They shall not make bald patches on their heads, nor shall they shave the edge of their beard, nor shall they make cuts in their flesh. They shall be holy to their G-d, and they shall not desecrate their G-d’s Name,. (Vayikra 21:5-6)

And now, if you obey Me and keep My covenant, you shall be to Me a treasure out of all peoples, for Mine is the entire earth. And you shall be to Me a Kingdom of Princes and a Holy Nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the Children of Israel.” (Shemos 19:5-6)

This Mitzvah applies not just to Kohanim. It is restated in reference to all Israel later in Chumash Devarim 14:1: You are children of HASHEM, your God. You shall neither cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead

The Torah wants the Kohanim to be a model of holiness to the Jewish Nation. The Jewish People are to be a model of holiness to the rest of the world. The Kohanim are the heads, “the face of the organization”. They represent HASHEM to the entirety of Israel and Israel represents HASHEM to the world. That face and that head must retain its beauty because we represent The Ultimate Law.

We are actually princes. I saw a phrase like this; “Always act like you are wearing an invisible crown upon your head!” We have a crown on our heads! We are authentic royalty. HASHEM crowns us so in the Holy Torah!

Here is one of the most famous parables/stories told by Rebbe Nachman of Breslov. There was a prince that was so thoroughly convinced that he was a turkey that he behaved just like a turkey. Naked, he clucked around on the floor all day picking up minute kernels of grain with his mouth and making turkey-like noises all the while. The poor king was beside himself with grief and frustration. All the king’s advisors could not convince the prince that he was something other than a turkey.

One day one of the king’s wisest men appeared on the floor next to the prince and he too had shed his clothing. The prince looked at him with skepticism as both of them hunted and pecked for grain on the floor. Then the wise man put on his socks and the prince told him, “Aha, so you’re not really a turkey!”

The wise man told him, “Of course I am a turkey but a turkey can still wear socks.” Soon the prince was also wearing socks. The next day the wise man put on a shirt and the prince accused him once more of only pretending to be a turkey to which the wise man replied, “A turkey can wear a shirt and still be a turkey.” The prince too put on a shirt.
The next day it happened again with pants. Then the wise man sat at the table and reminded the prince that a turkey can sit at a table. In the end the prince was eating and drinking and conversing with princely manners because a turkey can also behave like a prince. We can only assume that eventually the prince began to feel more aristocratic than fowl- like and all was due to his improving conduct.

Here is a real-life companion to that story. A young A friend of mine shared with me the following incident; He just exited a Shul in Brooklyn when he noticed a gentile, scrolling on his phone, and his pants were hanging way down. It bothered him. He approached him and told him, “Your pants are hanging way down.” The man looked up blankly and returned to his phone. My friend walked on, disappointed. After going halfway down the block, he became convinced that he had not done his job.

So, he returned and now standing before the same man he declared emphatically, “You are a prince! You don’t know how important you are! You are a prince!” He pivoted and left. Halfway down the block, he was overcome with curiosity and so he turned around and looked. Remarkably, he pulled up his pants. What an uplifting story about raising up the dignity of mankind.