A very touching video came out of Matisyahu appearing with a child battling cancer who was singing “One Day”, a song composed and made famous by Matisyahu.
Despite the shock generated by Matisyahu shaving off his beard, the feeling that came from the video was that Matisyahu maintains a strong Jewish commitment and value system.In the new video, Matisyahu’s beard is growing back. He is no longer clean shaven like he was a couple months ago.
Although I was puzzled and dismayed by Matisyahu going clean shaven, a thought occurred to me about beards and less physically visible mitzvot. When a person shaves, the world can see the change immediately. The beard takes several weeks to grow back to its former size. But there are other mitzvot no less important than a beard. When a person speaks harshly to another person, the hurt may take a long time to go away. A cruel teacher in elementary school can leave a mark on a child’s psyche that can remain a lot longer than the state of clean shavenness on a face. When a boss underpays a worker, or schedules him to work hours that damage his relationship with his family, every day that he maintains an injustice that is within his power to correct can impact an entire family, where the removal of a beard has a daily impact only on one’s face.
I am not an educated person. I take it on simple faith that men should wear untrimmed beards. Despite this, I am reminded that every action has consequences that last far longer than an impulsive act. A large portion of the observant world was talking about Matisyahu’s removal of his beard. Now that the furor has died down, it is time to take a look at the less visible actions that take place every day, and to attach the importance to them that they deserve. Matisyahu must be a holy man, because he has made a very valuable point, one that has taken several weeks to become apparent. I look forward to hearing more from him in the future.
