[Avodah] Upsherin

[Prof. Levine via Avodah]

Since Upsherin is done on Lag B'Omer at Meron,  I think one should 
understand the source for this too.

The following is from  Shorshei Minhag Ashkenaz, Minhag Ashkenaz: 
Sources and Roots by Rabbi Binyamin Shlomo Hamburger, Synopsis of 
Volumes I-IV. YL

The German custom to bring a young boy to the synagogue with a wirnpel
(wrapping for t he Torah scroll) has no connection whatsoever to the
practice of the chalaka (the Arabic term for Upsherin) observed by
Sepharadirn and later ad opted by many Chasidirn. Th e custom of holding a
special celebration marking the boy's first haircut developed among these
groups. The celebration takes place at a specific age, usually three. Th e
festivity is customarily held near the gravesite of a tzadik or in a
synagogue.  *This custom was unknown in ancient Sephardic and
Ashkenazic communities.*  (Emphasis added by me.)

The earliest reports of the chalaka [upsherin] celebration are found 
in accounts
written by Sepharadim early in the period of the Acharonim. Some three
centuries later, we find the first indications that the custom had made its
way into Chasidic circles. The most important source concerning the
chalaka is the account of the celebration in which the Ari-zal is involved.
The details of this story are somewhat vague, and it is unclear whether the
Ari-zal made a chalaka for his son, or whether the account refers to his
disciple, Rabbi Yonatan Sagish. There is also some question as to whether
the Ari-zal participated in Lag Ba 'omer events in Meron after his
kabalistic insights because the custom to conduct a chalaka on Lag
Ba 'omer runs in opposition to the Ari-zal' s final ruling that forbade hair
cutting during the orner period.

Furthermore, the custom of the chalaka has given rise to some questions as
to the propriety of hair cutting at a gravesite or synagogue, which might
constitute an infringement upon the sanctity of the site. Some have also
questioned the permissibility of haircutting on Lag Ba 'omer, during bein
ha-rnetzarirn (the three weeks before Tisha B' A v) or during Chol
Ha 'rno 'ed. Yet another concern was the immodest behavior that
occasionally accompanied this event.  Most Sephardic and Chasidic rabbis
applauded, or at least defended the practices observed in their circles,
though there were those who forbade the custom in this manner.

Rabbi Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik of Brisk (1889-1960) disapproved of
bringing children to rabbis on their third birthday for the chalaka, claiming
that this practice "has no reason or basis." He noted that there are sources
indicating that one should introduce the child to matters of Torah at the age
of three, but none that involve haircutting. Rabbi Yaakov Yisrael
Kanievsky [the "Steipler Ga'on," (1899-1985)] also opposed this practice,
and would send away parents who brought their children to him for the
chalaka haircut.

The tendency among Ashkenazi communities to refrain from this practice
stems, according to one view, from the concern that the chalaka
transgresses the prohibition of imitating pagan practices. Cutting a child's
hair at the age of three was a well-known custom among several nations in
ancient times, and thus observing this practice may constitute an imitation
of pagan ritual. Some, however, dismissed this argument, claiming that to
the contrary, the chalaka perhaps began as an ancient Jewish practice
which was later adopted by the gentiles. There are some older customs,
originating in the times of Chazal and the Ge'onim, such as fasting on Erev
Rosh Hashana and the ceremony of Kapaprot on Erev Yom Kippur which
were opposed by some rabbis since they feared that their origins could be
found in pagan rites. In any event, although some communities accepted
this custom, Ashkenazi communities were never aware of such a practice.
They did not receive this tradition from their forebears, and they found no
mention of it in the writings of the Rishonim.

The ancient tradition among Ashkenazi communities was to cut a boy's
hair at a very young age. In fact, during the times of Chazal, parents would
cut an infant's hair not long after birth, and they even permitted cutting a
baby's overgrown hair on Chol Ha 'mo' ed. In the times of the Rishonim,
too, boys' hair in Ashkenaz was cut already within the first several months
after birth. The phenomenon of children with overgrown hair simply did
not exist in Germany, and a boy with overgrown hair would have been
mistaken for a girl.

The custom of chalaka was never accepted in Ashkenazic countries or
other regions in Western Europe, not even among the Sephardic
communities in these areas. The practice earned acceptance in Eastern
Europe among certain Chasidic circles, but only in later generations.
Among other circles, boys' hair was cut when they began speaking, and no
special affair was held to celebrate the event.

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