Beard-Gate, a Matisyahu Shaving Roundup

By Dan Friedman December 14, 2011

Never in the field of human barbery has so much been written by so many, about so few… hairs.

One shave and we’re Shmoozing, of course but we’re not only Shmoozing, we’re Thinking too.

But it’s not only the Forward that has gone stark raving beard bonkers, over at religiondispatches.org they’ve taken some time off from theological niceties and geopolitical necessities to give Forward columnist Jay Michaelson some time to weigh into Beard-Gate.

The Washington Post explains how Matis no longer feels the need for rules, Billboard bemoans the loss of the first “chassidic reggae superstar” and Gawker leads with the Onion-esque stance that shaving off his beard is a publicity stunt.

Ironically, The Onion’s A.V. Club merely notes that Matis’s strange phrase to the effect that “you haven’t seen the last of my facial hair” might mean that his mustache might come calling at your door in 2012.

Seems like Matis might no longer qualify for the International Facial Hair Festival, which is a shame.

Dan Friedman is the former executive editor and whisky correspondent of the Forward, and is the author of a book about Tears for Fears, the ’80s emo rock band.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. We’ve started our Passover Fundraising Drive, and we need 1,800 readers like you to step up to support the Forward by April 21. Members of the Forward board are even matching the first 1,000 gifts, up to $70,000.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism, because every dollar goes twice as far.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO