[Avodah] The Ramchal's Beard

[Micha Berger via Avodah]

On Fri, Jul 14, 2017 at 05:02:31PM -0400, Akiva Miller via Avodah wrote:
: R' Micha Berger wrote:
:> The Ramchal famously had the cleanshaven look.

: I have no idea what you're referring to. Is there a famous painting of
: him that is generally accepted as accurate?

Mequbalim in Itali had a mesorah from the Rama miFano (late 16th - early
17th cent) that beards were only appropriate in EY.

The Ramchal's lack of beard was mentioned in the charges against him
when he was drummed out of Italy for teaching a very messianic Qabbalah
too soon after Shabbeta Zvi. 

Someone once showed me a Chasam Sofer and a Chidah which refer to this
practice. But I couldn't find it. Meanwhile, I found Gilyon Maharshah
(R' Shelomo Eiger), at the end of YD 181, says that kamah gedolei
hamequbalim, talmidei haAri, who cut their beards with scissors.

So, scissors is no my default assumption, which means they probably had
some visible stuble, if not enough to qualify as a "beard".

Tir'u baTov!
-Micha

-- 
Micha Berger             We are what we repeatedly do.
micha at aishdas.org        Thus excellence is not an event,
http://www.aishdas.org   but a habit.
Fax: (270) 514-1507                   - Aristotle