Overview of the Weekly Reading,
Naso To be read on the Shabbat of 9 Sivan 5767 /May 26
Torah: Numbers
4:21-7:89 Haftorah: Judges 13:2-25 (the birth of Shimshon,
connecting to the section about nazir)
Pirkei Avot: Chapter One Naso,
2nd out of 11 in Numbers, 35th overall, 1st out of 54 in
overalll length. Naso
opens with tallying the three Levite families and defining their specific services
in the dismantling, carrying, and assembly of the Tabernacle throughout the Jews'
desert journeys. Next, Jews with various types of impurities are forbidden to
enter different sections of the camp. Then, G-d commands the Jews about the restitution
for sinning against a fellow Jew. Also discussed is the command to bring 'trumah'-crop-gifts
to the priests. Next, the Torah speaks about the suspected adulteress, the test
of her fidelity, and the consequences of her guilt or innocence. The parsha continues
to discuss the vows, laws and scarifices of Nazirites. The following verses are
the priestly blessing to the Jews (which are recited daily). The parsha concludes
by listing the donations and sacrifices that each tribal prince brought to the
Tabernacle.
FROM
THE MASTERS OF KABBALA (K:3567/Naso)
From the holy
Zohar, teachings of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai
(Z:3567/Naso) Now
Jethro was originally a priest of idolatry. He was worshipping exactly that evil
side. It was from there that he drew down an evil spirit on himself, and it was
because of this that he was called a "Kenite". For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Holidays" section on our KabbalaOnline
site. * * * * * From
the holy Ari, Rabbi Yitzchak Luria of Safed
(A:3567/Naso)
The color white indicates mercy, as opposed to
red or black, which indicate judgment. As a person ages and his hair turns white,
his youthful insistence on having his way generally calms and he becomes more
able to appreciate the other side of issues. For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Holidays" section on our KabbalaOnline
site. * * * * * From
Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman (S:3567/Naso)
Similarly
at the Giving of the Torah [special prominence was given to] seventy elders of
Israel, and it is fitting that the Glory of the Divine Presence should rest upon
[a group of] this perfect number, since it is [comparable to] the camp On High,
for Israel are the hosts of the Eternal on earth, just as the ark and its cover
and the Tabernacle were all made in the likeness of those that minister [before
Him] On High.
For
the full article, click to the "Weekly Torah" section on our KabbalaOnline
site.
FROM
THE CHASSIDIC REBBES (V:3567/Naso) Shavuot [The
holiday of Shavuot has four names, one of which is "Chag HaShavuot"
- commonly translated as "The Festival of Weeks," for the word for "week"
is shavua. But] Shavuot comes from the word shevua - oath. On the
day that the Torah was given, both G-d and the Jewish people made a mutual vow
to each other. We swore to G-d that we would never exchange Him for another
god and He swore to us that He will never exchange us for another nation. Or
Hachaim Hakodesh Naso
"G-d should make
His face shine on you." (6:25) "Face" always symbolizes
good will, closeness and love. The blessing that G-d's "face" should
shine on us indicates that G-d should give His gifts to us with a full desire.
Even though everything is ultimately sustained by G-d, there is a difference as
to whether the life forces are given with enthusiasm or just the minimum absolutely
necessary.
Kuntres U'Maayan
A
MYSTICAL CHASSIDIC DISCOURSE from
the Chabad Master series, produced by
Rabbi Yosef Marcus for www.ascentofsafed.com
and www.kabbalaonline.org
MOSHIACH
THIS WEEK (M:3567/Naso) Shavuot At
Mount Sinai, we consecrated ourselves to G-d as His bride, the first stage of
our marriage. Our bond with Him will be complete only in the era of Mashiach,
at which time G-d and Israel will unite completely. For 33 centuries, we have
been creating the "space" of our marriage with G-d and zealously defending
its borders. We have remained faithful to Him in the face of all the cultures
and "isms" that have sought to seduce us. We have established our identity
as His people, consecrated to Him alone. Now we are ready for the real thing -
for an actual experience of the divine as the most intimate truth of our lives. From
The Week in Review by Rabbi Yanki Tauber
An
essay from Rabbi Shaul Yosef Leiter, director of Ascent
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here) (W:3567/Naso)
While all of the other major holidays
that we are commanded to observe from the Torah are tied to a calendar date, this
is not true of Shavuot. Shavuot is dependant on something else altogether
- the counting of the Omer. When is the holiday? 50 days after the 2nd day of
Pesach. Why the difference? We can understand this through the commandment of
studying Torah about which the Torah requires us, (Joshua 1/8) "And you shall
ponder on it day and night". The Maharal of Prague wrote (Nesivas Olam,
Nesivas Torah 81) that since the Torah is ABOVE time, i.e. its study actually
puts us into a dimension higher than time, it has no particular set time like
the other commandments, rather you have to study it ALL of the time. From this
we can understand the verse, "And you shall ponder on it day and night"
- first day, then night. From the beginning of creation, night comes first and
day follows ("and it was evening and it was morning, the first day").
Torah study is different. Torah study, the verse says, is day first and then night
to teach us that it is not governed by time, rather it is above time.
.Similarly,
this is the reason that Shavuot, the holiday of the giving of the Torah, is not
on a set day of the month, that would signify a relationship to time, rather it
is set to the number 50, the conclusion of the counting of the Omer. The number
50 itself (50th gate of understanding, a Kabbalistic level that even Moshe did
not reach until he passed from the world) hints at a level above time. For the
same reason, we can now understand why Shavuot is only one day, as opposed to
the other holidays - Pesach and Sukkot - which are each seven days, a full week,
just like the first week of creation, something set and ordered in time. Each
year there is a Sunday of Sukkot, and a Monday of Sukkot, and similarly with Pesach,
all seven days, set in time. Not so with Shavuot. Torah and its holiday are ABOVE
time! Shavuot is only ONE day, each year on a different day, to teach us that
unlike the other holidays, Shavuot is NOT governed by time, rather above time!
This is the true meaning of the requirement to have set times in our daily
schedules for studying Torah, called in Hebrew k'vias eitim, meaning "to
set a time aside". But this expression can also be understood as "setting
time". When a person studies Torah, he or she is not only in a dimension
above and beyond time, he or she is also able to "set" or "establish"
time - to change his environment and reality, to improve his physical situation,
even though he or she is not involved in it, but instead, studying Torah. This
is what it means that Torah and Shavuot are above time. (From Bnei Yissachar,
Sivan, Ch. 4). Parshas Nasso: As is known, originally, the
Jewish people were divided into 12 tribes and the tribe of Levi into two - the
Levites and the Cohanim, or priests. One of the special privileges given to the
members of the priestly class is the commandment to bless the Jewish people, found
in this week's Torah Portion, Nasso, usually read after the holiday of Shavuot.
On Shavuot the entire Jewish people are called "a Kingdom of Priests",
so it goes without saying that each of us individually has a special connection
to the Priestly blessing. The blessing begins with the words (6/24), "You
should be blessed and you should be protected." Rashi, the Torah's main commentator,
explains the words "You should be blessed", as a reference to your possessions,
and is connected to the next word, "protected", that you (and your possessions)
should not be descended upon by robbers. The Rebbe Rayatz gleans something
very special from these words, explaining how the Priestly blessings go much further
than referring to just our physical possessions. The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah,
14) tells us that the soul of man has 5 names: Nefesh, Ruach, Neshama,
Chaya and Yechida, representing 5 different ascending levels. They
are usually divided into two broad categories: Nefesh, Ruach and
Neshama, that are enclothed within the body, are called "our possessions";
while Chaya and Yechida, which remain outside the body, are called
"Heaven's possessions". What is the inner dimension of the Priestly
blessing according to Rashi's explanation? "Your possessions should
be blessed", means that there should be blessing and success in the efforts
we make with the part of the soul that is in the body. "That you should
not be descended upon by robbers", means that none of this effort should
be lost, that the divine energy these efforts produce should not "leak"
to the "other (negative) side". For example, we are supposed to pray
with enthusiasm, but this heightened level of emotions should not turn afterwards
into anger or some other negative trait. Similarly, the pleasure we feel when
we are involved in serving G-d, should not turn into a desire for physical pleasures.
(Sefer Ma'amarim 5705). The holy Torah is teaching us that not only
must we appreciate the blessings we will receive from celebrating the holiday
of Shavuot, we also have to safeguard and protect these blessings, conserve the
energy so that it is not dissipated and lost to the mundane. Chag Sameach
and Shabbat Shalom! Shaul and Chaya Brocha Leiter.
P.S. Please also
read my weekly Shabbat Law, below.
(for a free weekly email subscription, click
here) For all our insights for this parsha: |