Timeless Torah

This week’s Biblical reading of Nasso contains the laws of the Nazir. Although it would seem that the Nazirite who forswears wine is holier than even a kohen, nonetheless, any and every Jew has the ability to accept upon himself the sanctity of Nezirus. The elevated status of the long-haired ascetic may be inferred from the verse, “As long as he is a Nazir to G-d, he may not have any contact with the dead. He may not become ritually impure even when his father, mother, brother or sister dies, since G-d’s crown (Nazir), is on his head.”
While your average priest is allowed to become tameh for his close relatives, surprisingly a Nazir may not. Indeed, aside from the Nazir, only the Kohen Gadol (High Priest) may not render himself ritually impure for family members. In effect then, the Nazir attains a holiness that is on par with that of the Kohen Gadol.
The Avnei Nezer (1839-1910) explores this halachic curiosity and explains that the holiness of the regular priest is based upon the fact that he stems from a family of kohanim. When personal sanctity comes via family, then this Kedusha can be suspended for its members. However, a Nazir’s Kedusha (and the holiness of a High Priest) is not a result of family. Instead, it is the result of the individual’s voluntary aspiration for spiritual elevation. In this case, his Kedusha has nothing to do with mishpocha and thus transcends his usual familial obligations.
The Sefas Emes (1847-1905) derives from these contrasting laws of kohen vs. nazir, that the holiness which one acquires on his own is more profound and more substantial than the Kedusha which attains through external sources or as a gift. Simply put, achieving virtue on your own is more important than receiving spiritual honors because one’s last name happens to be “Cohen”.
If you would excuse the comparison, but it is similar to the two ways of becoming rich: either one can inherit, or one can go out and earn money on his own. Obviously, the latter method says more about the person than simply being a third generation Kennedy or Rockefeller.
The Sefas Emes (otherwise known as Rabbi Yehuda Leib Alter, the Gerer Rebbe) relates this concept to our Sages’ teaching on the verse, “A name is better than good oil...” (Koheles 7:1). The Rabbis of the Talmud reference these words of King Solomon to two seemingly unconnected events in Jewish history. The first event mentioned (A name...) tells of the time when Jews were exiled to Babylon. There, in defiance of local law, three brave young men by the names of Chananya, Mishael, and Azariah refused to bow down to the pagan idols. Miraculously, even though they were thrown into a huge fire they remained unhurt. In contrast, the case of the “good oil” harks back to the earliest days of our people when the sons of Aaron, the first High Priest, were destroyed by fire.
Why were the Babylonian Three (A name is better) spared while Aaron’s two sons (good oil) were not? The three who were saved from the firepit had realized their heightened level of holiness completely on their own, while Nadav and Avihu (Aaron’s sons) who stemmed from “good oil” attained their stature by virtue of their lineage alone.
One must always remember that there are two components involved in achieving a relationship with G-d. There is, “This is my G-d and I will glorify Him,” and then there is, “The G-d of my father and I will exalt Him.” A person must go through life thinking, “I have my own personal attachment to the Master of the Universe. I must explore and find my own individual approach to exalt G-d and to be His servant. But I must simultaneously remember that He is also the G-d of my forefathers.”
A person can not just cavalierly throw out all that he received by tradition from his parents. However within that tradition, he must seek out new ways to make his own personal contribution to spirituality, which can even supersede the relationship of, “The G-d of my father.”
That is the meaning of Nezirus.