Since its birth as a nation, Russia, like most European nations, evolved into a center of rabid anti-Semitism where, sadly, hundreds of thousands of Jews of the diaspora made their home.
I’d like to put a bit of a spin on that little kernel of history: Let’s just suppose that since Orthodox Judaism forbids its devotees to shave their beards, Peter the Great cunningly issued a decree that all bearded men must pay a tax for the privilege of having facial hair.
Peter knew that devout Jews would never, under any circumstance, disregard their religious obligations. Thus by his action, he made certain that Russia’s coffers became the beneficiary of all those taxed Jewish beards.
-David Q.
MONROVIA
