• Well, it's a birthday party, of course, for a boy who's turning three! But today marks two other important, and unique, events in Yerachmiel Meir's life. First, he's receiving his first haircut today. Rabbis, friends and family all pitch in with a few snips to create a one-of-a-kind (and hopefully correctable, with the help of a professional barber) "hairstyle". And then, along with that haircut, today marks the start of his "formal" Torah education; traditionally, boys lick honey from the letters of the alef-bais (Hebrew alphabet) as they say them aloud, to learn that the Torah is as sweet as honey.
• Yerachmiel Meir has been looking forward to his Upsherin for a long time (three years, in fact, though he might not have known it at the time!). You are welcome to join us in cutting his hair, in giving him a few coins for his special pushke (the money is not for him; it will be donated after the party!), and wishing him a life of learning, mitzvos and good deeds. Here are a few thoughts on Upsherin and its customs that you might find interesting:
• The source of the custom of Upsherin is the Zohar (a mystical text), which bases it on the combination of two verses which appear in close proximity in the Torah. In prohibiting the chopping down of fruit trees for wood (which actually refers to unwarranted waste in general) the Torah states: "For man is a tree of the field." Step two: The Torah prohibits eating the fruit of a tree for the first three years. Based upon the connection implied by the first verse, we find mystical reasons to not cut a child's hair for the first three years of his life. It is not generally known why this applies to boys and not to girls, but it is not common practice to grow a girl's hair for three years.
• Also with the first haircut comes the first opportunity to keep the mitzvah of not cutting off the peyos (side-burns or "earlocks"). Finding an opportunity such as this to actively demonstrate what is usually thought of as a negative, or passive mitzvah (ie, "you should not cut the peyos…"), is a rare and precious moment in our lives. Tzitzis are often worn for the first time as well, if the child is toilet-trained. And a kippah is usually worn from the time the boy turns three.
• One of the most beautiful treatments on the concept of Upsherin can be found in "The Collected Writings of Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch". One would think that Hirsch, of 19th century Germany, would be an unlikely person to have observed the custom of Upsherin [a Hungarian / Chassidic tradition]. However, a man from Hungary had settled in Frankfurt and invited R Hirsch to attend [an Upsherin]. The article is based on the ideas he spoke about on the occasion.

• Hirsch notes that the [prohibited] fruit of a tree's first three years is called "Orlah", and this is also the term applied to the skin removed during circumcision. We also learn of the prophetic/poetic image of the "orlas haleiv" (the word leiv meaning heart), the callus of insensitivity that one must remove from one's heart. Here, we talk about "orlas harosh", symbolically removing the impediment to understanding. Rav SR Hirsch ties this in to the notion of peyos, which provide a visible line, reminding you of the separation between the animal and human parts of our psyche.

(compiled / plagiarized freely from various Internet / newsgroup sources)

In honour of the Upsherin of my son, Yerachmiel Meir.