This posuk clearly forbids the removal of sideburns, the place where one’s hair ends at the temples, and which marks the division corresponding to the cerebrum and the cerebrellum respectively. This prohibition teaches us the following. The hair at the temples is a natural veil which hides the view of the back of the head. The relation of the frontal part of the skull containing the cerebrum to the back part with the cerebellum is that of the human element to the animal element within us. In order to maintain a strict degree of sanctity within ourselves, the animal factor which reflects man’s sensuality with his lusts and desires, must be subordinated to the higher dignity of the intellectual and spiritual factor. By recognizing the division between these two elements, and by outwardly showing this recognition, man maintains his appearance as man. The hair down to the temples is an admonition for man to be a man, and to constantly be cognizant of this fact.
