In short
Your Hebrew birthday is the date of your birth in the Jewish lunar calendar, which usually differs from the Gregorian date. Kabbalah understands it as the day the energy of your soul's arrival becomes accessible again, a personal new year. It is traditionally marked by blessing others, giving tzedakah, praying and reflecting on the year that passed.
Hi beautiful friends,
This week I celebrated my Hebrew birthday, the concept of a Hebrew birthday is very special and dear to me and I wanted to share some of that with you.
I hope it inspires you to celebrate yours - or at the very least, to find out when it is. 🧡
“I don’t just want to die as a Jew.
I want to live as a Jew”
I didn’t grow up in a religious home.
A few years ago, my Saba, my grandfather Chaim, died. And strangely, he passed away on my English birthday.
When we began marking his yahrzeit, we used the Hebrew date of his death.
And I remember asking my parents,
why are we marking someone’s death according to the Hebrew calendar, but all of our birthdays according to the English calendar?
They didn’t have an answer.
But that question stayed with me.
Because I realized:
I don’t just want to die as a Jew. I want to live as a Jew.
I want things to make sense.
I want spiritual and intellectual congruency in my life.
And that started shifting how I experienced my identity, my practice, and my time.
The Power of Your Hebrew Birthday 🌙
One of the things I discovered along my journey is the idea of the Hebrew birthday.
Kabbalah teaches that every soul comes into this world with a unique purpose. Your birthday marks the moment your soul entered the world, and it’s understood as a day when something of that original spiritual energy becomes accessible to you again.
It’s almost like your own personal Rosh Hashanah.
A day to pause. To look at the year you lived. To reconnect with your purpose.
And Judaism gives us a few beautiful ways to do that.
Bless others.
Unlike our usual birthdays, where friends bless us, on our Hebrew birthday we bless others. I spend my birthday morning sending blessings to the people I love and appreciate - family, friends, and even my mentors.
Give.
We give tzedakah because giving creates space for receiving. When we open our hands, we create space for
shefa
, abundance, to enter our lives in the coming year.
Pray.
I spend time in prayer and gratitude for every little thing I have and every desire in my heart. You don’t need a book or a special place.
Reflect.
It’s a day to look back at the past year - what happened, what you learned, where you grew, and where you need to change. I take time to journal and set intentions for the year ahead.
If you don’t know when your Hebrew birthday is,
go to Chabad Birthday Calculator.
PS. I made you a little Free Hebrew Birthday Ritual Card
We’re halfway through Elul
Thank God, we’ve had an incredible cohort of
50+ incredible women from around the world
come together for weekly classes, doing this work and growing spiritually together.
The sense of community has been incredible.
Although it is too late to join the cohort, you can still learn from the Guidebook, and we are only on day 16 of our 40 day journey to Yom Kippur
so there is still plenty of time to begin.
The Elul Guide is a 100-page guidebook filled with content and practical exercises to help you do this work in a practical, strategic, and systematic way - and you can do it completely at your own pace.
A Little Birthday Gift 🎂
Anyone who gets The New Year Reset Guide will also receive a
free LIVE Rosh Hashanah + Yom Kippur preparation class
with me a few days before Rosh Hashana
A little birthday gift from me to you. 🤍
And next week…
The Calendar Launches
I’ve been pouring so much love into it, and I can’t wait to share it with you.
Shabbat Shalom everyone
Written by Yarin Weltsman (Queen Yarin)
About Yarin →Questions people ask
What is a Hebrew birthday?+
It is your birthday according to the Hebrew lunar calendar. Because the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars run differently, the two dates shift against each other each year.
How do I find my Hebrew birthday?+
Convert your Gregorian date of birth with a Hebrew date converter, remembering that the Jewish day begins at nightfall, so a birth after dark falls on the following Hebrew date.
What do you do on a Hebrew birthday?+
Four customs carry the day: bless other people rather than only receiving blessings, give tzedakah, pray for the year ahead, and reflect on the year that passed.
