Upsherin Video

An Upsherin is the traditional “first haircut” ceremony held on a boy’s third birthday. This ceremony marks the start of the child’s formal education, and is highlighted by leaving the child’s payot, and his starting to wear a kippah and tzitzit.

In the verse Leviticus 13:33, the word "v'hitgalach" meaning "he shall shave" has a large-sized letter gimmel. The letter gimmel is numerically equivalent to the number 3. What is the connection between the number three, Biblical leprosy, removing hair, and the time of the Omer count?

What is an upsherin, and what’s the message behind this ceremonious haircut? What transformation occurs at a bar or bat mitzvah, and how can we tap into this new energy?