I did not shave or cut my beard for almost four years. Then I cut it off three months ago.
A couple of weeks ago, Matisyahu cut off his beard.
Many people have asked me for my opinion.
I say — you can live a lie for only so long.
Most people can keep up a front for a limited time.
After a while, if you’re a Jew with a beard, you either conform your life to your beard or you conform your beard to your life.
Matisyahu and I conformed our faces to our lives. We weren’t living as traditional Orthodox Jews and after a while, we abandoned the pretense.
I have not meaningfully reduced my Jewish observance since cutting off my beard. While I had my beard, I was a little more careful to dress up to the beard in Jewish contexts.
