(15) And she said to him: ‘How can you say: I love you, when thy heart is not with me? you have mocked me these three times, and have not told me where your great strength lies.’ (16) And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, that his soul was vexed unto death. (17) And he told her all his heart, and said to her: ‘There has not come a razor upon my head; for I have been a Nazirite unto God from my mother’s womb; if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.’
- From where does Samson receive his strength?
- According to the text, what value is attributed to hair?
- In your experience, what value does modern society attribute to hair?
Men and Hair in Jewish Tradition
(27) You shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shall you mar the corners of thy beard.
Upsheren (noun): A tradition in Hasidic and Sephardic communities where a male child's hair is not cut until he reaches three years of age. The Upsheren symbolizes the beginning of a boy's Jewish education and mitzvot.
- He will then wear a kippah, tzit-tzit (fringes), and payot
- He is given the Hebrew alphabet covered in honey- to show learning will be sweet
Some explanations attribute the practice of waiting three years to Biblical law concerning fruit of a tree.
(כג) וְכִי תָבֹאוּ אֶל הָאָרֶץ וּנְטַעְתֶּם כָּל עֵץ מַאֲכָל וַעֲרַלְתֶּם עָרְלָתוֹ אֶת פִּרְיוֹ שָׁלֹשׁ שָׁנִים יִהְיֶה לָכֶם עֲרֵלִים לֹא יֵאָכֵל.
(23) And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have planted all manner of trees for food, then you shall count the fruit thereof as forbidden; three years shall it be as forbidden unto you; it shall not be eaten.
How do we understand these three texts together?
How are the customs regarding male children and fruit-bearing trees connected?
Women and Hair in Jewish Tradition
(10) When you take the field against your enemies, and the LORD your God delivers them into your power and you take some of them captive, (11) and you see among the captives a beautiful woman and you desire her and would take her to wife, (12) you shall bring her into your house, and she shall trim her hair, pare her nails, (13) and discard her captive’s garb. She shall spend a month’s time in your house lamenting her father and mother; after that you may come to her and possess her, and she shall be your wife.
(ו) ואלו יוצאות שלא בכתבה, העוברת על דת משה ויהודית .ואיזו היא דת משה, מאכילתו שאינו מעשר , ומשמשתו נדה, ולא קוצה לה חלה, ונודרת ואינה מקימת .ואיזוהי דת יהודית, יוצאה וראשה פרוע , וטווה בשוק, ומדברת עם כל אדם.אבא שאול אומר, אף המקללת יולדיו בפניו.רבי טרפון אומר, אף הקולנית.ואיזו היא קולנית, לכשהיא מדברת בתוך ביתה ושכניה שומעין קולה.
(6) The following women are divorced, and do not receive [the amount of] their Ketubah:—She who violates the Law of Moses, or Jewish [rules]. What constitutes [a violation of] the Law of Moses? If she causes him to eat [food] which has not paid tithe: if she submits to his embraces while she is in a state of Niddah: if she does not set apart Challah: and if she vows, but does not keep [her vow]. What constitutes [a violation of] Jewish customs? If she goes out with her hair loose [bareheaded]: if she spins in the street, and converses [flirts] with any man. Abbah Saul saith, "[Likewise] if she curses his children in his presence." R. Tarphon saith, "[Also] if she is a noisy woman." What is [meant by] a noisy woman? One who speaks in her own house [so loud] that the neighbours can hear her.
- What strikes you most about these texts? What differences do you notice? What surprises you?
- What connections do you see between these texts and modern hair customs?
- What may customs concerning hair reveal about prescribed gender roles?
- And perhaps most importantly, why participate in the study of these texts?