Why do Jews have beards?

Answer 1

Only some Jews have beards. There is a commandment in the Torah not to scrape one's face with a razor, but this has different interpretations, for example, some do not believe it applies to electric razors.

Answer 2

Traditional Answer:

Many Orthodox Rabbis do not shave their faces because the Torah specifies that men are to not shave the 'corners' of their head. So that they don't accidentally violate this mitzvah, they don't shave their faces at all. There are some Orthodox Rabbis that remove or shape their beards, particularly among modern Orthodox Rabbis.

Among Non-Orthodox Rabbis, the practice of wearing a beard is rare (particularly among female rabbis.)

Answer that is not based on Jewish law or custom:

For those that do, it hearkens back to ancient near eastern culture; from ancient times throughout the Middle East, a beard was a badge of manhood, and as shaving was not widely practiced until the time of Alexander the great, many men simply did not shave. Hence, very old men often had long beards, and in the case of scholars and learned men, the longer the beard the greater the authority, because the more years a given man had been a scholar.

It was a cultural habit, that overtime became a cultural tradition across all Semitic groups, and it stayed even as the Semitic within the Jews of Europe was diluted. Among Jews, secular or religious, again a beard is a badge of manhood; you can hide behind immaturity for so long while you can't grow a beard, but, once it comes in, there is no hiding that you're not a youngster anymore, you're a man, that is the attitude among Semites, Jew or Arab.

In Judaism, as a sort of "throw back" to more ancient Semitic culture, the beard is revered, but it is also a source of angst for the immature male, especially in Israel. The youth feels oppressed by his bearded elders while longing to have his own beard that can't seem to come in fast enough.

Answer 3

They don't all have beards. Hasidic Jews have the custom to keep beards, but many orthodox Jews shave. Shaving is permitted only in certain ways. Shaving with a razor is forbidden for Jewish males, however trimming is fine. There are different Halachic opinions on the exact details.

Answer 4

This is primarily a Semitic and common Mediterranean genetic trait. Jews, for this reason are usually hairier than Northern Europeans and East Asians. However, they are just as hairy as Non-Jewish Arabs and Southern Italians.

I'm a Jew and I don't know what you're talking about. You're stereotyping at best. I've been to vacation areas and beaches here in Israel (75% Jewish) and there is no particular abundance of hair.

Before we speculate on the possible origin or cause of an hypothesis that you want us
to accept as a given, it's only reasonable for us to ask to have a look at your research data,
and decide whether, scientifically, there's anything to it.

As some examples of what we'll specifically be looking for:

-- What was the size of your survey sample ?
-- How many countries did the Jews you surveyed represent ?
-- Did they include roughly equal numbers of males and females ?
-- Was there any possible bias in terms of the range of ages surveyed ?
-- What parts of the body did you examine ? How consistently ?
-- What was your criterion for assigning a subject to the category of 'hairy' or 'unhairy' ?

Without a survey, and some statistically significant results, all you have is a stereotype,
not a hypothesis, and stereotypes expressly don't need any "why".

In fact, I'd even go so far as to ask: Out of the roughly 15million in the world today, about
how many Jews have you ever actually, technically, personally, ever met ?

Answer 5

Many orthodox Jews have beards, not only Hassidim. The beard symbolizes the thirteen Divine attributes of mercy. Having a beard is a voluntarily strict observance of a verse in Leviticus ch.19.

Answer 6

This is primarily a Semitic and common Mediterranean genetic trait. Jews, for this reason are usually hairier than Northern Europeans and East Asians. However, they are just as hairy as Non-Jewish Arabs and Southern Italians.

Answer 7

I'm a Jew and I don't know what you're talking about. You're stereotyping at best. I've been to vacation areas and beaches here in Israel (75% Jewish) and there is no particular abundance of hair.

Answer 8

Before we speculate on the possible origin or cause of an hypothesis that you want us
to accept as a given, it's only reasonable for us to ask to have a look at your research data,
and decide whether, scientifically, there's anything to it.

As some examples of what we'll specifically be looking for:

-- What was the size of your survey sample ?
-- How many countries did the Jews you surveyed represent ?
-- Did they include roughly equal numbers of males and females ?
-- Was there any possible bias in terms of the range of ages surveyed ?
-- What parts of the body did you examine ? How consistently ?
-- What was your criterion for assigning a subject to the category of 'hairy' or 'unhairy' ?

Without a survey, and some statistically significant results, all you have is a stereotype,
not a hypothesis, and stereotypes expressly don't need any "why".

In fact, I'd even go so far as to ask: Out of the roughly 15million in the world today, about
how many Jews have you ever actually, technically, personally, ever met ?

Answer 9

Orthodox Jews commonly grow their beards, in keeping with the appearance of the majority of Jewish men through the centuries. This is a voluntarily strict interpretation of Leviticus 19:27.

As for trimming the beard, that is a matter of personal preference.

Answer 10

It has nothing to do with being married. Wearing a beard is a voluntarily stringent observance of Leviticus 19:27.