[Avodah] Why are beards considers so choshuv?

[Harry Maryles]

--- On Wed, 1/6/10, T613K at aol.com <T613K at aol.com> wrote:




>>>>>
 
1.    ...The white beard is a sign of age and in general, in the Torah world the elderly are given more respect than the young, because they are presumed to be more knowledgeable and wiser.  "Zekenim" is virtually a synonym for "the wise and learned."  "Zaken = zeh shekanah chachma."
 
2.  Since there is an issur of shaving with a razor, not shaving at all is a sort of hiddur mitzva.  There is also an issur of not cutting off the corners of your beard, i.e., the payos, and once again, leaving the whole face unshaved is a sort of hiddur mitzva.
 
3.  Shaving off the beard is considered a denial and denigration of one's masculinity -- it is a sort of "feminizing" thing to do, making one's face look more womanly and less manly, so that's one reason it's frowned upon in certain frum circles.  The beard is /both/ a sign that one is adult and no longer a child, and /also/ that one is male and not female.  Obviously in Litvishe circles where all the bachurim go beardless, they are not concerned that being beardless is "effeminate."  But even in those circles, men are strongly encouraged to grow their beards after marriage, when they need to appear more adult and less juvenile.  (And maybe they also need to be more masculine in their role as husband and father?  Just speculating.)
 
4.  Why  do men care if their beard grows in spotty, fuzzy or sparse? -- that is because, as members of the human race, they are subject to the trait of vanity.  Men want to be handsome!  For a similar reason -- because they care how they look, even at age 80 ...This now brings us back to the "effeminate" side of eliminating one's beard, showing that the removal of facial hair is a feminine thing to do.
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These are some of my thoughts.
 
I don't think it has anything to do with vanity, masculinity, or feminization. Shaving is not vanity.  For me it is merely one form of good grooming - kind of like brushing one's teeth.
 
As you point out Shaving is not Assur. Razors are Assur. If course Chsadim will give you an argument about that and say thaat shaving is Assur. But clearly the Yeshiva world does not agree since many if not most Yeshiva Bachurim shave. 
 
I don't have a beard because I simply cannot stand not being able to touch my face. The two times that I had to grow a Shloshim beard, I hated it. I shave during Sefira and the 3 weeks based on a Heter from my Rebbe.
 
As you said, beards are considered a sign of wisdom and maturity. This is not only true in our culture. It is true in many other cultures, not the least of which is academia. Trim beards are almost de rigueur for the more wise and professorial look these days. These cultures too feel beards imply age which brings wisdom. Often perception trumps reality. If one has a beard he will be deemed wiser than someone who doesn't - all else being equal.
 
The word Zaken can be used to mean beard or elder. An elder is one who has gained wisdom via his many years of life experience  A clean shaven face implies youth and thereby immaturity. Youth does not have a high value in Judaism. There is even a Gemarah which tells us that it is Torah is much better understood when learned at an older age. I can certainly understand that. the older one is the more information he brings to bear on any subject learned and that interacts with the new information learned to give one a better understanding of the material.
 HM

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