It
is customary to make a party or get-together for friends and family on the
first Friday night (Shabbat) after a baby boy is born. This is called a "Sholom Zochor,"
loosely translated as "a time for wishing
peace to the male child."
The
Sholom Zochor is usually held in the home of the newborn following the Shabbat meal. Refreshments are
served and words of Torah are shared. This gathering is used an opportunity to
publicly thank God for the baby's successful entrance to the world. The gathering
also celebrates the newborn's first Shabbat, since the baby must experience the sanctity of Shabbat before
he can be circumcised.
In
addition, the Medrash relates that a child is taught Torah in the womb,
and then forgets it at birth in order that he toil to learn it again.
The Sholom Zochor is meant as a consolation of sorts for having
forgotten the Torah. For this reason many people serve beans or chickpeas at the Sholom Zochor, since these are foods served at the
house of a mourner.
As
the gathering takes place on Shabbat, it is important that all food and
drinks should be prepared prior to the onset of Shabbat.
