19 Aug REEH: YOU ARE CHILDREN TO HASHEM YOUR G-D

The pasuk in Parshas
Re’eh says, “You are
Children to Hashem
your G-d, you shall
not cut yourselves and
you shall not make a
bald spot between
your eyes for a dead
person.” (Devorim 14:1) In the past, there
was a custom among non-Jews for people to
cut or somehow mutilate themselves as a
sign of mourning when a person’s relative
died. The Torah prohibits this practice. The
commentaries all point out the fact that this
is the only mitzvah where a negative
prohibition is introduced with the statement
“You are Children to Hashem your G-d.” We
don’t find such a preamble by the prohibition
to eat pig or to wear shatnez or anywhere
else! Why do we find this unique introduction
to the mitzvah of “Lo sis’godedu” about
mutilating oneself?
The Seforno gives a beautiful interpretation.
Rashi gives an interpretation. I heard a
different interpretation, also very interesting,
from a talmid chochom from England, whom
I met once while touring the Swiss Alps.

The person identified himself as a
“Monarchist” meaning he supports and
believes in the monarchy of England. The
fellow is a Yeshivishe fellow, he authored a
sefer on the Rambam’s Ma’aseh HaKorbonos,
and is a fine talmid chochom – but he is into
the monarchy.
He mentioned that the year at that time
(2017) marked the 20th anniversary of the
death of Princess Diana. At the time of her
death in 1997, her passing generated headline
stories throughout the world for quite a long
period of time. He said that at the time when
Diana died, her two sons, Prince William and
Prince Harry were twelve and ten years old.
In England, the protocol is that the coffin is
carried by horse, and the mourners march in
back of the coffin as it proceeds to the
cemetery. The young boys were instructed to
march behind their mother’s coffin, and they
were told that they were not allowed to cry.
The boys protested, “We don’t want to
march, and if we want to cry, we’ll cry!”
They were told that this was not their option.
They were the princes and this is what
protocol called for: March in back of the
coffin and do not show any emotion. Bnei

melachim, children of kings
have special duties. Sons of
kings need to act in a certain
way.
You and I can disagree, and

we can say that telling a ten-
year-old that he should not

cry at his mother’s funeral is
ridiculous. We are not here to
debate that, but this is the
royal protocol in England.
However, this monarchist
was making the point that a person who is the
son of a king is royalty, and needs to act
differently than other people. He needs to be
in control of his emotions.
Using this background, he offered insight
into the pasuk, “You are Children of Hashem
your G-d, do not cut yourself…” You are the
sons of royalty, not figurative royalty but real
royalty – the King of all kings, the Holy One
Bless Be He. We are the children of the
Ribono shel Olam. The Gemara says many
times that “all of Israel are the children of
kings” (e.g., Shabbos 67a, 111a, 158a).
I am not suggesting that we don’t cry if chas

v’shalom we face tragedies in life. Just the
opposite is true. We believe in “three days for
crying” (Moed Katan 27b). But we do
believe in controlling our emotions. The
Torah says over here – you may be tempted
to mutilate yourself. Perhaps you have
experienced so much pain that you feel like
you need to inflict more pain upon yourself.
Do not do that! Ay, your emotions drive you
in that direction… But, no! You are Children
of Hashem, your G-d, and you must retain
control over your emotions. You are princes.
Princes cannot act like everyone else. They
must act with dignity. That is why the Torah
says, “Do not cut yourself and do not make a
bald spot between your eyes over death.”