Talk:Shaving in Judaism

Citations needed...

I have used the {{fact}} ("citation needed") template here a few times because of the delicate and legal (i.e. Halakhic) nature and implications of the article. IZAK 08:26, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Wording

I am not sure how to word this, but given that many shaving implements have 2 or 3 or more multiple parallel blades, but I would suspect are still frowned upon, one might want to change the wording a bit in spots. I am not sure how one might change it though.--Filll 14:01, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't know if I understand exactly what you mean. Are you talking about the so-called "Lift-and-cut" shavers? Please elaborate. Thanks, DLand^TALK 18:43, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes those are examples. They are very common. I could get a few brandnames if you need them.--Filll 18:54, 17 December 2006 (UTC)

Holiness of beard in Kabbalah

It is not enough to say that Zohar considers the beard "holy". This statement is meaningless without explaining (albeit briefly -- if that's the goal) the reason. Kabbalah is not just a list of "esoteric" facts. It is a rational and logical system. Of course it's esoteric -- all Judaism is esoteric, as it all starts and ends with G-d, a supernatural being that is esoteric by definition. If you look at Judaism as a legal system, philosophy or a bunch of cultural customs, you're missing the point (whether you personally believe in it or not). I do believe the paragraph about the actual reasons for the beard's holiness can be shortened and paraphrased/summarized, however.

Aflyax 04:53, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

I'll try to summarize it in a satisfactory way, but it's difficult, considering the depth and complexity of the material.--DLand^TALK 13:04, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

On second thought, I think that even a short summary of this excerpt would be beyond the scope of this article. Please note that this is not meant to disparage the content of the excerpt - I just don't think that this is the place for it.--DLand^TALK 13:14, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

"Esoteric" means special knowledge restricted to a subgroup of initiated. See Esotericism. --Eliyak T·C 17:22, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

Maimonides' writings

The infobox cites Mishneh Torah: Moreh 3:37. This is not correct. The Moreh Nevuchim (Guide to the perplexed) is a separate book by Maimonides. The citation to Moreh Nevuchim 3:37 is correct. On page 359 of the Mossad HaRav Kook edition (Jerusalem, 1977, Maimonides writes:

וכבר בארנו בחבורנו הגדול כי גלוח פאת ראש ופאת זקן נאסר בגלל היותו עדי כומרי עבודה זרה.

"We already explained in our large book [the Mishneh Torah] that shaving the edge of the head and the edge of the beard was forbidden because it is the practice of ministers to idol-worship." [My translation.]

The citation to the Mishneh Torah is Hilkhot Avodah Zarah (Laws of idol-worship) 12:7, and I quote:

דרך כהני עובדי כוכבים היה להשחית זקנם. לפיכך אסרה תורה להשחית הזקן.

"The habit of ministers to idol-worship was to destroy their beards. Therefor the Torah forbade destroying the beard." [My translation.]

Please fix the infobox and add these citations to the article. 71.174.228.123 (talk) 18:34, 24 April 2008 (UTC)

Intro

The introduction needs to be edited to reflect the entire article. Right now it just says that shaving is a controversial issue in Judaism. It needs to describe what shaving is, and perhaps give a short message as to why it's so controversial. Mention the Law and such in a concise manner. I'm not an expert on the subject (just looking at the article has me befuddled), so I think someone else will be better qualified to do this than me. - Cyborg Ninja 04:01, 7 August 2009 (UTC)

Photo

We know what shaving is. Illustrations should add something to an article, in my opinion. This picture adds something. But what it adds is arbitrary. 100 other pictures could be chosen by 100 other editors. Each of them would have arbitrary meanings that distinguished them from one another. But as concerns their core meaning there would be no distinction. Their core meaning, in my opinion, is their relation to the article. Since we already know what shaving is, no illustration is necessary. Bus stop (talk) 11:03, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

Women

The article makes no mention of women. Is there no Jewish law concerning women and shaving?Sabre ball (talk) 19:37, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Dates are very wrong in the Origins tab

The book of Amos was written in 8 BCE, not the 7th century… Micah is wrong too… over a thousand years in error lol 159.242.219.15 (talk) 15:09, 30 November 2022 (UTC)