Two Different Interpretations

There are two words in the Torah that are interpreted in a very different fashion by the Talmud. The Torah gives the command of לא תתגודדו. These words are either translated as containing the prohibition of making cuts in the skin, or, the prohibition of causing separation among the Jewish people.

The first definition involves a practice that Rashi says was attributed to the Emori. When they suffered the loss of a loved one, their pain was very great. To ease this pain, they would make incisions in their heads. They turned their emotional pain into physical pain.

We are not allowed to copy such practices. We accept that death is a reality. We cope with our losses with our own rules of mourning. We believe in the world to come, and the resurrection of the dead.

The second interpretation warns us not to turn Judaism into אגודות אגודות, which refers to divisiveness and factionalizing. Once I was part of a breakaway Minyan for Arvit. The president of the Shule was annoyed, and simply said, לא תתגודדו. That’s how we knew he was annoyed.

Part of this second explanation, points to one of the tragedies of our exile. Where we once had a ruling body known as the “Sanhedrin,” from the time of Moshe Rabbeinu until 358 c.e., Jews developed their own individual customs, and rabbinic authorities, wherever they lived. This was necessary for survival.

Now that we have returned to Israel, we should be in a position to create unity with all of the different factions living here. It is no easy task, but in the spirit of לא תתגודדו, it is something to strive towards.

It is certainly interesting how two words can be explained in such a dramatically different fashion.