Red Beards - Compiling A List
(Painting by Reuven Rubin)As a red-bearded person, I have always taken note of famous rabbis who had red beards. If you know of any please help me add to my list:
David HaMelech
Baal Shem Tov
Rebbe Eliemelech of Lizhensk
(Painting by Isidor Kaufmann)
34 Comments:
Naftoli ben Yakoyv from shivtey Ko. But I'm not sure from where I know it.
Naftali from the Chumash?
I know of none. I just wanted to say how beautiful red hair is. Real, genuine red. It always stops me in my tracks because it is rare and so lovely.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Nice pics. Very brave to put one of yourself...you are Anon you know.
So now you can pick me out of a crowd, right?
Reb Elimelech? And the Baal Shem??!Really? That is so cool. Where do we know this from? As a fellow red-headed (and bearded) yid, I am very curious to see what your readers come up with! Thanks for putting the question out there....
I ran across the information about Reb Elimelech in some book that I cannot remember now and Rabbi Dovid Sears told me about the Baal Shem Tov.
I'm told by my co-blogger and redhead R. Nati that Rebbe Nachman of Breslov was also a redhead.
I've never heard it about the Baal Shem Tov however, and in the supposed picture of him (which some claim is not), he's not depicted that way.
Akiva: I also asked Rabbi Dovid Sears about Rebbe Nachman of Breslov and he told me that Rebbe Nachman was known to have "straw" colored hair.
As I indicated in my comment to MCAryeh, Rabbi Sears also was the source of my information on the Baal Shem Tov.
I have heard that some of the Chabad rebbeim had reddish beards - like the Rebbe Rayatz - have you ever heard this?
I've seen pictures, included paintings, of the Rebbe Rayatz, that did not show this. Most are black and white however, so I would have to assume that the colored paintings are from seeing the Rebbe and not from a picture.
I do know some red headed Chabad shulchim however.
Akiva: Chabakuk Elisha and I were just mentioning the same thing this morning in an e-mail correspondence. There seems to be lots of red-bearded Lubavitchers.... I wonder why..
Unfortunately, I don't know of any to ad to your list, but now I do know where your daughter gets her beautiful red hair from!
:)
The relative prevalence of red haired Jews tends to support the theory that modern Jewry is, in large part, descended from the Khazars of Central Asia.
Red Headedness is almost non-existent in other semitic peoples.
test
I've heard that Jews as Semites are originally all dark-haired, and that blond and red came from the Crusades. However, David HaMelech certainly seems to disprove this, and if a yid is correct about Naftali ben Yaakov, this would add to it. Anybody know more about this?
Years ago in the Breslov Shul in Meah Searim (Jerusalem) the Chassidim used to bid on various red-bearded members of the congegation for the aliyah of Parshas Parah.
Chabakuk Elisha might be able to supply you with a photo of one of the most popular nominees...
Fedora Black: I trim it when it gets too long - althogh it is already "too long" for some other family members who would prefer seeing my clean shaved.
Baleboosteh: Yep - my daughter's hair is proof that we are indeed related!
Bagel Blogger: VERY FUNNY! :) Thanks for the posting - you have probably seen by now that I have linked to it.
Anonymous: Was King David a descendent of the Khazars...?
Yitz: It looks like we think the same on this one.
Anonymous: That is funny! I would be interested to see the winner!
> theory that modern Jewry is, in large
> part, descended from the Khazars of
> Central Asia.
This theory is total baloony and doesn't even worth to waste any time discuss it.
I noticed that the first image is not correct or it is mirrored. The closing should go right side on top of the left, and there is is the oppostite way :)
(I meant the clothes i.e. kapote should go the opposite way).
Reb Biniamin Abdeljak ztl, the father of my Rab had a red beard.
He was a Tzadik and he is very famous here, i think he was the first chasidic (no luvabitcher) rab here (50 years ago i think).
He did great job in Argentina.
Nice beard SJ! =)
Thanks, Ilan!
Yitz,
Respectfully, that tale of "gingees" being m'yuchas to crusaders is goyish babbemaases, trying to uproot us from our history. There are Syrian Arabs with red beards. Dovid Hamelech as you said, the uncle of the Shiftei Kah, Eisav, many others. Noach was also from that part of the world and all humanity is decended from him. Human variation is not as scientists or others assume.
http://www.tiferesyisroel.org
Rabbi Menchem Goldberger is a very wonderful Jew with a red (now greying beard). Is a talmid of the Rav Twersky z"l of Denver.
> I trim it when it gets too long -
> althogh it is already "too long" for
> some other family members who would
> prefer seeing my clean shaved.
Chasidim never cut beard, in according with Halocho and especially with the view of mekubolim. This is a universal chasidic practice. Some even avoid touchnig it, even though this is not common, because Ari za"l was careful about it. But in general most chasidim are not machmir on this, but on not cutting or trimming - for sure.
There arent many red haired people in the world, Im sure the same is in jewry. SO, your one of a privelaged few in the world :).
A red hair admirer :)
A Yid: So are you saying bottom line never to trim it...just let it grow to the ground?
Never saw anyone with a beard to the ground, but I saw people with pretty long beards amongst chasidim, but these were old Yidn. Beard hair doesn't grow like head hair. So don't worry about it :)
I'm honored to be another member of the red-bearded blogger group. :)>
A Yid: Ok - you have comforted me ;)
Yaak: You, R' Nati, MCAryeh...wow there are a lot of us out there!!
Michoel, I was ONLY asking, and it still seems eminently possible that BLOND hair came to the Jewish People as a result of the Crusades. Again, I ask if anyone knows about this?
I know of Rav Menachem Goldberger and wrote about his music on my blog here.
yitz,
I didn't mean to sound confrontational. I think that the idea that blond hair amongst yidden came from the crusdaers is now more or less valid than the idea that dark hair amongst yidden came from the Arabs. BTW, I like you web site very much.
Michoel
…)one should remember that the khazars were described by several contemporary authors as having a pale complexion, blue eyes and reddish hair. Red, as distinguished from blond, hair is found in a certain percentage of East European Jews, and this, as well as the more generalized light coloring, could be a heritage of the medieval khazar infusion.” (Raphael Patai and Jennifer Patai, The Myth of the Jewish Race the, Detroit, M.I.:Wayne State University Press, 1989, p.26)
Post a Comment
<< Home