ANSWERS: 2
  • The only similarity in looks I think is facial hair and a predominance of black. Other than that they don't look the same,
  • The connection is that both sects follow their traditions independently of what people in the external world are doing (following the current mode). However, the meaning of the beard is not the same. 1) "The Bible states in Leviticus 19:27 that "You shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard." Talmudic tradition explains this to mean that a man may not shave his beard with a razor with a single blade, since the cutting action of the blade against the skin "mars" the beard. Because scissors have two blades, halakha (Jewish law) permits their use to trim the beard, as the cutting action comes from contact of the two blades and not the blade against the skin. For this reason, most poskim (Jewish legal decisors) rule that Orthodox Jews may use electric razors to remain cleanshaven, as such shavers cut by trapping the hair between the blades and the metal grating, halakhically a scissor-like action. Some prominent contemporary poskim maintain that electric shavers constitute a razor-like action and consequently prohibit their use. Many Orthodox Jews grow beards for social and cultural reasons. Since the electric razor is a relatively modern innovation, virtually all Orthodox Jews grew beards before its advent. Beards are thus symbolic of keeping the traditions of one's ancestors. The Zohar, one of the primary sources of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism), attributes holiness to the beard, specifying that hairs of the beard symbolize channels of subconscious holy energy that flows from above to the human soul. Therefore, most Hasidic Jews, for whom Kabbalah plays an important role in their religious practice, traditionally do not remove or even trim their beards. Also, some Jews refrain from shaving during the 30-day mourning period after the death of a close relative, known in Hebrew as the "Sheloshim" (thirty)." "Jesus is almost always portrayed with a beard in iconography and art dating from the Fourth Century and later. In paintings and statues most of the Old Testament Biblical characters such as Moses and Abraham and Jesus' New Testament disciples such as St Peter are with beard, as was John the Baptist. John the Evangelist is generally depicted as clean-shaven in Western European art, however. Eight of the figures portrayed in the painting entitled The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci are bearded. Mainstream Christianity holds Isaiah Chapter 50: Verse 6 as a prophecy of Christ's crucifixion, and as so, as a description of Christ having his beard plucked by his tormentors. In Eastern Christianity, beards are often worn by members of the priesthood and by monastics, and at times have been required for all believers - see Old Believers. Amish and Hutterite men shave until they are married, then grow a beard and are never thereafter without one, although it is a particular form of a beard (see Visual markers of marital status). Many Syrian Christians from Kerala in India wore long beards." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beard "Married men and those over forty grow a beard. Moustaches are forbidden, because they are associated with European military officers and militarism in general. A beard may serve the same symbolic function, in some Old Order Amish settings, as a wedding ring, and marks the passage into manhood." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amish 2) "Yet this world is virtually unknown to most Americans, who are apt to confuse Hasidic men, who wear beards, sidelocks, black hats, and long coats, with the similarly-dressed Amish. This shared style of dress does indeed reflect similar values of piety, extreme traditionalism, and separatism. But where the Amish are farmers in rural communities, the great majority of the approximately two hundred thousand American Hasidim live and work in enclaves in the heart of New York City, amid a number of vital contemporary cultures very different from their own." Source and further information: http://www.pbs.org/alifeapart/intro.html 3) " The Hasidim and the Old Order Amish are alike in that both groups formed in Europe and then migrated to America. What needs to be further examined then, is the Revitalization movement that each experienced and how it the migration to America played a role in certain aspects of it. The first and second substages of the Revitalization movement deal with the code by which the group lives. The first substage of the Revitalization movement is the formulation of a code. For both the Hasidim and the Old Order Amish, this took place previous to their arrival in America. As previously mentioned, for the Hasidim, their dogma was formalized in the period during which Rabbi Dov Baer led the movement. Jakob Amman was responsible for formulating the code by which the Amish would live. Granted, Old Order Amish do not live in accordance to forceful leadership. Nevertheless, they do practice the Meindung and thus live by the code set down by Amman. The second substage has to do with the communication of the code to make converts. In this respect the Hasidim and the Amish are again similar in that neither group seeks out converts. Instead, the group creates its own members by having children and passing their beliefs down to the next generation. However, this method is not without its setbacks. One such setback is inbreeding. An example of this can be found among the Lancaster Amish of PA." Source and further information: http://www.freeessays.cc/db/4/alx19.shtml

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