8030 —בנוגע לנשיאת זקן וצמיחה רוחנית אישית

Shalom u'Vrachah!

...Regarding the question of whether it is possible to be a religious Jew without a beard, the wording of the question fits your son's situation, and I believe I already hinted at this in my previous letter. Nevertheless, I will briefly address it again: Every person is a complete living being. When resolving any question, one must consider this living person who is not automatic; therefore, not every general solution fits him.

To clarify further: A house with one or two stories is still a house—and when an additional story is built on top, it adds to the previous house. But if after building they wish to destroy the added story, it is understood that such destruction will ruin all the stories and even the foundation, since all the stories have already become unified by cement, etc. All the more so if they wish to destroy the bottom story—such destruction will ruin all the upper stories as well.

Without entering into resolving the question of what place wearing a beard holds among the 613 mitzvos of our holy Torah (and it is known that many observant Jews from Ashkenaz and elsewhere do not wear a full beard), when approaching this question regarding an individual, one must consider his specific situation.

The decision to wear a beard was made by your son out of inner inspiration. It is difficult to determine whether this was for him "the first story" in the above analogy or an "additional story" upon matters that preceded it. I doubt whether one should even probe his soul to clarify this point, for any digging into a person's inner self does not bring blessing, etc.

In any case, it is clear that in his current state, all these matters have become one cause for him—arising from an internal spiritual struggle with upheavals, etc. As I wrote previously: all his relatives and friends—and certainly his parents—should strengthen and encourage him in every way possible and within their ability. I hope they will act accordingly since this benefits their son and thus benefits themselves as well.

The benefit for your son is not only from fulfilling another mitzvah with extra care according to Chassidic custom but also because it adds peace of mind and strength in following his chosen path—a path associated with many external obstacles and thus requiring additional strength and encouragement from every word precious in their eyes.

I await good news and conclude with blessings in the wording of my revered father-in-law, the Rebbe zatzal: To receive the Torah with joy and inwardness.

Summary

The Rebbe teaches that spiritual decisions like wearing a beard must be considered individually; family support strengthens both religious observance and emotional well-being.