Tafsiran yang Mengutip untuk Imamat 21:5

YE ARE THE CHILDREN OF THE ETERNAL YOUR G-D: YE SHALL NOT CUT YOURSELVES, NOR MAKE ANY BALDNESS BETWEEN YOUR EYES FOR THE DEAD. This also is an explanatory commandment of what He said in the Torah with reference to the priests, They shall not make baldness upon their head etc., nor make any cuttings in their flesh,¹⁹²Leviticus 21:5. and now he [Moses] will explain that it is not merely because of the distinction of the priests which He mentioned there, They shall be holy unto their G-d,¹⁹³Ibid., Verse 6. that they were thus commanded. Rather, all the congregation are holy, every one of them,¹⁹⁴Numbers 16:3. and all of you are the children of the Eternal your G-d like the priests; if so, you too, take heed to yourselves regarding this commandment like them. This explanation is in accordance with the opinion of our Rabbis¹⁹⁵Yebamoth 13b. that both verses [the one here and the one in Leviticus] relate only to the practice [of cutting and making baldness as signs of mourning] for the dead, [although “the dead” is not mentioned in the priestly injunction in Leviticus]. But it is possible that the first commandment [in Leviticus was stated] in relation to priests to state that if the priest had his hair torn out and his flesh cut, he was not fit for the Divine Service, just as He said, and they shall not profane the Name of their G-d,¹⁹³Ibid., Verse 6. and their Service is thus profaned [i.e., invalidated]. Here he explained that the commandment applies also to the Israelites, both prohibitions being necessary.¹⁹⁶By combining both statements we deduce that the prohibition against making baldness relates to the whole head and not only between the eyes, that it relates to the practice in connection with mourning for the dead, and finally that a separate penalty is incurred for each incision into the flesh (Makkoth 20 a-b).
And Rashi wrote: “Because you are the children of the Eternal it is becoming for you to be comely and not be cut about and bald [due to the tearing out of hair].” But it is not correct, for if so this commandment should be binding even [if the deeds were done] not for the dead! And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented: “Once you realize that you are the children of the Eternal and that He loves you more than a father loves his child, you should not cut yourselves [in bereavement] for anything that He does, because whatever He has done is for your good although you may not understand it, just as little children do not understand their father, yet rely on him. For thou art a holy people,¹⁹⁷Verse 2. and you are not like all the other nations; therefore you shall not do as they do.”
In my opinion the purport of the expression for thou art a holy people¹⁹⁷Verse 2. [is to state] an assurance of the eternal existence of the souls before Him, blessed be He. The verse declares: “Since you are a holy people and the treasure of G-d — neither doth G-d respect any person, but He deviseth means that he that is banished be not an outcast from Him¹⁹⁸II Samuel 14:14. — therefore it is improper for you to make incisions in your flesh and tear your hair for the dead even if he perisheth in youth.¹⁹⁹Job 36:14. Scripture, however, did not prohibit weeping for the dead since it is natural to cry when parting from beloved ones, and when they go on a journey even in life. From this verse, there is support for our Rabbis in prohibiting excessive mourning for the dead.²⁰⁰Moed Katan 27b.

בנים אתם לה' אלוקיכם, “You are children to Hashem your G’d;” Seeing that in Leviticus 21,5 the Torah had forbidden the priests to make bald spots on their heads and their flesh as signs of mourning because even in mourning they are not truly orphans, being holy unto G’d, Moses wants to assure the people at large that they are no less beloved by Hashem than are the priests. All the Israelites are holy, and all are Hashem’s children. As proof of this, they are to observe the same restriction spelled out for the priests already in Leviticus. According to the tradition cited by our sages (Sifri 89), the prohibition mentioned here applies only to such incisions when they are made as signs of mourning for a dead relative, both in the case of ordinary Israelites and in the case of the priests. (Although the prohibition in Leviticus did not mention the word למת.) Ibn Ezra writes that seeing that you have been told that Hashem considers you as His children and He loves you more than a mortal father loves his children, you must not register your dismay at what you perceive as something that Hashem has done to you by disfiguring the body He has lovingly given to you. Just as you know that a mortal father’s actions are always motivated by his love for his son, so G’d’s actions are even more definitely motivated by what He knows as being good for His children, even if at the time we, His children, are unable to understand this. We must always subscribe to the cliché of “Father knows best.” It is possible that the reason that this prohibition first appeared as if it applied only to the priests was that when a priest engages in such disfiguration he thereby disqualifies himself from performing his duties in the Temple until such a blemish has healed. Now the time had come to extend this prohibition also to the ordinary Israelites. Rashi explains that seeing that you are Hashem’s children it is incumbent upon you not to disfigure “His” property. Ultimately, your body belongs to Him. Nachmanides disagrees with Rashi, saying that if he were correct this prohibition would apply also if it did not involve mourning for a dead person.

Do not inflict lacerations and gashes on your flesh, etc. I.e., a prohibition only applies to a person carrying out an action, and not on the one to whom the action is carried out. Since the [hitpa’el verb form of] the term לא תתגודדו (do not lacerate yourself) usually emphasizes on whom the action is carried out, therefore Rashi explains, “Do not inflict lacerations on your flesh.” And Rashi says גדידה ושרט (lacerations and gashes) to let us know that גדידה is a type of gash — the two words are synonymous. See Parshas Emor (Vayikra 21:5), where this verse has been fully explained.

בין עיניכם [NOR MAKE ANY BALDNESS] BETWEEN YOUR EYES — i.e. adjoining the forehead. In another passage (Leviticus 21:5), however, it states, “They shall not make their head bald”! It, however, intends to make the entire head like between the eyes (בֵּין עֵינַיִם) [i.e., one must not make bald spots on any part of the head]. (Sifrei Devarim 96:13; cf. Rashi on Leviticus 21:5 and Note thereon).