TRADITION MARKS BOY'S FIRST HAIRCUT.

Byline: Krystn Shrieve Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Standing proudly with his arms behind his back and eyes squeezed shut, 3-year-old Mendel Gurary let his father pull a lock of his light brown hair from under his small yarmulke and cut it.

The tradition, called upsherenish, the Yiddish word for haircut, is performed when an Orthodox Jewish boy turns 3 and has his hair cut for the first time. It marks the beginning of a boy's Jewish education.

``I'm feeling a mixture of things,'' said the boy's mother, Bassie Gurary. ``I'm happy because he's reached a milestone, but I'm nervous because his look is changing - he's not a little baby anymore. He's a little boy. My heart is overflowing.''

The ceremony was held recently at Chabad of Simi Valley, the city's first Orthodox Jewish synagogue, started by Mendel's father, Noson Gurary last year in the family's home, and now with more than 70 participants expected for the upcoming High Holy Days.

The Jewish community is growing in Ventura County - now numbering 40,000 in Simi and Conejo valleys and with a new regional Jewish cemetery being built in Simi Valley.

In Simi Valley, the more strict Orthodox Jews have an increasingly stronger presence - the men noticed at times for their long beards and traditional black suits and hats.

``I know there aren't many kids like Mendel in Simi Valley,'' Gurary said. ``Growing up here will be a challenge because he won't be growing up in a large Jewish community the way his mother and I did.

``He'll be practicing Judaism more than other friends. When he's at a friend's house, he'll still have to eat kosher,'' Gurary said. ``And he'll be wearing his skull cap. We'll have to teach him to be proud of his religion. Hopefully, he'll accept it and be a better Jew than I am.''

At the ceremony, the scissors are passed in turn to congregation members, each of whom cuts a small section - careful to leave the hair around the ears which are called sidelocks and are worn by Orthodox Jewish men.

At age 3, a Jewish boy also begins wearing a yarmulke, also called a kippah, and tzitzit, a religious garment that is worn around the shoulders and has strings hanging from it to the waist symbolizing God's 613 commandments in the Torah, the first five books in the Bible.

``When you wear these all day,'' Gurary said, holding up the strings, ``they remind you that as a Jew there are things you are required to do in your life that others may not have to do.''

Batya Goldman, whose family joined the synagogue after moving to Simi Valley from Jerusalem eight months ago, said she was reminded of her own son's hair-cutting ceremony nearly three years prior.

``It's extremely moving, and all mothers can tell you on that day you can see a transformation,'' Goldman said. ``Instinctively, the boy knows there's something different about him.''

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(1 -- 2 -- color) Above, Mendel Gurari, 3, has his hair ritually cut by members of Simi Valley's Orthodox Jewish community during the boy's upsherenish ceremony, signifying his entry into Jewish learning. At left, Rabbi Noson Gurari and Mendel read the Hebrew alphabet together during this milestone event. The ceremony was held Wednesday at Chabad of Simi Valley, the city's first Orthodox Jewish synagogue, which Rabbi Gurari started last year in his family's home. More than 70 participants are anticipated for the coming High Holy Days.

Lilly Barrett/Special to the Daily News