Recently Pssion for truth wrote an article concerning beards and can or should a man shave his beard after I recorded a “Torah Tidbit” dealing with this same topic. So I thought the best way to address this would be to write a rebuttal article using the points made in there article to show how they are twisting the Torah to fit their personal doctrinal stance and lifestyle choices.

In the Article written by PFT they use the two verses in Leviticus where the commandment is given to not mar the corners of our beards and make the statement that the first one is a commandment only to the Leviticus priest hood and that the second time it is commanded it is only saying don’t shave your beard in some pagan ritual. PFT states that if you look at the cursory view of the scriptures, it looks as if it is a black and white shut case that Yahweh is commanding us to not shave our faces. But then retract that end statement by saying we must look at the context to see clearly what is being said there. They then use instances where Yahweh told some to shave to conclude that the father did not actually command us to not shave our faces.

So in this article we will use their same methodology and see if their conclusion actually bares record with scripture or if it is truly a twisting of scripture as I have already stated. I know some might say why even address this issue when there are much weightier matters going on in the body that need to be addressed. The reason I have chosen to address this “Little Issue” is because this little issue has created some big conflict in the body and even worse in marriages. This should be a non issue really. All one should have to know is that Yahweh said “YOU SHALL NOT” and that should be the end of the issue, but with men who are supposed to be torah observant making excuses why they can break what seems to be a black and white commandment I feel there needs to be some clarity brought to it.

Before I get into the scripture proving their assertion to be false I want to make a statement though. It is understandable that a new believer who is just coming to torah may not have a beard. It is not understandable for Bill cloud, Rico Cortez, Brad Scot, Michael Rood, Jim Staley, Eddie Chumney, or James Gillispie and other public figures claiming to fallow torah to not have a beard. Out of everyone these people for what ever reason, the father has put them in a public position and we should be leading by example. If there is even a small chance that this is a “Mitzvah” (commandment) isn’t it safer to err on the side of caution then to be in rebellion to the Mitzvah.

Now that we have that out of the way, lets get to the scriptures used in PFT article and a few more and see if they are correct or if the position that a man who is torah observant should not shave their face. The first scripture used is Leviticus 19:27 (Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard. ) PFT’s Stance on this verse is that the context if the chapter is that we should not worship as pagans or shave our beards as part of some pagan ritual or observance of the dead. They sight verse 28 to try and solidify this point as it says (Lev 19:28  Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the LORD. ) The question we must ask is does this verse establish context or is it a stand alone statement. If it does establish context then I would agree with PFT’s statement and there would be no need for this rebuttal.

To establish context we must look at the structure of the entire chapter, then look at the structure of the thought process being expressed. If you read the entire 19th chapter you will see that the father is making very short definitive statements of what the children of Israel are commanded to both do and not to do. This is the reason they did not include verse 26 or verse 29 as it would have clearly shown their conclusion on verse 27 to be wrong because neither verses have anything to do with paganism and are in fact the same as the rest of the chapter. Stand alone definitive statements.  Those that know me know that I am a big proponent of establishing context to relay intent and meaning to figure out exactly what a verse is trying to convey. This was clearly not what was done here in  PFT article. In fact the opposite occurred here. Even though the whole of chapter 19 is short definitive statements they have chose to take this one instance in this chapter talking about a pagan practice and qualify the previous verse with it. When in fact all four verse’s mentioned here are stand alone definitive statements, or mitzvah. Or we can make the case that it is alright to prostitute our daughters (verse 29) as long as we don’t do it as some part of a pagan ritual.

So Lets take a look at the other verse PFT uses where the mitzvah appears. (Lev 21:5  They shall not make baldness upon their head, neither shall they shave off the corner of their beard, nor make any cuttings in their flesh.) The writer states that not all commandments are for everyone, some are for priest, some are for women, some are for men, and extra. This assertion is accurate and the assertion that they make here about the context of this commandment is being directed at Aaron and his sons (the priesthood) is also correct. However using this to qualify that everyone else is free to shave is incorrect on many levels. First this passage says nothing about the children of Israel who are not part of the priesthood. The writer makes the assumption and then draws a conclusion that since the rest of the children of Israel are not mentioned here then no such commandment applies to them. We have already proven that to be incorrect as in chapter 19 they are clearly given the exact same commandment.

Now let’s address the point they make concerning the meaning of the word “MAR” and then I will address their context on Yahweh commanding people to shave at different points in my conclusion. I would like to state first though that their article is a straight textbook Christian seminary trained 3 point and conclusion message, that is very Greek and linear in its presentation. When the Hebrew language is cyclical and fluid in it process. I make this point as they are trying to use the Hebrew text in a Greek thought process which does not hold true to the language. I make note of this as I find it a little humorous that in chapter 19 where this mitzviot is discussed that the father forbids the mixing of fabrics, cattle at such, yet that is what they are doing here by trying to mix church theology with Torah observance.

The writer correctly states that the Hebrew word for the word “Mar” is the word Shachath. They also correctly state the meaning of the word Shachath which is to Destroy, decay, ruin, or cast off. They error when they draw the conclusion that Avinue did not know what he meant to say, and that if it really meant to not shave the Hebrew word “galach” would have been used, which means to shave or make bald. Again this is not how a Hebrew mindset works. A Hebrew mindset says ok this is a stand alone statement telling us not to shave our beards why did the Abba use the word shachath here instead of the word galach. Maybe it was because the father wanted to make it clear that we are not to destroy in anyway, or cast off our beards or allow them to decay. Maybe he wanted to relay that we should not only, not shave our beards, but that we should also take care of them. On a separate note in PFT video teaching on the same subject they make the assumption because the word mar is used in a different context in a different passage it can not mean this in this passage. I think you can see clearly that they are trying to change the Torah to support their leader’s half shaved face rather then trying to help their leader see the truth and intent in this mitzvah.

Now lets conclude by addressing their assertion that because Yahweh allowed faces to be shaved in certain circumstances that it is alright to shave even when those circumstances do not exist. They conclude that it can not be a sin to shave if the father allowed some to shave for various reasons. This is like saying well I can kill anyone I want even if they have done no wrong because I can kill someone who is trying to kill me. Yes The father does allow and even command the beard to be shaved in certain circumstances like, in the instances of  leprosy, or other skin diseases, along with the Nazarite  vow and the cleansing of the priesthood. But as we clearly see in chapter 21 the priest are commanded to not mar their beards showing us that this was a commandment for a specific reason and not an every day occurrence. So unless you meet the requirements of a priest, or someone with a issue on their skin or you have taken a Nazarite vow then you are forbidden by the father to shave your beard. Plain and simple. This is not giving you the right to break his commandment to not mar the corners of your beard at will.

The problem here is people wanting to fit in with the world’s standards and not adhere to the fathers.  Their wives like them better shaven, or they think they look better in a goatee. Or what ever other reason one can come up with. So rather then just do what the father said they try to bend his Torah around their desires like a lawyer tries to find loop holds in the law to get a guilty individual out of trouble. It is time that we in leadership set the standard and come together on these simple issues rather then causing confusion in the body by trying to bend scripture around our own sins. Iron sharpens Iron and a wise man loves correction. Lets be the leaders the father has called us to be.

One more point. This is not even a point of discussion among Jews who are torah observant. Every one of them have a beard because it is commanded. Yet in the messianic movement we see this debate. Why? I state because there are still some grave cloths that we refuse to let go of so that we can truly be made new in Messiah Yeshua. And I don’t Just mean Beards only there are various other things as well. But it stands to reason that those that are not of the house of Judah from birth would look to those that have been their for generation after generation to see how they fill and observe these mitzvah that are points of contention in the faith. Shalom, Shalom

James Gillispie.