חדש באתר: עוזר בינה מלאכותית המבוסס על כתביו ושיעוריו של הרב מיכאל אברהם

Q&A: Shavers

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Originally published:
This is an English translation (via GPT-5.4). Read the original Hebrew version.

Shavers

Question

Peace and blessings.
I wanted to ask the Rabbi his opinion about using electric shavers—whether they are considered a razor or not. I saw that the Rabbi had been asked about this in the past, but there the main issue was the mode of cutting, whether it is done like a razor or like scissors.
I wanted to ask for another reason: is it simply the opinion of a rabbi that being defined as a razor is permitted even when the result is equivalent to an actual razor, or is it prohibited on a Torah level?
I saw that the Hazon Ish forbids it on a Torah level. And it seems to me that one has to say honestly that his words are very clear, and just as in the parable of the “swimsuit” that the Rabbi often talks about, where it becomes clear that one should follow the content and not an arbitrary form, so too here—the Sages certainly did not create a leniency on an arbitrary formal basis, but rather on a substantive one.
And although it seems to me that one could suggest “hidden variables” that would explain why this specific form of cutting is prohibited according to some “hidden variables” underlying the prohibition, it is doubtful whether that can really be done. And according to the reasons that appear in the Sefer HaChinukh regarding this commandment, this is a commandment whose rationale has to do with the result of the prohibition—that is, with its actual appearance.
In addition, on this occasion I would like to wish the Rabbi a Happy New Year, for him and for the LBB. May we be blessed, and may your wellsprings and your abundance continue to flow into us, “and the earth shall be filled,” etc. I would also like to express my gratitude and appreciation for the importance and quality of the things that the Rabbi contributes to our development.
(To resolve the apparent contradiction between a spring and a sea, I would say that for the Rabbi it is in the sense of a spring that wells up from itself; for us it is still in the sense of a sea, etc., etc., etc.)
Link to a previous question:
https://mikyab.net/%D7%A9%D7%95%D7%AA/%d7%9e%d7%9b%d7%95%d7%a0%d7%95%d7%aa-%d7%92%d7%99%d7%9C%d7%95%D7%97

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