Mazal Tov Shalom Ber



We are so proud of Shalom Ber.  He’s only three years old, but he is a very deep child.  It’s not surprising because he’s named after the fifth Chabad Rebbe (1860-1920).  I feel a special connection to him, because I’ve spent thousands of hours studying his teachings.


Shalom Ber was a little bit late to start talking.  But we weren’t concerned for even a moment. We could tell that he was busy listening👂.  While we were doing construction on the temporary shul on the side of our house, he would come every morning, and watch them intently all day until the workers left.  


Whenever I ask the boys, “who wants to practice reading with me?”  he’s the first one to grab his book and run to me.  This morning, after I vacuumed the mess from last night, he took all the parts out for cleaning.


It’s the perfect time to increase his education and training as a Jew.  


Upshernish is Yiddish for haircut, which at first seems kind of anticlimactic.


Why make a big celebration over a haircut?


For starters, once his hair is short, he’ll instantly transform from being a toddler to a young boy.


But it’s more than that.


We all know that Jewish people are different.  Our kids “feel different”.  They don’t play with all the other kids on the block, and it’s not because we told them not to or because they are antisocial.


It’s because we’re different!


We look different.  We dress different.  We act different.


Jewish boys get different haircuts than other boys on the block.  Their clothing includes a yarmulke and tzitzis.  The girls dress modestly.  And we act different.  Before we eat, we make a brocha and thank Hashem.  Before we go to play, we daven (pray).  We have a different level of respect to our parents (different in action).  We teach our children to never call their parents by name, even in front of them (this is a Jewish law, brought in shulchan oruch).


Yes, we are different.


And instead of shying away from it, or hiding it, or being embarrassed by it, WE CELEBRATE IT!


And this is what an upshernish is about.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Can the Rebbe Work Miracles?

Image
  People say that the Rebbe can work miracles.  Is that true?  What did the Rebbe himself say about this? In the fall of 1959, a group of college students with the “Hillel” campus organization came for a group meeting with the Rebbe.  At a certain point, the floor was opened up for questions, and one student asked this very question: “Rebbe, people say that you can work miracles.  Is this true?” The Rebbe responded by asked the students what the word miracle means.  And he continue to explain:  The world has “nature” and “miracles”.  Nature is the way things happen naturally.  The world has “rules” and some of them are not so kind.  The strong survive and the weak perish.  Nature dictates that there are winners and losers, “live-ers” and “die-ers”. But a basic tenet of Judaism is that this physical world is the last of a series of many spiritual worlds.  And it’s like a puppet with strings attached from on top.  “Playing with the strings” in the higher worlds has real-life effects in t
Read more

The Rebbe is Alive

Image
  Gimmel Tammuz, which is the day the Rebbe passed away is a day of reflection and connection. I received a couple messages from people who were curious why I would fly across the country for less than 24 hours.  And then wait in line for hours to spend 30 seconds at a grave before being ushered out to let more people in. The Rebbe is alive.   So alive that even death can’t affect him. The Rebbe is not like other leaders who have passed away and left a “legacy”.  My Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Wagner was like that.  He was a special person, who gave a lot to the world, and left a tremendous legacy. Many effective leaders have done the same. The Rebbe is different. He is currently leading and guiding Chabad globally, and each individual Chossid specifically.   Who qualifies as a chossid? Anyone who accepts him as their “Rebbe”. The Rebbe is the “head” of the Jewish people, and we are the “feet” (or other body parts).   The head feels & controls the rest of the body.  In order for the body t
Read more

Should We Move To Texas?

Image
  I took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit my step-uncle and aunt and comfort them for the  loss of their daughters . Torah teaches that visiting mourners, especially in their home, is comforting to the mourners  and to the deceased. Indeed, the process of death is painful not only to the family of the deceased, but to the deceased themselves. The ability to do productive work, help people and do mitzvahs is only possible while alive in this physical world, and this is why death is painful (unlike what most people think, that death is the end of pain). We mourn  with  the dead over the lost opportunities to give light to the world. On the way back, I stopped in Dallas, TX for a day. It made $$ sense and gave me the opportunity to visit a couple good friends and supporters who have moved there. Here are some observations and reflections from the visit: Texas was very different than I expected. I wasn’t expecting the toll roads and traffic. Instead of Ford and Chevy pickup trucks, I was
Read more