This Jewish Life: A Haircut and More
Posted By James BesserThis Jewish Life: A Haircut and More
I went to get my hair cut after school today. I drove myself to the agora of Teaneck, Cedar Lane, to visit my regular barber.
Cedar Lane is an anthropological gem in itself. The street boasts at least eight separate nail salons, more banks than I can count, the Teaneck library, myriad Jewish eateries, two CVSs, and (my favorite) a kosher and non-kosher pizza place that are adjacent to on another.
I parked and ran through the rain to Hair Master West where I was pleased to see the owner, Frank, sitting reading the paper; there was not a customer in sight.
Frank is not Jewish. That is apparent upon first meeting him. His raspy voice, no doubt altered by decades of smoking, has a distinctly—well—non-Jewish tone. He is a schmoozer nonetheless.
We began talking about the nascent NCAA Basketball tournament (I like UCLA over Kansas in the finals, if anyone was wondering), but soon started one of my favorite conversations of all time.
He asked me if I’d be back to get my hair trimmed before Pesach. He even pronounced the chet of Pesach with a distinctly Jewish-American sound.
He proceeded to explain that he knows that after Passover, some Jews don’t cut their hair for thirty-three days. “He know about Lag Ba’Omer?” I thought, puzzled. I was having trouble understanding how Frank the non-Jewish barber knew about that custom. He continued: “All I know is that on that 33rd day, every Jew in town comes in to get a hair cut. It’s crazy in here!” I laughed. It got funnier.
Frank moved on to discussing how his barbershop essentially functions on a Jewish calendar. He knows all the holidays and pronounces their names with a nonchalance that made me giggle. I half expected him to ask me about the parsha.
I don’t know what to make of this right now, but I do know that it was amusing, and I hope you found it a fun read too.