Raffi's Upsherin

Birthdays celebrate the anniversary of a persons birth and are an excuse to have ice cream and cake. Birthdays are celebrated in many ways, each culture having different customs for different milestone birthdays. It is the custom of some Jews to wait until the third birthday of a son before cutting his hair. This is referred to as an Upsherin (Yiddish word meaning "to cut off") or Chalake. The third birthday is a significant stage in the life of a Jewish boy. It is then that he officially begins his Torah education, and starts wearing a kippah and tzitzit. It was pretty special to be part of this milestone birthday.

Instead of cutting Raffi's hair and saving it for the memory box to show his grandchildren some day, Raffi's parents decided to donate his (super long) hair to an organization that makes wigs for children who are not fortunate to have hair of their own, due to illness or disease. I think it is beautiful to teach children about giving instead of just receiving on their birthday.

Check out the haircut transformation!