The Beard in Jewish Law: Halachic Imperative or Kabbalistic Stringency?, an Annotated Translation of Responsa Minchas Elazar Ii:48 (English and Hebrew Edition)

Growing a beard has a revered place in Jewish tradition. But is it a halachic necessity? As long as one does not shave with a razor, does Jewish law permit one to remove facial hair?

Pages and pages have been written on this subject over the course of the generations. In the spirit of our Rabbis saying: Bring a text and we will see, we have chosen to present a classic work of Torah scholarship, a responsum authored by R. Chayim Elazar Spira, the distinguished head of the Rabbinic court and the Rebbe of Munkatch, that collects and analyzes the different halachic positions concerning this issue. The comprehensive annotations and the free-flowing translation enable a reader to examine the issues point by point and arrive at conclusions independently, rather than have them thrust upon him.

Supplemented by excerpts from the writings of the Chafetz Chayim and a collection of halachic rulings and quotes from contemporary Rabbinic greats from Lithuanian, Chassidic, and Sephardic traditions, this work opens a reader to a wide spectrum of views concerning this halachic issue.

The translator, Rabbi Eliyahu Touger, is renown for his translations of Rambam's Mishneh Torah, the commentary of the Baal HaTurim on the Torah, the Kitzur Shulchan Aruch and many other Jewish books of law and thought.