Is there any significance in Judaism attached to the day someone was born (aside for the 13th year)? Is there anything wrong with celebrating one's birthday? And is it more correct to celebrate the "hebrew" date or the gregorian date?
Tell me more
×
Mi Yodeya is a question and answer site for
those who base their lives on Jewish law and tradition and anyone interested in learning more. It's 100% free, no registration required.
|
|
||||
|
|
There are definitely some specially celebratory ones other than age 13, such as when one surpasses the deadline for kares, as Rav Yosef did when he turned 60 and threw himself a party (Mo'ed Katan 28). The Kaf Hachayim, cited in this article by Rav Ari Enkin, also quotes sources for age 70 being an appropriate birthday to recite birkas shehechiyanu (presumably due to its identification with the human lifespan). That same article presents plenty of sources for the significance of the birthdays of great people in our history, both from practical and metaphysical standpoints. The assumption in all of the above is that the birthday of significance is the Jewish one. For example, (as you noted) it is what determines the date that one reaches legal adulthood, and all other considerations in halacha. |
||||
|
|
|
There is a notion that someone celebrating a birthday is a Chiyuv for getting an Aliyah to the Torah. It comes really low on the list, but it is there. |
|||||
|
|
A birthday is a time to reflect and to accept upon oneself to improve in one's ways. The correct day to celebrate is the Hebrew date. It is significant as we see in Pirkei Avos Ben Esrim, Ben Shloshim, etc. |
|||
|
It doesn't seem like there's any real significance to an ordinary birthday. But it doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with marking another lap around the sun. For Jewish matters, the hebrew birthday is what counts, so I assume that would be the main day. However, see this post: http://torahmusings.com/2009/05/secular-birthdays/ Hirhurim also discussed birthdays here: http://torahmusings.com/2004/11/birthdays/ Though over here, R.Enkin found some scattered sources that might support it: http://torahmusings.com/2008/03/birthdays-2/ |
|||
|
|
|
Sichos in English has a list of birthday customs suggested by the last Lubavitcher Rebbe. |
|||||
|
|
I've heard argued that the secular date should be celebrated because the only source in tanach that we have of birthdays is Pharoh celebrating his birthday in Gen 40:20 There is no reference in tanach to a hebrew birthday. Hence the secular date should be celebrated. |
|||||||||||||
|
|
I wrote a paper about this topic see: http://rchaimqoton.blogspot.com/2007/04/happy-birthday.html and http://independent.academia.edu/RudolphKlein/Papers/1091818/Happy_Birthday_ |
|||||
|
|
Surprisingly good list of sources can be found on Vos Iz Neias |
|||
|
|
