SUMMARIZED DISCUSSION OF BEARD / TRIMMING for NEATNESS 

Introductory Comment:

The key to understanding beard trimming, removal, destruction (or something LIKE this) is directly tied in with an understanding of the legal terms utilized in its description. Specifically, one needs to realize and understand the term "PATUR", as it functions inside of the law.
Once that is clear, everything else falls into place.

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QUESTION

I have a picture of the Yemenite Rabbonim going back four generations. Only one Rav or Moreh in the last four generations in the picture of about 50-60 Rabbonim TRIMMED his beard. The rest had long, flowing (UNTRIMMED) beards. This appeared to be a universally accepted stricture amongst pious Jews in Yemen.

Could you please explain the concept of what is permitted and/or forbidden as it relates to the removal/ destruction of the beard?

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ANSWER:

The answer to this query is based on the legal language found in RMb"M's Mishneh Torah (Avod Zara 12:8):

ח  ואינו חייב עד שיגלחנו בתער--שנאמר "ולא תשחית, את פאת זקנך" (ויקרא יט,כז), גילוח שיש בו השחתה; לפיכך אם גילח זקנו במספריים, פטור . ואין המתגלח לוקה, עד שיסייע.  ואישה--מותרת להשחית זקנה, אם היה לה שיער זקן; ואם השחיתה זקן האיש, פטורה.

פטור does not mean מותר

I have now confirmed the following (directly) with Rabbi Rason Arousi--thanks to his personal Talmid "Hadar" -- who cornered Rabbi Aroussi this past Shabboth. The majority opinion (see below) was indeed the correct and final pasaq. To those of you who appreciated my patience and diligence in checking with the Talmidim of Rabbi Yosef Qafah zs"l (i.e.: Rabbi Aroussi), I thank you. To the rest of you... never mind! I was taught that patience is the sign of a true ben Tora. So I will remain diligent in all future correspondence as well. Anything less would be mediocrity and (perhaps) the cause of inaccurate transmissions of pasaqim. Again... THANK YOU HADAR !

Here is the final correspondence (ANSWER). I have also included the answer of other RMb"M-oriented teachers who preferred anonymity.

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Hadar (a Talmid of Rabbi Arussi) writes the following:

"Rabbi Arussi says that it is just fine to trim (meaning: neaten or fix) a beard - just as I thought originally. [It was the subject of his Halacha Yomit on Friday and today].

1) Shaving the beard with a Razor is Assur MiDeoraita

2) Shaving with KeE'ein Ta'ar (something "like a Razor" - in other words scissors or an electric shaver to shave the hair all the way down to the bare skin) is Patur Aval Assur.

[Site Admin: This is actually an ALTERATION (using a shinui) of the Torah prohibition. Thus, it is Assur MiDeoraitha - yet is "Patur Aval Assur" (no lashes MiDeoraita if you do). This is clear - from the legal wording in the RaMbM (Patur and Patura are NOT the same as MUTAR)].

3) Cutting with scissors is "patur aval asur". Rabbi QafaH writes that it is possible that he is punishable by Makat Mardut, but does not say so definitively. Again this is Mori's interpretation of what the RMb"M wrote in a variety of places. This has nothing to do with what you call a "Temani pasaq" - it is simply one of the opinions that was extant in Yemen.

4) Shaving with a KeE'ein Ta'ar (scissors or shaver) to trim an existing beard is allowed. (Chances are that the length of the beard must be at least as long so as that the hairs may be folded over unto themselves and reach the surface of the face - this is the minimum requirement for the 40 hairs required on the sides of the head so I will go out on a limb and say that it applies here too - I will try to get this substantiated). [Site Admin. comment: Also, there is one responsa by the RMb"M that mentions/maintains the forbidden area is about the size of a thumb. This means the area from which the simanim grow are about the size of a thumb.. 

5) According to Mori's view of the RMb"M's opinion it would be correct to state that the RMb"M forbids shaving down to the skin with a KeE'ein Ta'ar, Mideoraitha. I say Mori's view, since others might discount the Responsa (or Mori's Diyuk) which he bases his opinion on and not simply what is stated in the Mishneh Torah (which can go either way).

What he is saying is that in his opinion one who removes any portion of his beard by cutting below the minimum length, gets Makat Mardut.

The penalties for the Peyoth are the same as for the beard.

The RMb"M -  as opposed to some other Rishonim, does not

make the differentiation between the beard and hair on the head. This is why

he allows their trimming. Other Rishonim (as reflected by the other custom

in Yemen) make a distinction between these two hair entities.

I would indeed like to confirm what I suspected to be true as true:

>>"(Chances are that the length of

>>the beard must be at least as long so as that the hairs may

>>be folded over unto themselves and reach the surface of the

>>face - this is the minimum requirement for the 40 hairs

>>required on the sides of the head so I will go out on a limb

>>and say that it applies here too - I will try to get this

>>substantiated).

Rabbi Arussi confirmed this.

Hadar
 

A RMb"M oriented Scholar Comments:

If removed by a razor, it is punishable by 40 Torah stripes for each of the 5 sections of the beard; if removed.
Otherwise, it is punishable by makkat mardut, the rabbinical punishment.  The Rav QaafiH says as much in
different words.  This is like the eating of a pea sized chunk of pork, which is forbidden but not punished
from the Torah, only punished rabbinically. The pork example is something which is Assur MiDeoraita.
However, is also Patur MiDeoraita (if pea sized), but one gets Makat Mardut Miderabanan, just like with removing
any part of the beard with some method other than a razor. It is still forbidden to begin with.

עבזר יב,ז דרך כומרי עבודה זרה היה להשחית זקנם, לפיכך אסרה תורה
להשחית הזקן.  וחמש פיאות יש בו--לחי העליון ולחי התחתון מימין, ולחי
העליון ולחי התחתון משמאל, ושיבולת הזקן.  ולוקה על כל פיאה ופיאה; ואם
נטלן כולן כאחת, לוקה חמש.  ואינו חייב עד שיגלחנו בתער--שנאמר "ולא
תשחית, את פאת זקנך" )ויקרא יט,כז(, גילוח שיש בו השחתה; לפיכך אם גילח
זקנו במספריים, פטור.  ואין המתגלח לוקה, עד שיסייע.  ואישה--מותרת
להשחית זקנה, אם היה לה שיער זקן; ואם השחיתה זקן האיש, פטורה.

Peyoth --Translation of Mori Qafahh zs"l.

In the Torah it says do not destroy (shave) around the sides of the head (referred to as Blorit in the Mishnah Torah—like the Idol worshippers who only left hair in the center of the head). Also… we are not allowed to destroy the edges of our beard (the hair on the front of our faces from ear to ear according to Mishnah Torah).

Do not cut off the corners of your heads.

We have 5 peyoth. Even though the Mishnah was very careful to say about the surrounding hair… it refers to destroying--the Rishonim designated between these two miswoth.

THE RISHONIM:

On the Peyoth ha zachan (beard) you are not liable for lashes d’oraitha. Only if you did it with a razor. But peyoth ha Rosh, even if you cut them without a razor, you must get lashes.

THE RMb"M:

The RMb"M does not designate between the beard and the head. About the head, it says you are not allowed to do it with a razor. About the Peyoth ha Zachan (beard), he is not liable (but it is still Assur MiDeoraita), until he cuts it with a razor.  In both of them, the reason for forbidding has to do with the pagonistic minhogim. Therefore, we got ordered not to do it so we don’t look like the rest of the gentiles. About the peyoth ha zachan (beard), the Torah teaches us not to destroy the peyoth ha zachan—to avoid imitating the idolatrous priests. According to the RMb"M’s sefer ha miswoth, the cutting refers to the cutting around the whole head (surrounding it) =ha kafah. So you wont say that the purpose of the issue is only cutting around the side and leaving the rest like the pagons. But if he cut all of it… you don’t look like them. Therefore, the Torah tells us (specifically) that you cannot cut the sedah (sides) by itself OR all around the head—this is no good. In another place, it says that if you cut them you are breaking 5 laws. That is the halacha. Also, that is what Gentile priests used to do. This is what you see today in Europe –that they are cutting their beards.

He continues. In Yemen (long ago), their custom was to grow the sideburns and to leave them long and squiggle them--even though the RMb"M wrote in mesahath Tshuvah, “and he is allowed to cut the length of the Peyoth, but not below minimum length, just like the beard, with scissors”. And that’s the way we always do it. [although Mori Yusef’s grandfather Rabbi Yichyah zs”l clearly did grow long Simonim]. We are cutting the side burns with a scissor because the forbidding has to do with a razor. It is Assur MiDeoraita to cut the lenth of the beard of the simanim below the minimum length, but one only gets lashes MiDeoraita if one does this with a razor, otherwise one gets Makar Mardut.  (Side note—there appears to be one opinion that the RMb"M actually did cut his with scissors). And we were not commanded to grow the hair like all the mainstream simple people think. Only the Nazarites were commanded to grow hair. Therefore if he cut his hair, he broke the law. It is not the same with the peyoth. It only says don’t destroy them. You shouldn’t be cutting them with a razor but it doesn’t mean it is a positive commandment to grow them.  The RMb"M was careful with his language… even though he wrote that the command is not to destroy, it looks (according to Rabbinic Law) that it is like a razor. [but this is not what he said]. Because in hilcoth avodah zorah it is permissible to cut with a scissor. What he is saying (his intent is) that it is permissible. It is Mutar to cut the length of the beard/simanim, but not so it is below the minimum length (like one used a razor).  But RMb"M meant just for the peyoth with scissors. But to shave your beard you should not do it! There is one word that people translate incorrectly. To CUT with a scissor is different than Scraping with a razor.

SIMONIM (signs)

Even though the oral law and Torah  call it peyoth, in Yemen they called it Simonim because this was the sign that they are Jews-the seeds that G-D blessed to differentiate them from the Gentiles. In Yemen …if you didn’t have them… you are Arabs.

He tells a story: one day, a man was walking by the Arabs. They were chasing and abusing one of the sick dogs. One of the people wanted to make fun of the Jew –“come and see how we are beating up your brother”, they said. The Jew pretended not to hear it. But eventually he said: “But he does not have Peyoth… he is not a Jew”. The Arabs got angry. Are saying he is a Muslim (as Muslims don’t have peyoth either. So they took him to the Islamic court. In the end, the judge said they didn’t insult us. Perhaps he meant other religions.

The Temanim used to put oil in them and make them look like telephone cords. Since the peyoth was very important, they used to swear by touching them with the right hand. He used to say “Doth Moshe” and kiss the simonim. This was a serious swear amongst the children. The Temanim have the mesorah from the time of the Bet ha Mikdash that our ancestors came to Yemen and the end of the first Temple when they heard Jeremiah phrophezising about the destruction. First (they came) to a close area and then later to Yemen. Here, Rav Qafahh shows that Kohanim and Leviim used to have peyoth (long).

This was an insulting (Arabic) term (for Peyoth/Simonim)…but the Jews never took it as an insult. Only one Rabbi that took this as an insult from the Arabs seriously wrote that the Peyoth in Yemen and the curls --were forced upon us by the Goyim. And I don’t how he reached this conclusion. There is no basis for this opinion. And he gives two examples of things that Gentiles translated incorrectly. Do we take these things seriously? For example –the young women who is pregnant (in our scriptures) –refers to the Virgin birth according to the Notzrim. Should we throw this out verse? Many Ashkinazim changed the way the Rosh tefillin is tied because it looked like a cross. But in Yemen, they continued to do it. That is the tie that G=D showed Moshe on Har Sinah. That is the reason that I drew it in order to show the proper way a tie should look like. There is no need to change it and make it so complicated.

According to one source, Western Ashkenazi tradition also ties the knot of the head-tefillin in the same "square-knot", identical to the Temani head-knot.. Eastern Ashkenazim use the "Daleth-knot", like that of the Sepharadim.

HOW TO BRAID THEM:

The simonim: he wets them, pulls them out to their full length (= below his

shoulders = he doesn't cut them), then divides them into two, then twists

them quickly and tightly until they turn into a "tunnel". I guess the thick

black hair that comes with being from the Middle East helps keeping this

"tunnel" intact.