Naso- Sanctity, Equality, and Justice

Samson by Laya Crust

My thoughts this week have been circling around all the painful news coming out of Minneapolis and Hong Kong. And of course the overwhelming health issues faced by the entire world. I tried to see what we might learn from this week’s Torah and haftarah portions.

This week’s haftarah is the story of an angel telling a woman and her husband that they will become parents. The wife is to raise her child as a Nazir- a holy individual who cannot cut his hair or partake of food or drink from grapes. The two farmers listen to the messenger’s instructions. The woman herself follows the rules of a Nazir, and they raise their son as directed. The fact that the baby will be a Nazir is the connection to this week’s parashah.

The parashah discusses the certain rules surrounding the purity of the Israelite camp while traveling through the desert:

• Men and women are to be housed outside of the camp if they are suffering from tza’arat.
• Men and women are allowed to take the oath of the Nazir, elevating them to a higher level of purity.
• If a jealous husband accuses his wife of adultery without any evidence of impropriety, she is not to be punished by him. Instead, a specific ritual trial is held. [The trial may have been put in place to protect the women from jealous husbands.]

Gamaliel , leader of the Menashites by Laya Crust

As well as protecting the sanctity of the camp we see a measure of equality established. The leader of each of the twelve tribes brought forth a specified series of offerings to the Tabernacle. All leaders brought the same offerings, and each was assigned a different day to perform the ceremony. In that way, each tribe was given the same honour and recognition as the other tribes.

Aaron’s priestly blessing is introduced in this parashah. “May the Lord bless you and keep you: May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you: May the Lord lift up His countenance to you and give you peace…” (Numbers 6:24-26)

Aaron gave this blessing to all the Israelites. It was a prayer to give children of Israel a sense of love and security. The nation was given rules in the form of the Ten Commandments to create a society of equality, fairness, integrity, and respect. Cohanim bless their congregations with this prayer to this day. Parents say this blessing over their children on Friday nights.

I have been thinking about the terrible murder of George Floyd. Some people have reacted violently by destroying property, looting stores, and injuring others.

What can we learn from this week’s readings? We must treat others with respect and equality, no matter what their station in life. We can only surmount the difficulties through cooperation, wisdom, and respect. If we carry Aaron’s prayer in our hearts we may feel less alone. If we act with integrity, respect, and love we will be able to pass it on to those around us and help to heal this fractured world.

With hopes for love and respect, have a Shabbat Shalom. Laya

Naso

art by Laya Crust

Torah reading- Numbers ch 4:21 – ch 7

Haftarah reading- Judges 13: 2- 25

We are treated to a range of ideas this week. We learn the ritual a woman accused of adultery by her jealous husband has to undergo. We learn the laws of being a Nazir, and in the haftarah we read the story of a pragmatic woman speaking with an angel in a field. The woman and her husband find out that they will have a child who is to be raised as a Nazir, and then the angel leaves in a flame to heaven. That’s quite a tete a tete to have in a field!

Nestled among the stories is a beautiful blessing. Gd commands Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel with these words:

May the Lord bless you and protect you.

May the Lord shine His face upon you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord turn His face toward you and may He grant you peace.

Each short sentence includes two blessings. In Hebrew the first verse is only 3 words. The verses expand to 5 and then 7 words- suggesting that Gd’s blessings over us also expand. We recite this blessing in our prayers. On holidays the Kohanim bless the congregation with these words. Many parents use this to bless their children every Friday night.

In 1979 archeologists discovered two silver scrolls in Jerusalem,at Ketef Hinnom. They were from the 6th or 7th C BCE and contained portions of the priestly blessing. The tiny silver scrolls, which are over 2,600 years old, were so delicate it took three years to unroll them.

Interestingly the prayer is said in the singular- whether a parent is blessing one child or a kohen is blessing an entire congregation. That is because the Jews are one people. To receive the blessing we have to behave as a unified people, hopefully striving to make the world a better place.

Enjoy your blessings, Laya