Birthdays

“Happy birthday to you…” is a jingle we’ve all grown up on. But what’s the Jewish view of birthdays? Is it a day deserving of celebration? How should we be marking our birthdays?

The only mention of a birthday in the Torah is Pharaoh’s birthday. Pharaoh used his birthday to pass judgment on the members of his court, punishing the baker and reinstating the butler. For this reason, many argue that birthdays aren’t a Jewish concept.

However, we do find a number of instances in the Gemara that mention the power of a birthday. The Mishkan was completed on the 25th of Kislev, but Hashem waited to inaugurate it in the month of Nissan, the month Yitzchak Avinu was born, to connect these two occasions.

The Gemara in Megillah teaches that Haman was overjoyed his lottery fell out on Adar, the month that Moshe Rabbeinu died, thinking this would be a propitious month to carry out his evil plan. The Gemara adds that Haman wasn’t aware that Moshe Rabbeinu was also born on that day. Rashi explains that Moshe Rabbeinu’s birthday was a source of protection for the people. The Gemara (Kiddushin 38) explains that HaKadosh Baruch Hu “memalei shenoseihem shel tzaddikim miyom l’yom — fills the years of tzaddikim from day to day,” and that many tzaddikim die on the day they were born. Shavuos is both the birthday and yahrtzeit of Dovid Hamelech.