It wasn’t hormones or hair gel—it was Hashem who helped catapult a Brooklyn rabbi to victory at the First Annual Coney Island Beard and Moustache Competition last weekend.
At least that’s how Coney Island’s own Rabbi Abraham Abraham sees it.
Abraham beat about roughly 20 other competitors to take home a trophy at the Sept. 6 contest, organized by the nonprofit group Coney Island USA, and held at a circus sideshow theater.
The Coney Island mainstay won for best groomed beard and moustache.
“I had an advantage because I kept it neat,” he said.
Abraham, who would not reveal his age, said he has kept a beard for the past 60 years. He said he wears it with “dignity, wisdom, and integrity.”
The reason? “Hashem,” he said, using the Hebrew word for God.
“We have to adhere to a higher authority because we live by the torah,” he added.
Abraham said he was asked to enter the competition, and did so, “but only after shabbos,” referring to the Jewish Sabbath.
The rabbi joined hirsute legends like Eric Brown, who won for best sideburns, Ben Davidson, for best moustache, and Ed Barnes, for best beard.
