[Avodah] The Five Corners Of A Beard?

[Michael Poppers]

In Avodah Digest V24#101, <RallisW at aol.com> asked:
> Where exactly are the corners of  the 
beard according to most poskim? <
I've seen mention made[1] of a pair of points by the ears, the pair of 
points where the jawbone connects with the skull, and the chin.  The 
Tur[2] noted a few main opinions (Rabbeinu Chananeil disagreeing with 
RaShY as well as a 3rd opinion which located four points solely based on 
the jawbone) and then quoted his father, Rabbeinu Asher, that a "y'rei 
Shamayim [should be] yotzei y'dei chulam."  The SA[3] and KSA[4] wrote 
that there were a multitude of opinions re the precise location of these 
"peios."  R'Yisrael Rosen is quoted[5] as saying, "The prohibition of 
shaving applies to five parts of the face. It is difficult to identify the 
exact location of these five places. We are, therefore, stringent about 
the matter and relate to the entire beard as 'corners of the beard' that 
may not be removed with a razor, with the exception of the mustache, which 
is definitely not a corner of the beard."

All the best from
Michael Poppers * Elizabeth, NJ, USA

____
[1] see RaShY on BT Makkos 21a, d'h' bei pirqa d'reisha and bei pirqa 
d'diqna; re the same sugya, also see RaN d'h' bei pirqa reisha and bei 
pirqa diqna
[2] YD 181 -- see http://jnul.huji.ac.il/dl/books/djvu/1936035/index.djvu, 
pp.206-207
[3] YD 181:11, and esp. see TaZ s'q' 4 and GRA s'q' 18
[4] 170:2 (parenthetically, RShG doesn't exclude the mustache/upper lip -- 
see http://www.kitzur.net/main.php?nk=1&siman=170 -- but IMHO this is 
difficult in view of what the Tur writes at the end of 181 in the name of 
RaMBaM)
[5] http://www.vbm-torah.org/archive/halak65/11halak.htm
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