Re'eh ~ Being Daughters and Sons of God

(1) cut your flesh ([Hebrew: titgodәdu] from “upon all the hands shall be gashes [Hebrew: gәdudot]” [Jeremiah 48: 37]) for the same reason as “any incision for the soul” [Leviticus 19: 28]. (2) nor make any baldness as the other nations do, to this very day. (3) Children Once you understand that you are children of God , and He loves you more than a father loves his child, then you will not cut your flesh over anything that He does, for everything that he does is good. Even if you do not understand it — as small children do not not understand their father’s actions, yet they trust him — you should yourselves act likewise, because you are a consecrated people and you are not like the other peoples, and so you should not act as they act. The reason for the juxtaposition of this passage with the passage you must not eat any abominable thing is: You are to be a holy nation, in your hearts and in your mouths. You must thus be distinguishable from the other nations, so that anyone who sees you will recognize you. Accordingly you must not make yourselves bald over the dead [cf . : 1], nor may you eat just any animal — for, if you are to be a holy nation, it is not fitting that you should eat that which is defiled, and thereby defile your souls.

You are children - "It is taught: R. Yehuda says - 'you are children to Ad-nai your God' when you behave like children [obeying your parents], you are called children, and when you don't behave like children you are not called children. R. Meir says: either way they are called children! It says [Deut. 32:20]: "children with no loyalty in them". (TB Kidushin 36a)...

And see the story told in Baba Batra 10a, that a certain person disputes with Rabbi Akiva if Israel is called children or slaves, and Rabbi Akiva proves from this verse that they are called children, and the person proves from the verse 'because the children of Israel are My slaves' (Lev. 25:55) that they are called slaves, and after that he explains that when they do the will of the Place they are called children, and when they do not, they are called slaves. And in the Talmud piece it is not explained whether Rabbi Akiva agrees with him or not. And what Rabbi Akiva does with the verse 'because the children of Israel are My slaves' is not important for the conversation, since it is explicit by the verse that the children of Israel are called slaves. And it is known that the expression slaves is an expression of care and high regard, and who is higher than Moshe our Teacher? He is also called 'slave of Ad-nai'! And the prophet Isaiah says 'you are my slave, oh Israel, on whom I am glorified' (Isaiah 49:3) - see here that when the Holy One of Blessing is glorified with Israel He also expresses to them that they are called slaves.

You are children - Because you are the children of the Place, and it is fit that you should be pleasant and not cut up and baldened (on purpose, see Rashi), that is to say you are the legion of the King and it is fitting that you should see on each other splendor and majesty, and shaved head and cut flesh diminish and cheapen the body of a person, and the text reinforces saying 'because you are a holy people etc' over shaving heads, and after that it joins the verses regarding not eating abominable stuff, since eating disgusting things is a disgrace for the act of eating, and this is also why the text adds 'you are a holy people to Ad-nai your God'.

(6) So is it exactly with the Blessed Creator vis-à-vis the children of Israel, His holy people. For they are like sons to Him, as it is written (Devarim 14:1) "You are sons to the L-rd your G-d." And He rejoices in their good and grieves in their cries and in their shame (viz. Sanhedrin 46a). And this one [the friend] goes, in the eyes of the Father, whose glory fills all the world and shames His son before people to no purpose. What pleasure has He from this? And Rambam (Deoth 6:3) has adduced a principle in respect to the mitzvah of "And you should love your friend as yourself," that one should be just as solicitous of his friend's possessions and honor as he is of his own. And, as stated by Tanna d'bei Eliyahu 27: "Thus did the Holy One Blessed be He say to Israel: 'My beloved son, do I lack anything that I ask it from you? And what do I ask of you. Only that you love one another and honor one another and fear one another, and that there not be among you transgression and theft and unsightliness, so that you not be rejected forever, wherefore it is written (Michah 6:8): 'He has told you, O man, what is good. And what does the L-rd your G-d ask of you, but that you judge rightly, and love lovingkindness, and walk humbly with your G-d.'"

(13) And this is the intent of the verse "You shall not take revenge and you shall not bear a grudge against the sons of your people. And you shall love your friend as yourself — I am the L-rd." If you say: "How can I make myself not have anything against him and even love him?" the verse itself provides the answer — "I am the L-rd." As per (Malachi 1:2): "'I have loved you,' said the L-rd," and (Devarim 14:1): "You are sons to the L-rd your G-d" — you, too, can love him. And, in truth, the matter is simple. For since a man looks "downwards" at his friend, seeing him clothed in physical matter, he [his friend] is not very significant to him, especially, if he is against him in some matter, in which instance he "nullifies" him completely. Not so the Holy One Blessed be He, who knows, in essence, that the root of the holiness of the soul of Israel is exceedingly great and awesome, as it is written in the holy Zohar in several places, that the root of the holiness of the soul of Israel on high is in an extremely awesome sphere, wherefore their eminence and His love for them, accordingly, are extremely great.]

(1) “You are children to Ad-nai your God - ... according to my opinion the reason that 'you are a holy people' is to give assurance that the souls continue to exist in front of the Almighty, and since you are a holy people and a treasure of Ad-nai, and God does not create a soul or a thought without knowing it to be essential, it is not fitting that you should go around gashing your flesh and shaving [your heads] over souls, and even if they died while young. And of course the text did not prevent people from crying since it is in our nature to cry when this situation of losing a loved one and a friend arises, but from here the rabbis prevent us (Moed Katan 27a) to mourn over a loss for far too long.

(1) בנים אתם לה׳ אלוקיכם, "You are children to Ad-nai your God, etc." Why did the Torah write this statement next to the prohibition to make incisions on one's body? It appears that the reason is to teach us that if one loses a family member to death one should not look upon the deceased as having become lost. The true state of affairs can be understood by a parable. A father sent a son to a distant city to buy some merchandise. Seeing the son did not return, the father sends out someone after a while to try and locate him. The son's absence was felt only in his home town; this does not mean that he no longer exists. Moreover, the chances are that the reason he did not return is that he is better off in his new home as he is closer to the original father, i.e. the source of his having lived on earth in the first place. This is the reason we must not make incisions on our bodies, or to make bald spots on top of our heads in mourning for the deceased. ...

(10) "Do not lacerate yourselves" (lo titgodedu): Do not form opposing factions (agudot, agudot), but all of you consolidate into one bond (agudah), as in (Amos 9:6) "and He founded His bond (agudah) upon the earth."

(14) Included in this prohibitive commandment is also a warning that there shall not be two tribunals in one city, one following one set of customs and the other following another set of customs, for such practice causes great divisions, even as it is said: "Ye shall not cut (divide) yourselves" (Ibid.), ye shall not multiply divisions.¹⁷Yebamot, 13b. C.