The photographs depict groups of ultra-Orthodox men with three-year-old boys who are getting their first haircut on Lag B’Omer at Mt. Meron. In both photographs the boy is being held by a man, probably a relative, and another man is snipping a lock of his hair with scissors. In one photograph the young boy is wearing a velvet kippah (yarmulke) and a fancy bow tie. From the dress of the men surrounding him, they seem to be modern Haredim. The other photograph depicts a group of Hassidic Jews, which is evident from the fact that the boy is wearing a silver kapota (Hassidic coat) and a fur streimel (Hassidic hat). In both photographs, large crowds surround the boys who are clearly the centre of attention.
This first haircutting ceremony – Upsherin in Yiddish and Halakeh in Hebrew –is practiced by some Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox communities, especially Hassidic Jews. This event marks the beginning of the boy’s formal Jewish education, and it is when he is given his first kippah and tzitit or tallit katan. The time of the Counting of the Omer, after Pesach, is viewed as a time of mourning, and it is thus customary not to cut hair. However, on Lag B’Omer hair cutting is permitted, so it is customary for boys who have just celebrated their third birthday to celebrate the Halakeh ceremony on this day. In Israel, many families celebrate this event at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai on Mt. Meron.
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Lag B’Omer – Lag B’Omer, literally the 33rd day of the Omer, is a minor holiday celebrated during the Counting of the Omer, the forty-nine-day period between Pesach and Shavuot described in the Torah. According to the Talmud, this period became a time of semi-mourning due to a plague that killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students. Tradition holds that the plague ended on the 33rd day of the Omer (Lag B’Omer), also the day on which Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai – the mystic who, according to tradition wrote the Kabbalistic text, the Zohar – is said to have died. Lag B’Omer is celebrated with bonfires, visits to Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s grave on Mt. Meron, and music. Some people also celebrate Lag B’Omer by having their three-year old sons’ first haircuts at Mt. Meron.
Mt. Meron – Mt. Meron is located in the Upper Galilee and is one of Israel’s highest mountains. It is the site of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s grave. Hundreds of thousands of people visit Mt. Meron on Lag B’Omer, the anniversary of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai’s death. In the sixteenth century, Rabbi Isaac Luria established the tradition of bringing three-year old boys to Mt. Meron on Lag B’Omer for their first haircut.
Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai – Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai lived in the second century and was a student of Rabbi Akiva. According to legend, when the Roman Emperor Hadrian proclaimed that Torah study was punishable by death, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai and his son, Eliezer, hid in a cave in order to continue to study. A carob tree and a spring appeared miraculously at the entrance to the cave, enabling them to eat and drink during the twelve years that they lived in the cave. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is believed to be the author of the Zohar, the foundational text of the Kabbalah, although many scholars believe that it is, in fact, of a much later origin. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai is said to have died on Lag B’Omer and was buried on Mt. Meron. It is therefore traditional to visit his tomb on this day.
