desert winds (sharav) can dry out the seedlings or burn the standing grain. Another danger is locusts, other insects or plant diseases. Until the farmer knows the out-come of his respective harvests, he is not in the mood for private or public celebrations.

While the Counting of the Omer is a semi-mourning period for observant Jews, all re-strictions of mourning are lifted on the 33rd day of the Omer. Amongst Ashkenazi Jews, weddings, parties, listening to music, and haircuts are commonly scheduled to coincide with this day. Sephardi Jews marry on Lad Ba’omer, the 34th day of the Omer.

On the eve of the holiday, huge bonfires are lit all over the country. Children often begin to collect wood after the Pesach holiday.

Some believe that the practice of having these bonfires goes back to the days of Bar Kochba, who lit fires in Jerusalem to sig-nal to other villages and towns that they had captured the capital. In turn, the villages kindled fires which could be seen even further away.

The following day, families enjoy picnics and outings into the woods. Children continue to play with bows and rubber-tipped arrows.

The Meron celebrations date from the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572). Since then it became customary to give three-year-old boys their first haircuts (upsherin) during Lag Ba’o-mer.

Mt. Meron, Israel

Zionist ideology connected Lag Ba’omer to the Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman Empire. The holiday became a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit.

The Gadna program (youth brigades) of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) was established on Lag Ba’omer in 1941. Their emblem bears a bow and arrow.

On Lag Ba’omer 1948, the Israeli government ordered the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces.

Excerpt taken from the book: “Remember Observe Rejoice” 

by Petra van der Zande  ©

ISBN 978-965-7542-61-3

Buy the book by clicking this link