Beards
The Book
of Leviticus forbids a man to shave the “side-growth of [his]
beard” (19:27, 21:5). Later this was
interpreted as the hair on one’s head and cheeks. Payot, the side
curls on the side of a man’s head, has become religious custom
of the Hassidic and ultra-Orthodox. In biblical times, shaving used
to be considered a pagan practice and, consequently, was prohibited.
The beard is a means by which men and women are distinguished. It states
in Deuteronomy, that
men and women are forbidden to assume the clothing and customs of the
other gender (22:5). Ultimately,
the rabbinic scholars of the past interpreted this to include a man
shaving his face. In the Bible,
a man was considered appealing and pious by his beard. The Talmud extended this understanding to label the beard a symbol of a man’s
maturity.
A man was allowed to trim his beard with scissors,
but shaving with a razor was outlawed. Halakhically, a man may shave his beard with scissors, chemical
depilatories, or electric razors with two cutting edges. Men would only
shave their beards as a mark of intense anguish. Conversely, because
so many men today do shave their faces, growing a beard may also represent
a sign of mourning. A man
was also required to shave his body if inflicted with a disease, to
help rid his body of the illness.
Kabbalists interpreted a man’s beard to possess mystical powers. In Kabbalah,
a man’s beard not only represents Creation of the world being
divinely inspired by the Holy One, but it also symbolizes God’s
mercy. While Hasidim of Eastern Europe accepted this tradition, Italian Jews continued to
shave their faces. In Eastern Europe, the rabbis modified the law from an obligation to grow a beard to prohibiting
shaving one’s face. In 1408, however, the Spanish code forbade
Jews to grow beards. Today, mainly traditional Jews do not shave their
beards. Yet many Jews, who do shave throughout the year, choose to not
shave the three weeks prior to Tisha
b’Av in a sign of mourning and during the weeks of Sefirah (counting of the Omer).
Sources: Eisenberg, Ronald L. The
JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. PA:
Jewish Publication Society, 2004; Wigoder,
Geoffrey , Ed. The
New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia. |