[Avodah] Odd bar-mitzvah custom in Selish ca. 1923

[Joel C. Salomon]

On 02/28/2011 03:42 AM, Zev Sero wrote:
> On 27/02/2011 8:33 AM, Joel C. Salomon wrote:
>> This came up a few years ago when I was talking to my grandfather z"l
>> about his childhood in Selish (AKA Seylesh, now Vynohradiv, Ukraine).
>> He was an orphan -- his father died in WWI -- and therefore had his
>> bar-mitzvah at age 12. He apparently was given to believe this was the
>> rule for yesomim.
<<snip>>
> 
> There exists a minhag that a yosom starts putting on tefillin a full year
> before his bar mitzvah, rather than merely a few weeks or months.  But
> to consider him bar mitzvah from 12 is surely wrong, and I can't believe
> there was ever such a minhag anywhere.

I had not heard of such a minhag, but that is interesting.  Do you know
of a reason for the minhag?

My grandfather's memory was that he was told, "a yossom has his bar
mitzvah at age 12".  This could just mean that he was to put on tefillin
(per the minhag Zev mentioned).  He passed away a few months back so I
cannot ask a more specific question.

--Chesky