Should a man have a Beard?

I am glad that you have asked this question, or wondered about this question. Let me say a few

things first though, before answering this question, O.K?

As we know, the Torah we have today is NOT the outright law of Moses, even though it contains probably 90% or more of the law given through Moses. I say this because Genesis through Deuteronomy is simply a summary of things leading up from the creation, to how Israel was chosen to be Yehowah's firstborn son, or rather 'nation'; as stated in Exodus 4:22, "And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel [is] my son, [even] my firstborn."

Then, when it gets into Exodus, it gives a story in detail - but not in grand detail of how Yehowah went

about redeeming Israel, and making Israel His first set-apart nation.

When the Torah moves on it speaks of how the Israelites journeyed in the wilderness, until they reached Mt.

Sinai. All of this is mere summary. Then the rest of all the Torah basically gives many commandments / statutes / precepts from Yehowah intertwined with stories of their journeys, to the death of Moses, and the succession of Joshua. But this is all mere summary, not the actual law of Moses. For there are several commandments given in the Torah, the one we have today (Gen - Deut) that point to other existing commandments, yet are not mentioned outright in this Torah. Having a beard is one of these hidden commandments. While other hidden commandments do not even have a reference in the torah, but are found through the prophet's writings. One of those commandments is the commandment of not conducting any type of business on or during the New Moon, whether that be you selling something, or buying something, or are working for income. Yet, the Torah mentions no such commandment, click here to see what I am talking about.

There are several such hidden commandments I can name off of the top of my head that are either not mentioned at all in all of the Tanach, let alone the Torah, or they are simply referenced to in the mentioning of other commandments, or statutes.

1) Men must have beards.

2) Married women must pin or tie their hair up, therefore, also it must be long enough to do so.

3) No business is allowed during the New Moon.

4) You must blow the shofar at the beginning of the New Moon, and when the moon becomes full (Psalm 81:3)

5) You must not murmur, nor complain, yet we see the Israelites constantly getting into trouble over this in the

wilderness.

6) You must not commit arson.

7) It does not explain what modest clothing / appearance is for women, versus men.

8) Do not commit rape.

9) Do not commit fornication.

Now, let's get back on the subject. Regarding a man having a beard, this is one of the hidden commandments that are not said outright in the Law. Therefore, there can be a problem when a non-Torah observant person comes across Leviticus 19:27 that states, "...neither shalt thou mar the edges of thy beard." For the pagan, or non-Torah observant person will or might say, "That only applies if I have a beard." The fact of the matter is that you must have a beard in order to keep that law, instead of what the pagan says. For one must have a beard in order to keep that commandment, because it implies that the man already has a beard. Another way of explaining the verse correctly without using a particular story to back it up is to say, "If it is a sin to shave off the edges of your beard, (that is the place where your facial hair stops when flowing towards your checks, where facial hair does not grow (thus, making a straight edge)), how much more of a sin is it if I were to be totally clean shaven, or to have only a goatee, or mustache?" Therefore, you must have a full and natural beard. By seeing things in that light or way we can see that men must have a beard in order to keep this law verses them not applying this commandment if they don't have one. This, by the way, includes under your jaw, even unto your neck. It simply applies to wherever your facial hair stops. This commandment has nothing to do with the length of your beard, but your facial hair must be longer than mere whiskers and "shadow."

Now, here is the story I was referring to in order to back things up: In the book of 2 Samuel in Chapter 10 there is a story about King David sending his servants to another king to comfort him after his male parent, the former king died. While David's servants were there, the people of that land shaved off half of the beards of all of David's servants in order to humiliate them. Messengers were sent to these men from David to tell them to stay at Jericho until their beards grew out. Thus, do you see the proof of the commandment's existence? For why not just shave all of it off if there was no such commandment? Got it!!! Therefore, all men must have beards. This also gives you an insight, which is: every male that is old enough to grow facial hair that enters into the kingdom shall all have beards.

Here is the story I was talking about, which will back up what I am saying further.

2 Samuel 10:1-5

In the course of time, the king of the Ammonites died, and his son Hanun succeeded him as king.

David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, just as his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father.

When David's men came to the land of the Ammonites, the Ammonite nobles said to Hanun their lord, "Do you think David is honoring your father by sending men to you to express sympathy? Hasn't David sent them to you to explore the city and spy it out and overthrow it?"

So Hanun seized David's men, shaved off half of each man's beard, cut off their garments in the middle at the buttocks, and sent them away.

When David was told about this, he sent messengers to meet the men, for they were greatly humiliated. The king said, "Stay at Jericho till your beards have grown, and then come back."

There would be no point for David to say such a thing if they were allowed to shave off the other half!!!

Maregaal