Between the controversy over Matisyahu shaving his beard and the fact I recently read a Chabad article that said one of the reasons that Jews, and more specifically, Chasids, don't shave their beards is because shaving is a form of cross-dressing (true story....it was a halachic ruling by the third Chabad rebbe), I figured I'd write a brief blog entry about shaving beards in Jewish law.
When people typically think of a Jewish man, there will most likely be an image of a bearded man. This association is not incidental. The Torah states that "you shall not round the corners of your head, and do not destroy the corners of your beard (Leviticus 19:27)." The verse is a bit ambiguous. Fortunately, the Talmudic rabbis clear it up for us. Essentially, they find (Makkot 20a) the verse to mean that it is not permissible to shave the beard with a razor. Maimonides (Moreh 3:37) says that because it was the practice of idolatrous priests, we shouldn't shave our beards.
If this is all true, then does that mean there is an automatic correlation between beards and piety? Absolutely not!
First and foremost, not all Jewish men historically wore beards. Pious Jews in places such as Italy, France and Germany were clean-shaven. They managed to remove their beards with scissors. Even Joseph (Genesis 41:14) shaved his beard without any admonishment from G-d. Whether a Jew wore a beard seems to be more based on the surrounding culture, as opposed to a strict adherence to Jewish law. As a side note, even the Talmud (Shabbat 152a) notes that non-Jews in the ancient world had beards.
The Chatam Sofer, who was infamous for having said, in response to the Enlightenment period, "all innovations are prohibited," even said that there is no evidence of a prohibition of shaving (Responsa, Chatam Sofer, Orach Chayim 159) with methods that don't use a razor or razor-like objects.
This brings me to my next point. As previously mentioned, certain pious Jews would remove their beards with scissors. Fortunately, we have a much better method than a pair of scissors and functionally works like a pair of scissors: the electric razor. Since the electric razor works like a pair of scissors (i.e., two or more edges coming into edge with the skin, as opposed to the primitive, single-blade razor), it is permissible to shave one's beard with a razor.
Just because it's worth mentioning, there are certain times, such as Chol HaMoed, the period between the beginning of Sefirat HaOmer and Lag B'Omer, and during the first thirty days of the mourning process, where you absolutely do not shave, regardless of method. The fact that these caveats exist should tell us that beards are not obligatory because wouldn't it be redundant to say you can't shave during these times if you can't shave during the rest of the year?
Keeping up the debate on these issues is always good. And if you don't shave because that is your custom or you feel more Jewish because you have a beard, then go for it! However, not having a beard does not make you any less of a good Jew. Having a beard doesn't have an impact on if you keep Shabbat or kosher, or if you lead an ethical life. Beards are only skin deep.
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