The idea of marking one’s birthday as a time of celebration, reflection, and thanksgiving is relatively new in Jewish history. So when the Rebbe began to introduce the Jewish birthday campaign, many people were not even sure of the exact date of their Jewish birthday.

A visitor from Israel, Reb Avraham Dunin (1937-2011), once attended a private audience for his birthday. In his note, he asked for a blessing for his birthday, which would take place on Cheshvan 6. The Rebbe read through the note and wondered aloud “Vov? Zayin? [six? seven?]” The Rebbe concluded the meeting with a blessing, and as Reb Avraham left the room, the Rebbe again looked at the note and repeated “Vov? Zayin? [six? seven?].”

Mystified, Reb Avraham called his mother to find out the exact time of his birth. To his amazement, she acknowledged that he was born in the evening between Cheshvan 6 and 7. (Because his circumcision, normally held on the eighth day of life, had been delayed for other reasons, the exact date was not relevant at the time.)

Another visitor, Rabbi Yitzchok Dov Lieberman of Kfar Chabad, recalled his first private audience with the Rebbe on his 19th birthday, Cheshvan 4, 1973:

I prepared to the best of my abilities. In my note, among my requests, I asked for a blessing in honor of my birthday on Cheshvan 4 (“Dalet Cheshvan”). Reading my note, the Rebbe asked, “When is your birthday?”

I was flustered. I had not been expecting to speak to the Rebbe, but I managed to reply, “Dalet Cheshvan.”

The Rebbe asked again, “When is your birthday?”

I figured that I had responded too softly the first time, so in a louder voice I repeated, “Dalet Cheshvan.” At this point, I should have realized that something was not in order, and the Rebbe asked a third time, “You are sure your birthday is Dalet Cheshvan?”

Flustered, I nervously responded in the affirmative and even added that this was the day I celebrated my bar mitzvah. The Rebbe shrugged and proceeded to bless me in connection with my birthday.

I left the audience in a daze and shared the story with my friends, who advised me to speak with the Rebbe’s secretariat, Rabbi Hodakov. Upon hearing my strange story, he was upset with me that the Rebbe needed to ask the same question so many times. “After the first time you should have understood that you need to investigate the matter!”

After a complicated search I located my birth certificate and discovered that the date of my birth was actually Yud Daled Cheshvan - Cheshvan 14! My father recorded our birthdays in a notebook with pencil, and apparently the yud was small and therefore overlooked. This is my only explanation for the source of such an error.

Use our birthday calculator to find out when your Jewish birthday is.