This week’s parasha contains a prohibition whose significance, according to the Sages, reaches far beyond its original context:

בָּנִים אַתֶּם לַה׳ אֱלֹהֵיכֶם, לֹא תִתְגֹּדְדוּ””, “You are children of the Lord your God; (lo titgodedu) you shall not cut yourselves” (Deuteronomy 14:1).

According to the straightforward meaning of the verse, the Torah forbids cutting or lacerating the body as an expression of mourning. Such practices were common in the ancient world, but the Torah insists that even in moments of grief, human beings must not surrender to despair or mutilate the body that God has given them.

The Sages, however, hear an additional meaning in the words ״לֹא תִתְגּוֹדְדוּ״ — לֹא תֵּעָשׂוּ אֲגוּדּוֹת אֲגוּדּוֹת, “Do not divide yourselves into separate factions” (Yevamot 13b-14a).

The Talmud does not understand this to mean that every Jew must think or behave identically. It discusses communities that follow different halakhic practices and distinguishes legitimate diversity from division that tears apart a single communal framework. Indeed, the Talmud preserves profound disagreements between Beit Hillel and Beit Shammai. Yet despite those disputes, the two schools continued to marry into one another. They disagreed about the Torah without ceasing to regard one another as part of the same people.

Thus, לא........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)