Articles with the tag: naso
The Saint, the Sinner (6:11)
This week’s reading introduces the Nazir, an individual who undertook - by oath and for a limited period - a unique set of restrictions: to refrain from wine and anything made from grapes, not to have his hair cut, and not to defile himself by contact with the dead.
Was this a good thing or not? Was the Nazir to be commended for his extra piety, or on the contrary, to be censured for being overly righteous? The Sages were curiously divided on the matter, as the biblical text itself seems to be. In one verse the Nazir is called, “Holy to G-d.” (Num. 6:8) Yet in another, when he completes his period of abstinence, “He is to present his…
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The Defense Rests (7:89)
There was once a king who ordered the Jews and the Karaites (a breakaway Jewish sect) to designate representatives for a disputation so that he could determine which religion was the more authentic.
The Karaites sent their most learned sage, attired in beautiful garments of silk, while the spokesman for the Jewish community appeared dressed in everyday clothes.
When the Jewish representative entered the throne room he removed his shoes and held them under his arm, the monarch became exceedingly angry at this strange behavior. The Jew immediately explained:
“Your Royal Highness, when the Jews stood in the presence of the King of Kings they honored Him by removing their shoes, as is written in our Bible.”
The ruler was…
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Don’t Look (6:24)
Few are the ancient Temple ceremonies that survived the post-destruction era of exile. One glaring example is the Priestly Benediction. Even its name conjures up images of bearded, old men whose countenance bore testimony to their noble purity, holy zeal and sacred calling. Thus while our present-day, modern dressed Kohen in his three piece suit (New York) or open shirt and slacks (Florida) hardly evokes the same feeling of awe, nonetheless that moment during childhood when you were wrapped under your dad’s tallis and hearing the old chant still served up a spiritual tingle.
This week’s Torah portion announces the Priests’ obligation to deliver the 15 word blessing. Each of the commentaries in turn expounds upon its meaning and significance,...
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Kohen Vs. Nazir (6:6)
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…
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The 4 Minute Mile (6:2)
It was considered a physical impossibility until Roger Bannister, literally, came running along. Born in England, young Roger entered the famed halls of Oxford to study medicine. He would ultimately become a successful consultant neurologist. But what Roger is most famous for is his record breaking run of a mile in less than four minutes. Within two months, an Australian runner accomplished the same. Eventually, another five athletes would duplicate these hurculean efforts all in the same year.
Most of the sports writers at the time all came to the same conclusion: To run a mile under four minutes was never a mere physical obstacle, it was a psychological barrier. Once broken and not out-of-reach, everyone could follow down the…
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Oil & Gold Versus Water & Earth (5:17)
Life, as described by the Kabbalists, is a marriage of body and soul. The soul is to be considered the active, vital force in the relationship, which in the language of the ancient mystics is its ‘male’ component. On the other side of the relationship is the body, which at first glance seems to be nothing more than the vessel that receives the soul and channels its energies. To paraphrase once again the kabbalistic parlance, it is the ‘female’ partner of the relationship.
Common wisdom has it that spirit is loftier than matter and thus the soul is automatically superior to the body. There is much credence given to this perspective as it is the soul which maintains a perpetual…
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Climbing the Mountain of Life (5:12)
A Sotah, a “suspected adulteress,” (in specific circumstances) underwent an elaborate ritual designed, amongst other reasons, to shame her. Two questions arise. First, does the Torah hint at any reasons why two people, who at one point must have been in love, would now be unfaithful? Second, let the marriage die a quiet death, why add humiliation?
The verse that introduces the sad saga of the Sotah reads, “A man, man whose wife shall go astray and commit treachery against him…” In the original Hebrew text, the word “ish-a man” is repeated, signifying that this particular fellow is overdoing his ‘manliness’. Instead of listening to his wife or paying any attention to her needs, he is solely concerned with his…
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