By Rabbi Rachel Esserman

A column about beards? That might strike people as an odd topic. No, I’m not going to write about my personal preferences for different types of beards (although I do have them). But what I normally think of as a personal choice for men has become a political issue, at least according to a recent article on the Forward’s website concerning Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s “no more beardos” comment.* Yet, according to the article, that goes against court rulings that exempt certain religious groups from having to shave their beards: “Courts have granted Orthodox Jews and Sikhs who serve religious exemptions allowing them to keep their beards.” 
The writer of the article was greatly concerned because he believed that Americans should not be forced to choose between religion and patriotism, or in this case, between the secretary of defense and the religious laws they choose to follow, laws they believe were given to them by God. If those exemptions are taken away, then Orthodox Jews who have beards will not be able to observe their religion and fight for our country. 
For those unaware of traditional Jewish law, the Bible says men should “not round off the corner of your head, and you shall not destroy the edge of your beard.” That has been interpreted as meaning shaving using a straight razor; some rabbis do allow shaving by other means (for example, an electric razor). Some take the biblical text so seriously that they won’t trim their beards even with scissors.
Interestingly enough, now that the Israeli army is trying to draft more Orthodox men, it has changed its rules in the opposite manner. According to an April 2025 article in The Jerusalem Post, “for the first time in Israel’s military history, soldiers have been granted blanket approval to grow a beard without the need for special permission.” I guess they aren’t worried that facial hair will sap a man of his strength and military might. This means that non-religious men can also grow beards: the ruling is no longer based on religious practice, but on personal preference.
It’s another point made in the Forward article, though, that made me write this column. Mikey Weinstein, founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, a watchdog group that exposes Christian nationalism in the armed forces is quoted as saying, “It’s not a small thing about, ‘Oh, can you have a beard? Or what about my hair?’ This is a comprehensive, universal attack on anyone who is not straight, white, Christian and male.” I don’t know if that’s what Hegseth is hoping to accomplish, but I confess the idea makes me nervous. 
Should not the American armed forces resemble our country in all its diversity? And we are a diverse nation. Our country has now been compared to a salad (replacing the previous image of a melting pot) because the best salads contain a wide variety of ingredients. Others have called us an orchestra, noting the music would not be the same if even one instrument is missing.
If Weinstein is correct (and I fear that he is), this is not really about facial hair: it’s about forcing all of us to fit into a mold – to create a country with no diversity. That does not bode well for Jews and other minorities. Beards are just a symptom of a dangerous trend: be exactly like us, do exactly as we do, or you will pay the price. 
* The Forward article can be found here.