Cutting for the Dead

Sources

ובבשרם לא ישרטו שרטת NOR SHALL THEY MAKE ANY INCISION IN THEIR FLESH — This is stated in addition to the law in Leviticus 19:28 for the following reason: Because it is said there of the ordinary Israelites “and ye shall not make a cutting in your flesh for the dead”, I might think that if one made five incisions at the same time he is liable to the punishment of lashes only once, Scripture therefore states here: לא ישרטו שרטת “they shall not incise an incision" to make one liable for each and every incision — for this word (שרטת) would be redundant if it added nothing to the previous…

Rashi on Leviticus 21:5:3

Gashing and gouging oneself are [governed by] a single [prohibition]. Just as the pagans would gouge their flesh in grief over their dead, they would mutilate themselves for their idols, as [I Kings 18:28] states: "And they mutilated themselves according to their custom."
This is also forbidden by the Torah, as [Deuteronomy 14:1] states: "Do not mutilate yourselves." [The difference between the two is that if one gouges himself in grief over] the dead, whether he did so with his bare hands or with an instrument, he is [liable for] lashes…

Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations 12:13

‎ ‎‎‎‎ושרט לנפש‏‎ ‎[YE SHALL NOT MAKE] ANY CUTTINGS [IN YOUR FLESH] FOR THE DEAD — This was the practice of the Amorites (a general term for heathens) to make cuttings in their flesh when someone belonging to them died.

Rashi on Leviticus 19:28:1

§ The mishna teaches: And one who cuts one incision in a display of mourning over the dead is flogged. The Sages taught a halakhic midrash on the verse: “And an incision for the soul you shall not place in your flesh” (Leviticus 19:28). Had the verse stated only: “And an incision,” one might have thought that this prohibition applies to any incision cut in sorrow, even if he cut an incision in sorrow over his house that collapsed, or over his ship that sunk at sea…

Makkot 20b:10-21a:3

A person who makes a bald spot on his head or gouges his flesh because his house falls or because his ship sinks at sea is exempt. One is lashed only [if he carries out these acts] for the sake of a deceased person or if he gashes his flesh for the sake of an idol.
[The following laws apply] when a person creates a bald spot on a colleague's head, makes a gash on a colleague's flesh, or tattoos his colleague's flesh while his colleague assists him. If they both intended to violate the prohibition, both receive lashes…

Mishneh Torah, Foreign Worship and Customs of the Nations 12:16

Seeing that it is part of revering the Lord and honouring Him not to desecrate our own bodies which He sanctified to enable us to serve Him, the Torah begins with a list of prohibitions designed to emphasise this point. לא תקיפו, we must not desecrate our heads by removing its hair as is the custom of gentile clergy or fools and drunkards. Neither are we to shave off the beard which represents man’s dignity, הדרת פנים שלו, “Shabbat 152. Neither are we to make incisions on our skin, something that is customary amongst pagans as an expression of their grief for family members who have died…

Sforno on Leviticus 19:27:1

Relatedראו גם

You Shall Not Cut Yourself

Laws of Dissociation from Idolatry and its Worshippers

Sheetsדפי מקורות

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