פירוש על מכות 3:5

הקורח קרחה – because he is liable for each act of making a bald spot (Tractate Makkot 20a) and for each act of making an incision for a dead person and for every corner of his head that he mars, which is not the case when one eats forbidden fat repeatedly, and because of this, it is taught in our Mishnah, but the rest of the mere negative commandments which lack a novel [lesson], it did not teach.

Introduction Mishnah five discusses the various prohibitions of shaving one’s head either as a sign of mourning (Leviticus 21:5, Deuteronomy 14:1) or in general (Leviticus 19:26). These prohibitions are punishable by flogging.

קרחה – of the dead, as it is written (Deuteronomy 14:1): “or shave the front of your heads because of the dead.” And even though that concerning the Kohanim, it is not written, “on the dead,” we have already learned through an analogy from [the repetition of the word]: "קרחה" "קרחה" (see Leviticus 21:5 –“They shall not shave smooth any part of their heads, or cut the side-growth of their beards, or make gashes in their flesh” together with Deuteronomy 14:1); just as Israelites are commanded because of the dead, so too are Kohanim, and the measure of the “shaving smooth” is the size of a bean.

If a man makes a baldness on his head, or rounds the corner of his head, or mars the corner of his beard, or makes one cutting [in his flesh] for the dead, he is liable [to a flogging]. If he makes one cutting for five dead, or five cuttings for one, he is liable for each one. On [rounding] the head [he is liable] for two corners, one for one side and one for the other; On [marring] the beard [he is liable] for two [corners] on one side, for two on the other side, and for one lower down. Rabbi Eliezer says: “If they were all taken off at the same time he is liable only on one count.” Making a baldness on one’s head as a sign of mourning is prohibited in Deuteronomy 14:1 and Leviticus 21:5. Rounding the corner of one’s head and marring the corner of one’s beard are prohibited in Leviticus 19:27. Cutting one’s flesh for the dead is prohibited in Leviticus 19:28. All of these transgressions are punishable by flogging. Our mishnah now proceeds to list how many violations are contained in each of these commandments.

המקיף את ראשו – He who makes his temples as hairless as the spot back of his ears (Makkot 20b), and his forehead, and even on shaving with scissors where there is no destruction [of the head], he is liable regarding the corner of his head, and specifically on his beard (i.e., “or cut the side-growth of their beards” – Leviticus 21:5 and Leviticus 19:27: “You shall not round off the side-growth on your head”), it is written “destroy” only with a razor, but regarding the corner of the head, [the word] "הקפה"/”rounding” is written (Leviticus 21:5 – “they shall not shave smooth any part of their heads”), in every matter in which he “rounds” – he is liable.

If a man makes a baldness on his head, or rounds the corner of his head, or mars the corner of his beard, or makes one cutting [in his flesh] for the dead, he is liable [to a flogging]. If he makes one cutting for five dead, or five cuttings for one, he is liable for each one. On [rounding] the head [he is liable] for two corners, one for one side and one for the other; On [marring] the beard [he is liable] for two [corners] on one side, for two on the other side, and for one lower down. Rabbi Eliezer says: “If they were all taken off at the same time he is liable only on one count.” Section one, clause a: With regards to cutting one’s flesh, each cut for each dead counts as a violation. If he cuts once for five dead he receives five sets of lashes. Likewise, if he cuts five times for one dead he receives five sets of lashes.

שריטה אחת על חמשה מתים או חמש שריטות על מת אחד – as it is written (Leviticus 19:28): “You shall not make gashes in your flesh for the dead” to be liable for each and every gash and for each and every dead person, and even though there wasn’t anything other than one warning, all five gashes at one time, one is liable [for each and every one].

If a man makes a baldness on his head, or rounds the corner of his head, or mars the corner of his beard, or makes one cutting [in his flesh] for the dead, he is liable [to a flogging]. If he makes one cutting for five dead, or five cuttings for one, he is liable for each one. On [rounding] the head [he is liable] for two corners, one for one side and one for the other; On [marring] the beard [he is liable] for two [corners] on one side, for two on the other side, and for one lower down. Rabbi Eliezer says: “If they were all taken off at the same time he is liable only on one count.” Section one, clause b: Rounding one’s head is considered two violations, one for each side of the head. Therefore he will receive two sets of lashes.

על הראש שתים – one on the right and one on the left

If a man makes a baldness on his head, or rounds the corner of his head, or mars the corner of his beard, or makes one cutting [in his flesh] for the dead, he is liable [to a flogging]. If he makes one cutting for five dead, or five cuttings for one, he is liable for each one. On [rounding] the head [he is liable] for two corners, one for one side and one for the other; On [marring] the beard [he is liable] for two [corners] on one side, for two on the other side, and for one lower down. Rabbi Eliezer says: “If they were all taken off at the same time he is liable only on one count.” Section one, clause c: Marring the corners of one’s beard is considered five violations, two for marring each side and one for marring the chin. Therefore he will receive five sets of lashes.

ועל הזקן שתים מכאן ושתים מכאן – the place of the attachment of the jaw to the bone, one on the right of the chin and the other on its left, and the pointed ends of the chin (i.e., the lower jawbones and the chin proper) in the middle, that makes “three.” And the attachment of the temples from one side and the other makes “five.” The upper cheekbone which is attached to the temples and the lower cheekbone on the right, and the upper cheekbone and the lower cheekbone on the left – these are two from here and two from there, and finally the beard and the hair coming out from it like a spike/ear of corn; therefore, it is called "שיבולת"/like an ear of corn/a spike, that makes “five.”

If a man makes a baldness on his head, or rounds the corner of his head, or mars the corner of his beard, or makes one cutting [in his flesh] for the dead, he is liable [to a flogging]. If he makes one cutting for five dead, or five cuttings for one, he is liable for each one. On [rounding] the head [he is liable] for two corners, one for one side and one for the other; On [marring] the beard [he is liable] for two [corners] on one side, for two on the other side, and for one lower down. Rabbi Eliezer says: “If they were all taken off at the same time he is liable only on one count.” Section one, clause d: Rabbi Eliezer disagrees with the previous opinion. In his opinion just because there are separate areas of the head to round or beard to mar does not mean that one is obligated lashes for each section. What causes a person to receive multiple sets of lashes is his having violated the prohibition on different occasions. If he mars one part of the beard today and another at a later time, for instance tomorrow, he will be obligated for two sets of lashes. However, if he violates the prohibition in one sitting he is only obligated for one set of lashes.

אינו חייב אלא אחת – for since it is one negative commandment, it is like someone who eats two olives of forbidden fat with [only] one warning.

And he is only liable if he takes off with a razor; Rabbi Eliezer says: “Even if he picks off the hairs with tweezers, or with pincers, he is liable. According to the first opinion in the mishnah he is only liable for having marred his beard if he does so with a razor. Rabbi Eliezer holds that marring even with pincers or tweezers is a violation of the commandment.

עד שיטלנו בתער – it refers to the corner of the beard, as it is written [in the Torah] concerning shaving and destroying (Leviticus 19:27 – “nor destroy the side-growth of your beard” and Leviticus 21:5 – “or cut the side-growths of their beards”).

Questions for Further Thought:
• Section two: What might be the basis of Rabbi Eliezer’s disagreement with the previous opinion?

מלקט – an instrument that is made like tongs, to remove the hair.

רהיטני – in the language of the Bible, it is an adze. It is an instrument that a carpenter uses to separate the face of the board.