Parshat Re’eh

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In this week’s parsha, we read the commandment of “You are the children of the Lord, your God: you shall not cut yourselves, nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead… For you are a holy people unto the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be His own treasure out of all peoples that are upon the face of the earth.” (Devarim 14: 1-2)

 

The simple understanding of the commandment is that one should not cut himself, carve engravings in one’s flesh or make himself bald because of the sorrow of the dead.

 

Chazal surprise us with a completely different interpretation. The gemara in Yevamot states that one should not create several groups of judges in one city. We can understand from this that it is forbidden to do things that cause us to divide into different groups. The gemara discusses what exactly is forbidden here but a smaller question is does this mean having differing factions within one Beit Din (courthouse) or having two Betei- Din in one city?

Moreover, we must ask why Chazal’s explanation is so far from the literal text of the verses. It seems that Chazal interpreted it this way because they were trying to make a correlation to the beginning of the sentence which says, “You are the children of the Lord, your G-d”.

What is the connection between this phrase and the rest of the sentence of “you should not cut yourselves”?

There are a few explanations that I’d like to share with you:

1. The Ibn Ezra explains that even if you do not understand the reason for the commandment “Do not cut yourselves,” you still must trust that G-d loves you like a parent loves and takes care of his children, so the commandment is certainly one for your benefit.
2. Rashi explains that if Am Yisrael is called “children of G-d”, then we are intrinsically holy (“for you are a holy people”), and therefore they should not act improperly by carving into their flesh. (Rav Dovid Zvi Hoffman explains that, as G-d’s children, we need to also act properly in our external appearances as well as with the things we eat).
3. Sforno and Rav Yosef Bechor Shor (12^th c. France) explain that because Am Yisrael is the “son” of G-d, even when he is in a sorrow-filled situation, he shouldn’t worry too much because G-d loves him and will continue to care for him.

It could be that the reason behind Chazal’s interpretation of “do not cut yourselves” (as not dividing into different groups is because they see a correlation to the first portion of the sentence: “You are the children of the Lord, your G-d”.

Every nation aspires for unity. Unity helps create a more stable and healthier society, and there certainly is a ‘tachlis’ (practical) purpose to unity. However, with Am Yisrael, unity is beyond essential-it’s crucial. This isn’t the type of unity that is created for a specific goal like building up the nation; rather, unity among Am Yisrael is because of us being G-d’s children and being unified with our Creator.

If we look at our own lives, we know that one of the most important things for parents is to see the unity among their children. This is something that every parent prays for: that their children will love each other and take pride in each other.

“You are children of the Lord, your G-d”, and as children, you need to be united. As children, you need to know that it’s not just your obligation, but it’s the best thing for you. As children, you need to reach the foundation that enables completion (to the required connection that will bring the fullest completion of the nation) but you also desire to be close to G-d. When Am Yisrael is united, we are able to fulfill that desire. That is when we are able to bring out the inner treasure (the segula that the parsha addresses) that rests within the “Holy nation you are to Hashem, your G-d”.

 

Shabbat Shalom