Shame, self-respect and self-control: Naso 5785

The words of the rabbis that “One who sees the shame of the woman who was unfaithful should immediately abstain from consuming wine” are well known and oft-repeated. Their meaning is obvious: in life everyone must drive defensively. Let no one allow oneself to be found in compromising circumstances and to imagine that one is somehow immune from its consequences. 

In the world today there are numerous sad examples of people in high office and of great achievement who have been humiliated and brought to grief by the revelations of their indiscretions. The rabbis in Avot stated that there is “an eye that sees us”—a constantly recording surveillance camera, if you will, that captures our movements and behavior. The public revelation of another’s sin should serve as a reminder to all the consequences of that sin. The Torah that ordinarily is very protective of one’s right to privacy, even the rights of a sinner, chose to publicize the fate of the unfaithful woman in order to impress upon others the need for care and probity in all matters of life. One should never say: ‘This can never happen to me.’ When it comes to human desires there are no automatic safeguards. Rather, only care, vigilance, and the avoidance of risk and compromising situations are the tools at hand for preventing disgrace.

The rabbis make a clear connection between witnessing sin and imbibing too much wine. Just as driving an automobile under the influence of alcohol and drugs is forbidden by law, life itself should generally be lived free of influences of that nature. Addiction to alcohol has been a rare occurrence in Jewish society over the ages. However, acculturation and assimilation over the past century have made alcohol a problem in Jewish circles today. The idea of abstinence from wine as described in the parsha regarding the regimen of the nazir is meant to be taken as a message of moderation and good sense. Like many other things in life, a little alcohol can be pleasurable and beneficial—but in large quantities it can be harmful and even lethal. The Torah holds up the faithless woman and the nazir as examples of the dangers that lurk in everyday life. It is essentially foolish for any human being to ignore these omnipresent temptations and dangers. 

Again, we read in Avot that one should not trust oneself until the final moment of life. An abundance of over-confidence in one’s ability to withstand temptations will always lead to unforeseen problems and sad consequences. All human experience testifies to this conclusion. Much of the modern world, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, mocks and derides any type of defensive driving in personal life matters. The concept of personal freedom has morphed into a lifestyle where any restraints on behavior, reasonable as they may be, are attacked and ridiculed. Fashions and mores may change with the times but human behavior does not, and the moral restraints the Torah imposes on us remain eternally valid and cogent. 

Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein

You can read "Gregarious monasticism", Rabbi Wein's devar Torah on this parashah for last year, here.

Uniformity and self-expression

Here's an original take on the longest parashah in the Torah, brought to you by our member Rabbi Steven Ettinger. 

The United States, as represented most recently in the persona of its current President, can be characterized as a consumer culture. There is intense focus on advertising and marketing:  selling a dream, creating a demand, and making people believe that they cannot live without the latest and greatest. The hucksters and shillers create slogans, and jingles, burn images in our minds and even create fake holidays to promote a culture of buy, buy, buy. One such gimmick to boost sales during the dog days of summer was “Christmas in July.”

                                

Reading Parshat Naso provides an echo of that last slogan.  During the redundancy as the ba’al keriah cantillates the offerings of the nesi’im which are essentially the same six verses repeated over and over twelve times, some might actually be meditating on sufganiot and chanukiot rather than keeping the section in context – since this is also the reading for Chanukah. In other words, we have Chanukah in June!

Monotonous repetition, mantra-like, can be a trigger for meditation. Or it can lull you to sleep. This parsha of the nesi’im is repetitive and it seems to serve little purpose (yes, the commentators provide a variety of explanations why the Torah sets aside such valuable real estate for this). However, there is, in fact, a significant difference in the offerings for each day – the name of the nasi!

Nachshon ben Aminadav of the Tribe of Yehudah brought his offering on the first day. Regardless of what he brought; it was his offering. The pasuk does not say that he brought it on behalf of the tribe, simply that he was of the tribe (Rashi makes this point explicitly quoting the Sifri), it is an identifier. He brought one of each possible type of offering: olah, mincha, chatat/asham, shelamim. ketoret (see Sforno). Thus, each korban was imprinted with his individuality – his awe, his excitement, his passion, his insecurity, his faith, his creativity, his self-sacrifice – everything that made him Nachshon ben Aminadav.

This was true for Netanel ben Tzu’ar and every nasi through Achirah ben Enan. There was no discretion regarding what to bring, just as we have no choice as to which 613 mitzvot to observe. However, each nasi approached the Mishkan and the mizbe’ach on his day in his own unique way.

This inner self-expression amidst such an outward display of uniformity was the culmination of Hashem’s vision for the Mishkan. “Va’asu li Mikdash, veshachanti betocham” – “Construct a Tabernacle for me so that I may dwell in their midst.” Chazal have famously interpreted “betocham” in a completely literal manner – “within them” – not within the Mishkan --  not even within the camp, but within each and every Jew.

The nesi’im may have each brought physical offerings, in fact, the exact same grouping of offerings. However, and more importantly, they infused those offerings with every facet of their internal selves. By doing this, they effectively created internal space – a space that could be filled with the Shechinah, as the outward Mishkan itself was at that very moment. Their gifts allowed Hashem to fulfill veshachanti be’tocham.

We all must be a part of the community. Wwe cannot separate from it and cannot stray too far from its norms and standards: “al tifrosh min hatzibur.” However, we also must find ways to express our belief and to define our relationship with HKB”H as individuals so that we give Him room to dwell within us.

Gregarious monasticism: Naso 5784

The idea of the nazir always raises questions and problems, since monasticism is certainly not a basic Jewish value. Just the opposite seems to be true from the ideas and statements of the rabbis in the Talmud and from Jewish behavioral patterns over the centuries.

 Jewish society, in its divisions and manifestations, is vitally and socially gregarious to the extreme, with a brashness of involvement in all fields of human endeavor, thought and progress. Yet the Torah describes for us in vivid detail the need for some form of withdrawal, be it permanent or temporary, from Jewish life and social activity.  However, even the restrictions on a nazir are not intended to separate him from active participation in communal life.

 Shimshon, the prime example of the nazir in our Tanach, is nevertheless the leader of Israel, its chief judge and commanding warrior. Halachic restrictions are placed upon the nazir, but locking oneself away from Jewish society is certainly not one of them. There are restrictions regarding retaining purity and cutting one’s hair, avoiding any sorts of defilement and on consuming wine and related produce. These restrictions, among others. remind the nazir of his special status, but he is still an active member of society at large, in all senses of participation in normal human life. If anything, a nazir now becomes a model for others who may seek to achieve probity and purity in a world of the impure and the sometimes wicked. So, even though the rabbis are not happy with someone becoming a nazir, nezirim and nezirut are a necessary piece of the human puzzle that the Torah describes for us.

 The Talmud also teaches us that the impetus to become a nazir is itself societal. This is because it stems not from the inner wish of the individual to forego certain pleasures and norms of life, but rather from the wish for a protective shield from the dissoluteness and licentiousness of the surrounding society. Apparently, in a perfect world, the concept of nezirut would be unnecessary. But the Torah sees human life, even Jewish life, as it really is in our imperfect world and not as it should somehow be. That is why the nazir becomes a necessary ingredient in our Torah society. 

Over the ages some outstanding people have chosen the way of the nazir for themselves. However, the reticence of the rabbis and Jewish tradition on this matter has prevented nezirut from becoming widespread or even accepted behavior. The Torah does not seek to impose burdens upon one’s life as much as it intends to guide and temper our choices and behavior within the framework of a complete and wholesome lifestyle. This is also part of the lesson of the parsha of nazir for us. In essence, by knowing that becoming a nazir is an acceptable last resort in dealing with immorality and heartbreak, we can avoid this by living daily according to Torah precepts and values, shunning foreign and immoral influences in our lives and communities.

 Shabbat shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein