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Shaving according to Halacha?
My friend and I were having a conversation. He said that one cannot shave with a razor (one of those disposable kind with the x amount of blades fixed on there) on your face because it violates beged eesha (because women use those razors.) Okay. However, he went on to say that according to halacha, it is okay to use those razors because it doesn't violate beged eesha. And I was thinking that women don't shave their faces with those razors (in fact, women don't shave their faces) but women DO shave their legs with those razors.
So, why is it backwards like that? How does it not violate beged eesha for a man to be able to shave his legs with a non-electric razor?
***However, he went on to say that according to halacha, it is okay to use those razors on your legs because it doesn't violate beged eesha.
6 Answers
- Aryeh MLv 61 decade agoFavorite Answer
Not quite. There is a separate Isur of men shaving the corners of the beard in Parshath Kedoshim. When it comes to other areas, such as the back of your neck, the mustach, then one may use a razor. As per underarms, legs, and a few other places where women traditionally shave but men don't, then it is a problem of beged ishah, whether done with a razor, cream, or otherwise.
- Bryan ALv 41 decade ago
Shaving your face is not beged isha. It's a Torah commandment against "shaving" your face generally. Electric shavers are not included because they have more of a scissor action and do not shave as closely.
As they become better, electric shavers have started to become a grey area (specially Phillips lift-and-cut).
The Torah specifies the problem to be regarding the edge of the beard and so there are different traditions on what that means. Many say that it should include al facial hair, just to be certain. Others claim to have identified what it means more specifically.
Shaving areas that are normally shaved by women and not men is a beged isha issue. Also, dying hair is a beged isha problem, but men my dye their facial hair as this is not associated with women (but it does look silly).
- Motti _ShishLv 61 decade ago
According to Halacha one cannot shave the four corners of his face and seeing as though we do not know which are the four corners we do not shave at all. However you will find that different sects of Judaism do shave. They will not use a razor though but rather and electric shaver as it is forbidden to cut your beard with a blade. I do not know the reason behind that though.
Source(s): Jew from birth :-) - mr. rooLv 41 decade ago
Sounds pretty suspect to me. A razor is not a beged, not a garment. The prohibition is not "kli ishah," a woman's utensil. If it were, how could men and women use the same silverware?
The reason you can't shave with a razor is that it's a violation of a prohibition on "destroying the beard."
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- olinrarLv 51 decade ago
I thought that men weren't supposed to shave their legs at all because of beged isha...
- Zvi the FiddlerLv 41 decade ago
This is one of the reasons I'm not orthodox.
Zvi the Reformed Fiddler
(Yes, yes, I know - the branch is called REFORM, not reformed.)
