Igrot Kodesh · Letter 1254 — Faith & Bitachon

B'ezras Hashem,

23 Marcheshvan 5712,

Brooklyn,

Greetings and blessings[1],

I reply to your letter of 12 Cheshvan, in which you speak to me of... who finds himself in the Holy Land and who has difficulties marrying. You think that it would be easier for him to do so, if he trimmed his beard. You observe, moreover, that many religious Jews do so.

It is unnecessary to explain at length that all Jews, men or women, animated by faith or not, believe and know[2] that Hashem directs, by His Providence, this great world, as well as the small world constituted by the personality of each one.

So that men know how to behave, Hashem has given them His holy Torah, which clears a path, indicates what they may do and what they must abstain from, throughout their existence. Among the mitzvos* that He has entrusted to us, figures that of wearing the beard. Indeed, even those who permit cutting it do not contest the fact that it is indeed a mitzvah* to have one. And, other opinions forbid cutting it. Such is, for example, the case of the Tzemach Tzedek*, grandson of the Alter Rebbe*, who is the author of the Tanya* and of the Shulchan Aruch. These Decisors[3] decide the halachah* by retaining the principle that the Torah forbids cutting the beard.

In any event, it is quite clear that wearing a beard and not cutting it is a mitzvah, which means well that to adopt such a practice is a mark of yiras Shamayim*.

It is an absolute certainty that everything depends upon the Master of the world, especially when it is a matter of marriage. In this matter, much more than in any other domain, it is evident that the final decision belongs to Hashem. Now, He says Himself that wearing the beard and not cutting it is a mitzvah. It is therefore quite certain that to have a beard cannot be an obstacle to marriage, prevent him from finding the one who is destined for him.

And, if the beard is really an obstacle to his marriage, it is, in fact, a happy thing for him that such a union not take place. Hashem shall grant that he meet, when it is necessary, the one who is destined for him. The two of them shall then have a happy Jewish life, on the path of Torah and mitzvos.

I shall be pleased to have news of you and of your family. Since when do you find yourself in this country, and what is your occupation?

With my brachah*,

[1] This letter is addressed to a woman.
[2] Explicitly if they have faith, implicitly if they do not have it.
[3] Among whom figures the Tzemach Tzedek.