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