Reply To: Does Rav Chaim Kanievsky shlita prohibit men from shaving their beards?

Neville ChaimBerlin – ” if you did what it seems like you did, then bravo. Probably the most elaborate YWN trolling in all of history.” Thank you for your complimentary words of encouragement. If you are envious, may it result in kinas sofrim tarbeh chochma.

The pritza (breach) of Torah values caused by shaving which was introduced to mainstream Jews less than 200 years ago, is a conduct which is enforced in many Litvish yeshivos on their bochurim (till they reach a “madreiga” of a “ben Torah” worthy of a beard), notwithstanding that the “hetter” for shaving is not universally accepted, adaraba, it is nearly universally prohibbited.

The matzav on shaving is a greater breach than the commonly accepted heicha kedusha (which the Bais Yosef writes is prohibitted) or eating before Teki’os on Rosh Hashana (which is a greater transgression than eating before Tefilah – a d’rabbonon).

While we uphold p’sokim of Rav Chaim shlita, it is only when we are comfortable with them. The second a psak rubs us the wrong way and doesn’t fit nicely into our accepted conduct, we choose to ignore such poskim and search out others that conform the halacha to our lifestyle.

Discussion is the point of the coffee room. I have thick skin, so I can deal with the name calling and banter. I don’t need to be mochel because it was never pogeah b’k’vodi.

There are Yidden that find heterim for everything, we label them MO because we consider ourselves on a higher madreiga, as Torah?Halacha true yidden. But in some areas, we mirror them. One such area is shaving..