6695 —תספורת ג' שנים כשיום ההולדת חל בראש חודש

[20 Shevat 5719]

... As to what you write^[1] about the day for cutting the hair, since the birthday falls on Rosh Chodesh:

It is known, according to the will of Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid^[2], that one should not shave on Rosh Chodesh.

And although one could seemingly say: (a) that this refers specifically to shaving (in the wording of the will, and so too in the Magen Avraham, siman 260)^[3], whereas having a haircut is permitted; (b) that a haircut at three years is different, since "it is a great thing in Jewish custom," in the words of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe^[4] (see also Sha'arei Teshuvah on Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, end of siman 531)^[5] —

nevertheless, since the wording of the Alter Rebbe (siman 260, section 1)^[6] is "to have a haircut," and it is because of a concern of danger (and not a prohibition), and the haircut is not an actual mitzvah (see the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim, siman 455, sections 15–16)^[7] — it does not leave the realm of doubt, and in my opinion it should be done (immediately) after Rosh Chodesh^[8].

Publisher's notes

Printed in Likkutei Sichos vol. 13, p. 265.

Notes

1. As to what you write (במש"כ): במש"כ = במה שכתב; ר"ח = ראש חודש. The dots at the head of the letter show that its beginning was not printed, and the recipient's name is not known. The recipient asked when to hold the first haircut (the "upsherin") of a child turning three, since the birthday falls on Rosh Chodesh.

2. The will of Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid (צוואת ר"י החסיד): ר"י = רבי יהודה. The will of Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid (§48): לא יגלח אדם הראש ולא הזקן בראש חודש, וכן לא יטול הצפרניים בראש חודש, "A person should not shave the head or the beard on Rosh Chodesh, and likewise should not cut the nails on Rosh Chodesh."

3. In the wording of the will, and so too in the Magen Avraham, siman 260 (כל' הצוואה. וכ"ה במג"א סר"ס): כל' = כלשון; כ"ה = כן הוא; מג"א = מגן אברהם; סר"ס = סימן ר"ס. Magen Avraham there (260:1): ויש מקומות שאין מגלחים בר"ח אפי' חל ביום ו' כי כן צוה ר"י חסיד, "There are places where they do not shave on Rosh Chodesh even when it falls on Friday, for so Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid commanded." Both the will and the Magen Avraham speak of "shaving," so there was room to say that the concern is only about shaving and not about a haircut.

4. In the words of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe (כל' כ"ק מו"ח אדמו"ר): The Previous Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn. His words, as the Rebbe copied them in vol. 4, letter 1189: ובדבר גזיזת השערות - אפשערענעס - הוא דבר גדול במנהג ישראל, ועיקרו הוא בהחינוך דהשארת פיאות הראש, ומיום הגזיזה והנחת הפיאות של הראש נהגו להדר להרגיל את התינוק בענין נשיאת ט"ק וברכות השחר וברכת המזון וק"ש שעל המטה, "As for cutting the hair, the upsherin, it is a great thing in Jewish custom, and its essence is the education in leaving the peyos of the head; and from the day of the cutting and leaving the peyos, the custom is to take care to accustom the child to wearing tzitzis, the morning blessings, Grace after Meals and the bedtime Shema" (copied also in vol. 5, letter 1242).

5. Sha'arei Teshuvah, end of siman 531 (שע"ת לשו"ע או"ח סו"ס תקל"א): עייג"כ = עיין גם כן; סו"ס = סוף סימן. Sha'arei Teshuvah there (531:7) cites the Gan HaMelech: ומותר להשהות שמחת התגלחת שעושין לקטן כדי להרגיל השמחה במועד ומצוה נמי איכא בכך, "It is permitted to hold over the celebration of the haircut made for a small child, to bring the joy into the festival, and there is also a mitzvah in it"; it adds that this is "the custom of Eretz Yisrael as well, to make a celebration at the first haircut of a child, when he is trained in the mitzvah of having peyos," and cites the Pri Etz Chaim (Shaar Sefiras HaOmer) that the Arizal went to Meron "to cut his son's hair with feasting and joy." The haircut thus has an element of mitzvah, so there was room to say it is not included in the concern. See also vol. 8, letter 2586, on an upsherin that fell on the seventh day of Pesach.

6. The wording of the Alter Rebbe (siman 260, section 1) (ל' אדה"ז (סר"ס ס"א)): The Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 260:1: ונוהגין בקצת מקומות שלא להסתפר בראש חודש אפילו חל בערב שבת מפני חשש סכנה, כי כן הזהיר רבינו יהודה החסיד, "In some places the custom is not to have a haircut on Rosh Chodesh, even when it falls on Friday, because of a concern of danger, for so Rabbeinu Yehudah HaChassid warned." That is: (a) the Alter Rebbe's word is "to have a haircut," which implies that a haircut too is included; (b) the reason is a concern of danger, not a prohibition.

7. Siman 455, sections 15–16 (סתנ"ה סט"ו-טז): There, section 15: water drawn for kneading matzah, when the tekufah fell or someone in the neighborhood died, so that "all the water in the neighborhood must be poured out because of a concern of danger — nevertheless this water need not be poured out, for it is said, 'One who keeps a mitzvah will know no evil'" (Koheles 8:5); section 16: "When does this apply? To water drawn for kneading matzah that is not the mitzvah matzah, which is close to an optional matter… therefore he may be stringent and pour it out; but water drawn for kneading the mitzvah matzos… he does not do well, for he appears to belittle the verse 'One who keeps a mitzvah will know no evil.'" That is: the mitzvah protects against a concern of danger, but only an actual mitzvah; the haircut, though it has an element of mitzvah, is not an actual mitzvah, and one cannot rely on its protection.

8. Immediately after Rosh Chodesh ((תיכף) לאחר ר"ח): Even after the two reasons for leniency, the matter remains in doubt; so in the Rebbe's view the haircut should be done after Rosh Chodesh, and "immediately," not delayed more than necessary. Similarly, in vol. 14, letter 5081, he advised against postponing an upsherin for fear of a chill in the winter, since "it brings down holiness, an addition of holiness in the child's soul, through leaving the peyos, etc., so why delay it?"

Summary

A child's third birthday fell on Rosh Chodesh, when, following the will of Rabbi Yehudah HaChassid, the custom is not to cut hair. The Rebbe weighs two reasons to be lenient for the upsherin, rejects them on the strength of the Alter Rebbe's wording and his ruling that only an actual mitzvah protects against a concern of danger, and concludes that it should be done right after Rosh Chodesh.