Military Allows Brooklyn Rabbi to Keep Beard

Home Live Wire Military Allows Brooklyn Rabbi to Keep Beard

Menachem Stern, an Orthodox Jewish rabbi from Brooklyn, who was told he couldn’t keep his beard if he became an army chaplain, won his legal battle against the military and will be sworn in on Friday with his facial hair intact, the AP reported. As a member of the Chabad Lubavitch movement of Judaism, Stern, 29, and other rabbis are not allowed to shave their beards.

After he applied to be an army chaplain in January 2009, the military initially accepted him, but soon rescinded the offer because of its rule prohibiting beards. Stern later filed a lawsuit, and on Nov. 22 reached a settlement that allowed him to keep his beard while serving as a chaplain.

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