In parshas Kedoshim Israel is commanded, "You shall not round off the side on your head, or destroy the side of your beard", (Leviticus 19:27). Rashi explains, "this refers to someone who [cuts his hair in such a way that he] makes [the hair on] his temples even with that behind his ear and on his forehead [i.e., the front hairline], thereby causing the surrounding [hairline] of his head to become a circle, since the main hairline behind the ears is at a much higher level than [the hair on] his temples. — [Makos 20b]. The Sforno explains, "He commanded us not to profane themselves by rounding the head like fools, drunks, or pagan priests. Also not to shave the beard, as if they said that the splendor of the face is the beard".
They idea of proper grooming is important to the Chumash. When Joseph, the tsaddik, is taken out of jail, it is explicitly stated that he took a haircut. This was done as a sign of respect to Pharaoh and to make a good impression on him. In embellishing the proper interpretation of Pharaoh's dream, the result was that Joseph went directly from being a prisoner in a dungeon to running the most important nation in the world.
The opposite is also true, namely that being disheveled is viewed negatively. For this reason a cohen with unruly hair can not serve in the Temple. There are times when it's appropriate to look bad, for example during times of mourning. Therefore it is forbidden to take a haircut or trim the beard when mourning for a relative, the destruction of the Temple between the Seventeenth of Tammuz and Tisha b'Av, or the students of Rabbi Akiva during the counting of the Omer. Likewise a leper, who is a suspected sinner, lets his hair become disheveled. Also a nazir, who fears misusing his beauty, lets his hair grow wild so as to be less attractive. The blessing, "that He put this into His world", is said on things that are extraordinarily beautiful. Opposite that, on things shocking or ugly, one recites the blessing,"He distorts the creation". It applies to a number of things like freaks and gorillas. It also includes a person with matted hair.
There is also a halacha that when washing the body, it is appropriate to wash the head first because the head is the king of the body. Through the mind it is possible to connect to the Holy One Blessed be He. Therefore by beautification of the head God is honored. A beautiful haircut beautifies the face. Some haircuts bring out the beaubeaut of a unique individual. Others bring out the beauty of all people. Likewise some haircuts are universally ugly. Hair on the face -- a beard, and on the scalp -- a nice haircut, bring out the beauty of the head. However it is basically and ornament especially to the bare skin. The lips are beautiful; the eyes are beautiful; and the forehead is beautiful.
The mystics especially praise a beautiful forehead, particularly one that is peaceful and calm. They even go so far as to claim that personality can be revealed through observation of a person's forehead. By mean of the shape and the bumps on the head, the art of phrenology is used to reveal a person's mentality and even predict the future. However it is generally considered a pseudoscience. Hair is considered a beautiful embellishment. The idea of a beard and not rounding the head may be to emphasize the upper scalp. In popular literature the wise and benevolent community elders are often pictured as bald. It could be that HaKadosh Baruch Hu considers a person who is bald to be distinguished. Therefore leaving a covering on the top of the head while revealing that which is below maybe considered as hiding that which is beautiful and exposing something of lesser importance. As a result shaving the face and the side of the head while leaving the upper head hidden may be like chasing after that which is secondary and ignoring the essence.
לע"נ האמא מלכה בת חיים ז"ל נלב"ע טז ניסן תשנ"ח
העלון ניתן לקבל בדואר אלקטרוני וגם באתר http://dyschreiber.blogspot.com
No comments:
Post a Comment