[Avodah] Upsherin (was The Strange History of Lag B'Omer)

[Prof. Levine]

At the suggestion of an Areivim Moderator I am redirecting this post 
to Avodah.

At 12:39 PM 5/14/2009, Shoshana L. Boublil wrote:

>I heard a lecture on this topic 15 years ago, given by Rav Gruzman 
>at the Midrasha LeBanot at BIU.
>
>He discussed the custom mentioned in TNCH where Shmuel's mother 
>brought him to Eli when he was a child.
>
>Rav Gruzman stated that this was the source of an ancient minhag 
>(that most don't know about) to take a 3 yr old child to kever 
>Shmu'el HaNavi and there a ceremony of starting school (with honey 
>etc.) took place.
>
>It also apparently included upsherin.
>
>For anyone interested, there is a kollel studying regularly at Kever 
>Shmuel nowadays.
>
>Shoshana L. Boublil

I know that most will not like this source, but here it is anyway.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upsherin where it says

Some <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredi>Haredi rabbis, among them 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbi>Rabbi 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaakov_Yisrael_Kanievsky>Yaakov Yisrael 
Kanievsky (the Steipler) and 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbi>Rabbi 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yitzchak_Zev_Soloveitchik>Yitzchak Zev 
Soloveitchik opposed the practice on various grounds, but it is 
popular among <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasidic_Jews>Hasidic Jews 
and has spread in recent years to other Jewish groups.

and

The upsherin tradition is (for Judaism) relatively modern and has 
only been traced back as far as the 17th century. The practice was 
likely adopted from a Muslim custom that dates back to the 15th 
century, in which pilgrimages to the (supposed) grave of the Prophet 
Samuel (the shrine known as Nebi Samwil) were accompanied by 
celebrations that included haircuts and bonfires. 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musta%27arabi_Jews>Musta'arabim 
(Arabicized Jews living in Israel, who were criticized for adapting 
numerous Arabic customs) accompanied the Muslims on these pilgrimages 
to the grave site. The Musta'arabim were eventually barred from the 
pilgrimages, at which time they switched to Meron, and continued the 
custom of haircuts and bonfires.

Yitzchok Levine  
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