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Ari on the Mitzvot |
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Hair: The Kabbalistic Significance Part 1 Do not cut off the hair on
the sides of your head. Do not shave off the edges of your beard. Lev. 19:27 From the Arizal When performing a commandment, a person should do so to fulfill the will of his Creator, Who commanded him. For example, when a man’s hair is cut, he should bring to mind that he will not allow the hair of the sides of his head to be shaved, nor the hair of his beard (peyot ha’rosh). The mystical explanation is the following. There are the three types of hair of the head. Those associated with (1) Arich Anpin, (2) Zeir Anpin and (3) Nukva. However, the hairs of Arich Anpin are of a quality of complete mercy and are all channels of lights that allow the lights to descend below; it is not appropriate to cut them. Therefore, the nazirite whose hair signifies Atik Yomin does not cut his hair at all, as has been explained regarding the commandment of nazir. However, in Zeir Anpin it is fitting to cut of the hair of one’s head, particularly someone whose soul is rooted in the root soul of Cain. It is proper for a man to intend, when getting his hair cut, that he is a reflection of Zeir Anpin, and that he is removing all the judgments from him by means of the razor (To’ar), which has the numerical value of the Divine name Ado-nai. This numerical equivalency is achieved when each letter of this Divine name Ado-nai is spelled out in full, and the total numerical value of each letter is added up. Ado-nai transforms the judgment; therefore, it has the numerical value of razor (To’ar) to remove the judgments… To’ar spelled: taf ayin reish taf - 400 Ado-nai spelled:
aleph dalet nun yud However, you already know that the head [of a person] incorporates allusions to the ten sefirot, and that its allusion to malchut constitutes the secret of the Sides of the Head. Thus, PeAH [side] has the numerical value of the Divine name Elokim, and PeAH [side] is always in malchut. PeAH spelled pei aleph hei pei : 80 Elo-him spelled aleph lamed hei yud mem aleph - 1 However, there is no sustained existence to the world except through the judgments, and it is not fitting to remove them completely. To that end, we need to retain only the dimension of malchut [i.e. peah], but this applies only to the head of Zeir Anpin [man]. However, Nukva [woman] does not shave her head. The reason is that since she corresponds to Nukva, and since all the judgments are in Asiya [world of action/Nukva], were she to remove the judgments from the head of Nukva, there would not remain any judgments in the world. Accordingly, a woman needs to keep her hair, and does not shave her head. My master was extremely careful not to get a haircut after midday, that is after the time arrives for praying the Large Mincha. Even on the eve of the Sabbath [Friday], he was cautious. It is fitting that a man not uproot any hair from his beard at all, for the beard hairs are channels of Divine spiritual abundance. He should intend that the top of the beard is the First Tikun. E-l, in the secret of the thirteen attributes of mercy, and the hair of the beard on the left and right is twice the numeric value of the word zakan (beard), and that is the numerical value of the Divine name Sha-dai. Zakan spelled zayin kuf nun zayin –7
kuf -100 Sha-dai spelled shin dalet yud Together the beard as a whole is E-l Sha-dai. For this reason a man should be mindful at all times not to grasp his beard so that he does not uproot any hair from it. Taamei Hamitzvot, Parashat
Kedoshim, pg.194 Commentary: For purposes of clarity this commentary has been divided into three sections. The first section deals with practices, the second explores spiritual insights, and the third offers meditation instructions and a conclusion. Section I: Practices Before we explore the spiritual insights of the Arizal’s teaching, we need first to understand what in practice our options are. We will start first with an examination of normative Halacha (Jewish Law) and then discuss Kabbalistic and Chassidic practices rooted largely in the teachings of the Arizal before you. According to Halacha, women are permitted to shave their own facial hair (1), and to shave the sides of their head. (2) Women are not allowed to shave (with a razor) any Jewish man’s beard or peyot, i.e. side locks (3). According to some authorities, men are permitted to trim or completely shave their beard with either a scissors or an electric shaver that employs a scissor-like cutting mechanism (4). These lenient authorities maintain that the Torah’s prohibition applies only to using a razor in the prohibited zones on the man’s beard and head (5). A man may allow his hair to grow in a moderate way, as long as: there is no impediment due to hair thickness to his putting on the head Teffilin; he does not wear long hair to emulate women; his hairstyle does not follow uniquely gentile fashions. When a man or a woman gets a haircut, or a man trims or shaves his beard, each should have this done by a person of the same sex.. Kabbalistic and chasidic practice don’t avail themselves of these lenient halachic opinions (6), and so Kabbalistic principles (7) differs in the following ways: 1. A man does not shave, nor permit others to shave, his beard at all, with the exception of the mustache that overlaps the top lip, and this is only to be trimmed to above the lip with a scissors. (8) 2. According to some, a man does not allows his peyot i.e. the hair of his temples and upper sideburns between forehead to back of ears (i.e. sides of the head) to be trimmed (9) except when the peyot extend past the length of the beard and then are trimmed with a scissors (10). 3. A man should keep the hair of his head short (11), with the exception of course of the peyot and beard.
Notes:
Rabbi Zechariah Goldman is the founder of Devekut.com and is the author of 15 works on Torah spirituality. He lives with his wife and children in Los Angeles. He may be contacted at: alephbet@attbi.com. |
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