Hair style and length occupies a fair amount of time, energy and money. Often it even becomes an identity mark for a person. Even in the ‘olden days’, when people were not snapping pictures with cell phones every minute, the first haircut was indeed a Kodak Moment. Among some members of the Jewish community there is a custom where boys do not get their haircut until the age of three. At that time family members and friends convene for a special event known as the ’Upsherin’- literally to shear off. At the ceremony all those gathered for the occasion are handed a scissors and cut a snippet of the child’s hair. After the professional barber completes the job, food it served and the traditional Mazal Tov is offered to the child and his parents.
In general our customs find their roots in the fifth century Babylonian Talmud, the principal text of Jewish tradition. The Upsherin however, is a latecomer to the canon of rituals.
The first reference to the practice appears in a response recorded in the second half of the sixteenth century by Rabbi David ben Solomon ibn Zimra known as the Radvaz.
Radvaz was exiled from Spain, with the rest of the Jewish community, at a young age. He landed up in Cairo and, after several years of studies and practicing in the rabbinate, was appointed Chief Rabbi of Egypt. Even in an era of great rabbinic personalities he was renowned for his scholarship and knowledge of Jewish tradition.
Radvaz was asked about a situation of a person who vowed to cut his child's hair at the tomb of the prophet Samuel near Jerusalem. However, by the time he actually brought his son to the location, Jews were barred from entry. The individual was quite concerned about not being able to fulfil his vow. In his reply Radvaz notes that it is indeed a prevalent custom to bring the child for the ceremony. However the main idea behind the tradition is not just the removal of hair, but rather to donate to charity the weight of the hair sheared off, as an expression of gratitude to God for the child’s growth and developmant.
What is clear from the responsa is that despite the importance, in the eyes of the masses, of cutting the hair at the grave of the prophet, Radvaz himself saw no significance in having the ritual specifically there. Recognition of the God`s kindness through charity, does not need a tomb to be achieved.
Over time what began as a fine practice as a way to show appreciation, evolved into a significant act on its own. As the custom gained popularity and spread, rabbis tried to find reasons for the practice. One common explanation given is that tradition teaches that man is like a tree (this is based on a variant reading of Deuteronomy 20 19). Regarding the tree according to the Torah, one is not to benefit from its fruit for the first three years of the tree. Thus a child should not get his haircut until age three. This explanation, like many others, are given to explain the existing custom, and are not to be viewed as the original intention of the practice.
Historians note that after the Jewish community lost its right of entry to the burial site of the prophet Samuel, a new location was used for the Upsherin ceremony- in a small village not far from Safed in in the Upper Galilee- by the name of Meron.
A well known old tradition exists that the great first-century rabbi, Shimon bar Yochai, is buried in Meron. The Zohar, the fundamental work of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah, that appeared for the first time in the thirteenth century, is attributed to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. Interest in mysticism and kabbalistic literature grew significantly throughout the sixteenth century with the city of Safed as its center. Consequently, the book of the Zohar and nearby Meron gained great popularity. Thus, the Upsherin and its esoteric character found a new home in Meron.
With its new home came a new holiday for it as well. Lag Baomer, the thirty-third day of the Omer period -which begins on the second day of passover- was always considered a significant day. Why it was important was unclear. The great mystic of Safed and founder of the Lurianic Kabbalah, Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572) was the first to link Lag Baomer to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai. He noted to his followers that on one of his visits to Meron on Lag Baomer the great rabbi of the first century revealed to him (Luria) that “today is my day of happiness”.
As the teachings of Rabbi Luria spread and as Kabbalah joined the mainstream of jewish thought thousands make their way on Lag Baomer to Meron to perform the Upsherin and to connect that which is larger than life.
