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r Tosafot, Masechet Nazir 40a .מ ריזנ תכסמ | תופסות . 22

With a blade – It seems that [Rav Chisda’s statement] is אלא הקול וניאד אשירא יאקד הארנו – רעתבו
referring to the first clause that one only receives lashes if one רעשה רקועש רעת ןיעכ אמיא אלא …רעתב
uses a blade… rather say he meant anything similar to a blade .ורקיעמ ותיחשמו
that uproots the hair and destroys it from the root.
7
The logic expressed by Tosafot appears to have been adopted by the Chafetz Chaim. The Chafetz Chaim
prohibited the first shavers, which were manual, because he thought the shave was too smooth.

a Likutei Halachot, Masechet Makkot תוכמ תכסמ | תוכלה יטוקיל . 23
14b, Ein Mishpat #7 ז תוא טפשמ ןיע ,די

…And according to this, the new appliance that people shave השדחה )הנוכמה( עקנישאמה ,הז יפל ,הנהו…
with (what they call “null,” and certainly “half-null”), which ,)ספא( ”לונ“ ןירוקש המ ונייה( םב ןירפסמש
shave exactly like a razor and remove the hair completely, and ןיחלגמש – ))ספא יצח( ”לונ יצח“ ןכש לכו
nothing remains, one who shaves his beard with it violates ראשנ אלו ,ירמגל רעישה שלותו ,שממ רעתכ
what is written “and they shall not shave the pe’ot of their המ לע רבוע ,ונקז תא םב רפסמה – המואמ
beard,” and one who cares for his soul should distance himself ושפנ רמושו ,”וחלגי אל םנקז תאפו“ בותכש
far away from this.
.דואמ הזמ קחרי

However, Rav Chaim Ozer Grodzensky argued in his Responsa Achiezer that it was permissible, since it was
still not comparable to a blade and one could feel the hair after the shave. Nowadays, though, technology
has evolved and even the Achiezer might prohibit using modern day shavers when used very close to the
skin. For this reason, some poskim, such as Rav Moshe Shternbuch (in the source below), prohibit their use
where one cannot feel the hair on the beard afterwards when moving one’s hand over it from bottom to top.

p Responsa Teshuvot Vehanhagot 1:459 טנת:א | תוגהנהו תובושת . 24

Shavers today appear to the naked eye to shave like a רעת ומכ חלגמ ןיעל הארנה יפל ונימיב הנוכמה
razor. However, the process is more similar to scissors קד ךתוחש םיירפסמכ אוה ותלועפ םצעב לבא
that cut very finely using two blades, an upper and lower שודקהו ,ןותחתהו ןוילעה םיניכסה ’ב ףוריצ י”ע
one. The holy Chafetz Chaim (in Likutei Halachot and כ”כו )תוכלה יטוקילב תוכמד ג”פ( םייח ץפחה
also in the Kuntres in the back of Sefer Nidchei Yisrael) as ןכו ,לארשי יחדנ רפס ףוסבש סרטנוקב ח”חה
well as the Chazon Ish wrote that this is considered exactly לבא ,שממ רעת והזש וקספ ל”צז א”וזחה וניבר
like a blade, but many people have been accustomed to
be lenient. In my youth I heard that the Gaon Rav Chaim ןואגהש יתעמש יתודליבו ,לקהל וגהנ םיבר
Ozer [Grodzensky] permitted it, and even though every הנוכמ ןיאש ףאו ,ריתה ל”צז רזוע םייח יבר
shaver is different, from what I hear the question [asked יתעמשש יפכ לבא ,התריבחל המוד תחא
to them] involved a shaver similar to what we have today. .םויה םייוצמה ולא ןיעכ הנוכמב התיה הלאשה

7. The context of Tosafot is the prohibition of a nazir (nazirite) to cut or shave his hair (Bamidbar 6:5). Rav Chisda in the Gemara suggests (according
to the interpretation of Tosafot here) that a nazir only receives lashes for violating this prohibition if he uses a razor. The Gemara then questions
this based on a beraita and concludes that any instrument “similar to a razor” will also cause him to be liable to lashes. Tosafot understands this
expression to mean that it includes any instrument that uproots the hair from its root. [Addition of the editors of the English edition]

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