Gas Masks Put Bite on Beards
Israel’s chief rabbi has asked religious Jews to carry scissors so they can remove their beards to accommodate gas masks if Iraq threatens Israel with chemical weapons.
Rabbi Mordechai Eliahu ruled that Orthodox Jews need not follow a biblical ban on shaving beards--if their lives are in danger. Under Jewish law, saving a life takes precedence over all other requirements.
Some religious scholars believe the Bible meant for beards to distinguish Jews from non-Jews. But beards could interfere with the seal of the gas masks that Israel would issue to defend against an Iraqi poison gas attack.
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