Yesterday was the big day!
Early in the morning his parents gave him his new tzitzit, took him to the tomb of Shimon Hatzadik where Jerusalemites who don't want to go all the way to Meron for Lag B'omer go instead. There they met other families who were celebrating their three-year-old's first haircut as well. My son symbolically began the haircut there. They were given honey coated letters to lick. This is so that Hebrew letters should be sweet for them and they will enjoy learning to read Torah. There was music and dancing. Then they went to the Western Wall where the child gave charity.
We met them and went to a friend's home in the Old City of Jerusalem where another friend, conveniently a barber, came to give a real haircut. David and the other grandfather, also named David, cut the first locks of hair. Then Nati the barber finished the job professionally.
When the haircut was finished we danced with the kids and Eitam got his cake and a present.
Traditionally three years old is considered an age when a child's formal education begins. They begin to learn the letters and basic religious things.
After this festive haircut, We went to the Mamilla Mall just outside Jaffa Gate and had lunch.
Below is an interview with Eitam:
Transcript
Q. What did we do for you today?
A. Chalakeh (haircutting, also sometimes called upshernish in Yiddish)
Q. What happened to all your hair?
A. It disappeared!
Q. Disappeared? Where did it disappear to?
A. Now I have payot! (sideburns)
When the haircut was finished we danced with the kids and Eitam got his cake and a present. Traditionally three years old is considered an age when a child's formal education begins. They begin to learn the letters and basic religious things.
After this festive haircut, We went to the Mamilla Mall just outside Jaffa Gate and had lunch.
Below is an interview with Eitam:
Transcript
Q. What did we do for you today?
A. Chalakeh (haircutting, also sometimes called upshernish in Yiddish)
Q. What happened to all your hair?
A. It disappeared!
Q. Disappeared? Where did it disappear to?
A. Now I have payot! (sideburns)
5 comments:
Mazal tov! I didn't realize he was that old already. We must get him together with Yochai who will turn three, G-d willing, after Succot.
what a lovely (and educational!) post. i love the pictures, the sentiment and the dialogue with your little man afterward! mazel tov to all of you!
Mazel tov! I love that "my tzitzit" book. I wonder if there's anything like it in English.
We are also making an upsherin in the fall אי"ה. :-)))
Found your site via Batya's... looking forward to reading more!
p.s. Greetings from IComLeavWe (International Comment Leaving Week) #115
Mazal Tov on this and the other wonderful events! (I'm catching up on missed stuff).
We're going to have our own first Chalakeh in a couple weeks or so. It was supposed to be right after Shavuot but I was in the hospital. Now I'd prefer to wait until I have my sense of smell and taste back LOL.
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