Just as the purity of the body is essential in Judaism, so too is the unity of the Jewish people as a whole. We are one body, one family, and one soul.
This week’s Torah portion is “Re’eh” (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17) and in it we read about the ban on self-mutilation, especially as a sign of mourning. As the Torah says: “You are children to your God — you shall not mutilate yourselves … for a dead person … for you are a holy people to your God.”
This transgression is known as “lo titgodedu” and in addition to a ban on mutilating the body there is another interesting application of this ban as we will see below.
In the olden days many people, as a religious or cultural practice, would mutilate themselves by making cuts in their skin as part of their mourning rituals. We are completely forbidden to do so. Judaism is very big on mournin…but in the proper manner.