The Before Shot
A few weeks ago I attended a ceremony which celebrated a beautiful custom of some Jews, an Upsherin. For those of you unfamiliar with the upsherin let me break it down. For the first three years of a little boy’s life, we (those who keep this custom) refrain from cutting his hair. In the Torah, man is compared to a tree. The halacha ( Jewish law) is that we may not cut the fruit off of a tree for the first three years of its existence. Thus, we parallel the halacha for a tree’s reaping with the cutting of a young boy’s hair.
Sounds nice? Yes, it is very beautiful and I fully support all those who do it. Interestingly enough, more and more couples are beginning to add this custom to their Jewish life cycle. I think I’m just hung up on the fact that my son (if and when I have one) will look like a girl for three years. Every parent growing their son’s hair long gets, “Oh, what an adorable little girl!” Will little Dave Jr. develop a complex?
What happens when the hair is actually cut? Kids often freak out before, during, or after their first haircut. Imagine dozens of people staring at you, smiling, laughing, and coming at you with scissors!!! …and you are only 3! That sounds like the recipe for a disaster and the possible need for long term therapy.
Ok, three weeks ago I got to snip some of my nephew’s hair. Sure, he cried (truth be told, he had strep throat), but he was a real trooper. He handed out candy to all the little kids, he was the viceroy of candy (Yosef was in that week’s parsha) and got some pictures taken. After the ceremonial snipage, a barber came and gave him a real haircut, alone with his parents, in his room. From that moment on he was a big kid. The long locks were keeping him in baby mode. What a transformation. It was pretty cool.
So I’m not sure yet what the Mrs. and I will do when and if the time comes, but we will definitely have a tough decision on our hands.
The After Shot
