Naso or
Nasso (
נָשֹׂא —
Hebrew for "lift up," the sixth word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 35th
weekly Torah portion (
פָּרָשָׁה,
parashah) in the annual
Jewish cycle of
Torah reading and the second in the
book of Numbers. It constitutes
Numbers 4:21–7:89. Naso is the longest of the 54 weekly Torah portions, with 176 verses. The parashah is made up of 8,632 Hebrew letters, 2,264 Hebrew words, and 176
verses, and can occupy about 311 lines in a Torah Scroll (
סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה,
Sefer Torah).
[1]
Jews generally read it in late May or June, typically on the first Shabbat after
Shavuot.
As the parashah includes the story of the consecration of the
Tabernacle, Jews also read parts of the parashah as Torah readings on the eight days of
Hanukkah, which commemorates the reconsecration of the
Temple in Jerusalem.
Numbers 7:1–17 is the Torah reading for the first day;
Numbers 7:18–29 is the Torah reading for the second day;
Numbers 7:24–35 is the Torah reading for the third day;
Numbers 7:30–41 is the Torah reading for the fourth day;
Numbers 7:36–47 is the Torah reading for the fifth day;
Numbers 7:42–47 is the second Torah reading for the sixth day of Hanukkah, which, because it falls on
Rosh Chodesh, has
Numbers 28:1–15 as its first reading;
Numbers 7:48–59 is the Torah reading for the seventh day when it does not fall on Rosh Chodesh; and
Numbers 7:48–53 is the second Torah reading for the seventh day when it does fall on Rosh Chodesh, in which case
Numbers 28:1–15 is the first reading; and
Numbers 7:54–8:4 is the Torah reading for the eighth day. When a day of Hanukkah falls on a Sabbath, however, the regular weekly Torah reading for that Sabbath is the first Torah reading for that day, and the following readings from Parashah Naso are the
maftir Torah readings:
Numbers 7:1–17 is the maftir Torah reading for the first day;
Numbers 7:18–23 is the maftir Torah reading for the second day;
Numbers 7:24–29 is the maftir Torah reading for the third day;
Numbers 7:30–35 is the maftir Torah reading for the fourth day;
Numbers 7:36–41 is the maftir Torah reading for the fifth day;
Numbers 7:42–47 is the maftir Torah reading for the sixth day of Hanukkah, which, because it falls on Rosh Chodesh, has
Numbers 28:9–15 as its sixth
aliyah;
Numbers 7:48–53 is the maftir Torah reading for the seventh day; and
Numbers 7:54–8:4 is the maftir Torah reading for the eighth day.
The parashah addresses
priestly duties, purifying the camp, the wife accused of unfaithfulness (
sotah), the
nazirite, the
Priestly Blessing, and consecrating the Tabernacle.
The Tabernacle and the Camp
Readings [edit]
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or
עליות,
aliyot.
[2]
First reading — Numbers 4:21–37 [edit]
In the first reading (
עליה,
aliyah),
God told
Moses to take a
census of the
Gershonites between 30 and 50 years old, who were subject to service for the Tabernacle.
[3] The Gershonites had the duty, under the direction of
Aaron's son
Ithamar, to carry the cloths of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with its covering, the covering of
tachash skin on top of it, the screen for the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, the hangings of the enclosure, the screen at the entrance of the gate of the enclosure surrounding the Tabernacle, the cords thereof, the
altar, and all their service equipment and accessories.
[4] Moses was also to take a census of the
Merarites between 30 and 50 years old.
[5] The Merarites had responsibility, under the direction of Ithamar, for the planks, the bars, the posts, and the sockets of the Tabernacle, and the posts around the enclosure and their sockets, pegs, and cords.
[6] Moses,
Aaron, and the chieftains recorded 2,750
Kohathites age 30 to 50.
[7]
Relative Population and Adult Population of the Levite Divisions(from Numbers 3:22–34 and 4:34–39)
| Division | Population | Share of Total | Rank by Pop. | Adults | Share of Total | Rank by Adults | Adult Share of Division |
|---|
| Kohathites | 8,600 | 38.6 | 1 | 2,750 | 32.1 | 2 | 32.0 |
| Gershonites | 7,500 | 33.6 | 2 | 2,630 | 30.6 | 3 | 35.1 |
| Merarites | 6,200 | 27.8 | 3 | 3,200 | 37.3 | 1 | 51.6 |
| Total | 22,300 | 100.0 | | 8,580 | 100.0 | | 38.5 |
Second reading — Numbers 4:38–49 [edit]
In the second reading (
עליה,
aliyah), Moses, Aaron, and the chieftains thus recorded the Levites age 30 to 50 as follows:
- Kohathites: 2,750,
- Gershonites: 2,630, and
- Merarites: 3,200,
for a total of 8,580.
[8]
Third reading — Numbers 5:1–10 [edit]
In the third reading (
עליה,
aliyah), God directed the
Israelites to remove from camp anyone with an eruption or a discharge and anyone defiled by a corpse, so that they would not defile the camp.
[9] God told Moses to direct the Israelites that when one wronged a fellow Israelite, thus breaking faith with God, and realized his guilt, he was to confess the wrong and make restitution to the one wronged in the principal amount plus one-fifth.
[10] If the one wronged had no kinsman to whom restitution could be made, the amount repaid was to go to the priest, along with a
ram of expiation.
[11] Similarly, any gift among the sacred donations that the Israelites
offered was to be the priest's to keep.
[12]
Fourth reading — Numbers 5:11–6:27 [edit]
In the fourth reading (
עליה,
aliyah), God told Moses to instruct the Israelites about the test where a husband, in a fit of jealousy, accused his wife of being unfaithful — the ritual of the
sotah.
[13] The man was to bring his wife to the priest, along with
barley flour as a meal offering of jealousy.
[14] The priest was to dissolve some earth from the floor of the Tabernacle into some sacral water in an earthen vessel.
[15] The priest was to bare the woman's head, place the meal offering on her hands, and adjure the woman: if innocent, to be immune to harm from the water of bitterness, but if guilty, to be cursed to have her thigh sag and belly distend.
[16] And the woman was to say, "
Amen, amen!"
[17] The priest was to write these curses down, rub the writing off into the water of bitterness, and make the woman drink the water.
[18] The priest was to elevate the meal offering, present it on the altar, and burn a token part of it on the altar.
[19] If she had broken faith with her husband, the water would cause her belly to distend and her thigh to sag, and the woman was to become a curse among her people, but if the woman was innocent, she would remain unharmed and be able to bear children.
[20]
grapes, forbidden to the nazirite
In the continuation of the fourth reading, God told Moses to instruct the Israelites about the vows of a nazirite (
נָזִיר,
nazir), should one wish to set himself or herself apart for God.
[21] The nazirite was to abstain from
wine, intoxicants,
vinegar,
grapes,
raisins, or anything obtained from the grapevine.
[22] No
razor was to touch the nazirite's head until the completion of the nazirite term.
[23] And the nazirite was not to go near a dead person, even a father, mother, brother, or sister.
[24] If a person died suddenly near a nazirite, the nazirite was to shave his or her head on the seventh day.
[25] On the eighth day, the nazirite was to bring two turtledoves or two pigeons to the priest, who was to offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering.
[26] That same day, the nazirite was to reconsecrate his or her head, rededicate the nazirite term, and bring a
lamb in its first year as a penalty offering.
[27] On the day that a nazirite completed his or her term, the nazirite was to be brought to the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and present a male lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, a ewe lamb in its first year for a sin offering, a ram for an offering of well-being, a basket of unleavened cakes, unleavened wafers spread with oil, and meal offerings.
[28] The priest was to present the offerings, and the nazirite was to shave his or her consecrated hair and put the hair on the fire under the sacrifice of well-being.
[29]
the positioning of the fingers of the Kohanim during the Priestly Blessing
In the conclusion of the fourth reading, God told Moses to instruct Aaron and his sons that they should bless the Israelites with this blessing: "The Lord bless you and protect you! The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you! The Lord bestow His favor upon you and grant you peace!"
[30]
Fifth reading — Numbers 7:1–41 [edit]
In the fifth reading (
עליה,
aliyah), Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle, and anointed and consecrated it, its furnishings, the altar, and its utensils.
[31] The chieftains of the tribes then brought their offerings — 6 draught carts and 12 oxen — and God told Moses to accept them for use by the Levites in the service of the Tent of Meeting.
[32] The chieftains then each on successive days brought the same dedication offerings for the altar: a silver bowl and silver basin filled with flour mixed with oil, a gold ladle filled with incense, a bull, 2 oxen, 5 rams, 5 goats, and 5 lambs.
[33]
Sixth reading — Numbers 7:42–71 [edit]
In the sixth reading (
עליה,
aliyah), the chieftains continued to bring dedication offerings for the altar.
[34]
Seventh reading — Numbers 7:72–89 [edit]
In the seventh reading (
עליה,
aliyah), when Moses went into the Tent of Meeting to speak with God, Moses would hear the Voice addressing him from above the cover that was on top of the
Ark between the two cherubim, and thus God spoke to him.
[35]
In inner-Biblical interpretation [edit]
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:
[36]
Numbers chapter 5 [edit]
Corpse contamination [edit]
In
Numbers 5:1–4, God instructed Moses to command the Israelites to put out of the camp every person defiled by contact with the dead, so that they would not defile their camps, in the midst of which God dwelt. This is one of a series of passages setting out the teaching that contact with the dead is antithetical to purity.
In
Leviticus 21:1–5, God instructed Moses to direct the priests not to allow themselves to become defiled by contact with the dead, except for a mother, father, son, daughter, brother, or unmarried sister. And the priests were not to engage in mourning rituals of making baldness upon their heads, shaving off the corners of their beards, or cutting their flesh.
Numbers 19 sets out a procedure for a red cow mixture for decontamination from corpse contamination.
In its profession associated with tithing,
Deuteronomy 26:13–14 instructed Israelites to aver that they had not eaten from the
tithe in mourning, nor put away any of it while unclean, nor given any of it to the dead.
In
Ezekiel 43:6–9, the
prophet Ezekiel cites the burial of kings within the
Temple as one of the practices that defiled the Temple and cause God to abandon it.
Numbers 5:1–4 and
6:6–7 associate death with uncleanness, as do
Leviticus 11:8, 11; 21:1–4, 11; and
Numbers 19:11–16. Perhaps similarly,
Leviticus 12 associates uncleanness with childbirth and
Leviticus 13–14 associates it with skin disease.
Leviticus 15 associates it with various sexuality-related events. And
Jeremiah 2:7, 23; 3:2; and
7:30; and
Hosea 6:10 associate it with contact with the worship of alien gods.
Repentance for false swearing [edit]
The Rabbis read
Numbers 5:6–8 together with
Leviticus 5:21–26 as related passages.
Leviticus 5:21–26 deals with those who sin and commit a trespass against God by dealing falsely with their neighbors in the matter of a deposit, pledge, robbery, other oppression of their neighbors, or the finding of lost property, and swear to a lie.
Leviticus 5:23–24 provides that the offender must immediately restore in full to the victim the property at issue and shall add an additional fifth part. And
Leviticus 5:25–26 requires the offender to bring to the priest an unblemished ram for a guilt-offering, and the priest shall make atonement for the offender before God, and the offender shall be forgiven.
Numbers 5:6–7 directs that when people commit any sin against God, then they shall confess and make restitution in full to the victim and add a fifth part. And
Numbers 5:8 provides that if the victim has no heir to whom restitution may be made, the offender must make restitution to the priest, in addition to the ram of atonement.
Numbers chapter 6 [edit]
The prophet
Amos compared nazirites to prophets, and taught that God raised up both.
[37]
In classical rabbinic interpretation [edit]
The parashah is discussed in these
rabbinic sources from the era of the
Mishnah and the
Talmud:
Numbers chapter 4 [edit]
A
Midrash noted that God ordered the Kohathites counted first in
Numbers 4:1 and only thereafter ordered the Gershonites counted in
Numbers 4:21, even though Gershon was the firstborn and Scripture generally honors the firstborn. The Midrash taught that Scripture gives Kohath precedence over Gershon because the Kohathites bore the ark that carried the Torah.
[38] Similarly, another Midrash taught that God ordered the Kohathites counted first because Kohath was most holy, for Aaron the priest — who was most holy — descended from Kohath, while Gershon was only holy. But the Midrash taught that Gershon did not forfeit his status as firstborn, because Scripture uses the same language, "Lift up the head of the sons of," with regard to Kohath in
Numbers 4:2 and with regard to Gershon in
Numbers 4:22. And
Numbers 4:22 says "they also" with regard to the Gershonites so that one should not suppose that the Gershonites were numbered second because they were inferior to the Kohathites; rather
Numbers 4:22 says "they also" to indicate that the Gershonites were also like the Kohathites in every respect, and the Kohathites were placed first in this connection as a mark of respect to the Torah. In other places;
[39] however, Scripture places Gershon before Kohath.
[40]
A Midrash noted that in
Numbers 4:1 "the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron" to direct them to count the Kohathites and in
Numbers 4:21 "the Lord spoke to Moses" to direct him to count the Gershonites, but
Numbers 4:29 does not report that "the Lord spoke" to direct them to count the Merarites. The Midrash deduced that
Numbers 4:21 employed the words "the Lord spoke" so as to give honor to Gershon as the firstborn, and to give him the same status as Kohath. The Midrash then noted that
Numbers 4:1 reported that God spoke "to Aaron" with regard to the Kohathites but
Numbers 4:21 did not report communication to Aaron with regard to the Gershonites. The Midrash taught that God excluded Aaron from all Divine communications to Moses and that passages that mention Aaron do not report that God spoke to Aaron, but include Aaron's name in sections that concern Aaron to indicate that God spoke to Moses so that he might repeat what he heard to Aaron. Thus
Numbers 4:1 mentions Aaron regarding the Kohathites because Aaron and his sons assigned the Kohathites their duties, since (as
Numbers 4:15 relates) the Kohathites were not permitted to touch the ark or any of the vessels until Aaron and his sons had covered them. In the case of the Gershonites, however, the Midrash finds no evidence that Aaron personally interfered with them, as Ithamar supervised their tasks, and thus
Numbers 4:21 does not mention Aaron in connection with the Gershonites.
[41]
A Midrash noted that in
Numbers 4:2 and
Numbers 4:22, God used the expression "lift up the head" to direct counting the Kohathites and Gershonites, but in
Numbers 4:29, God does not use that expression to direct counting the Merarites. The Midrash deduced that God honored the Kohathites on account of the honor of the ark and the Gershonites because Gershon was a firstborn. But since the Merarites neither cared for the ark nor descended from a firstborn, God did not use the expression "lift up the head."
[42]
The Encampment of the Levites
| | North | | |
| | Merari | | |
| West | Gershon | THE TABERNACLE | Priests | East |
| | Kohath | | |
| | South | | |
A Midrash taught that the Levites camped on the four sides of the Tabernacle in accordance with their duties. The Midrash explained that from the west came snow, hail, cold, and heat, and thus God placed the Gershonites on the west, as
Numbers 3:25 indicates that their service was "the tent, the covering thereof, and the screen for the door of the tent of meeting," which could shield against snow, hail, cold, and heat. The Midrash explained that from the south came the dew and rain that bring blessing to the world, and there God placed the Kohathites, who bore the ark that carried the Torah, for as
Leviticus 26:3–4 and
15–19 teach, the rains depend on the observance of the Torah. The Midrash explained that from the north came darkness, and thus the Merarites camped there, as
Numbers 4:31 indicates that their service was the carrying of wood ("the boards of the tabernacle, and the bars thereof, and the pillars thereof, and the sockets thereof") which
Jeremiah 10:8 teaches counteract idolatrous influences when it says, "The chastisement of vanities is wood." And the Midrash explained that from the east comes light, and thus Moses, Aaron, and his sons camped there, because they were scholars and men of pious deeds, bringing atonement by their prayer and sacrifices.
[43]
A Midrash noted that in
Numbers 4:2 and
Numbers 4:29, for the Kohathites and the Merarites, the sequence is "by their families, by their fathers houses," whereas in
Numbers 4:22, for the Gershonites, "their fathers’ houses" precedes "their families." The Midrash deduced that this is so because the importance of the Gershonites comes from their fathers’ house, as Gershon was the firstborn.
[44]
The Outer Altar (1984 illustration by Jim Padgett, courtesy of Sweet Publishing)
Rabbi Jose employed
Numbers 4:26 to calculate the height of the walls of the courtyard in relation to the height of the outer altar.
Rabbi Judah maintained that the outer altar was wider than Rabbi Jose thought it was, whereas Rabbi Jose maintained that the outer altar was taller than Rabbi Judah thought it was. Rabbi Jose said that one should read literally the words of
Exodus 27:1, “five
cubits long, and five cubits broad.” But Rabbi Judah noted that
Exodus 27:1 uses the word “square” (
רָבוּעַ,
ravua), just as
Ezekiel 43:16 uses the word “square” (
רָבוּעַ,
ravua). Rabbi Judah argued that just as in
Ezekiel 43:16, the dimension was measured from the center (so that the dimension described only one quadrant of the total), so the dimensions of
Exodus 27:1 should be measured from the center (and thus, according to Rabbi Judah, the altar was 10 cubits on each side.) The Gemara explained that we know that this is how to understand
Ezekiel 43:16 because
Ezekiel 43:16 says, “And the hearth shall be 12 cubits long by 12 cubits broad, square,” and
Ezekiel 43:16 continues, “to the four sides thereof,” teaching that the measurement was taken from the middle (interpreting “to” as intimating that from a particular point, there were 12 cubits in all directions, hence from the center). Rabbi Jose, however, reasoned that a common use of the word “square” applied to the height of the altar. Rabbi Judah said that one should read literally the words of
Exodus 27:1, “And the height thereof shall be three cubits.” But Rabbi Jose noted that
Exodus 27:1 uses the word “square” (
רָבוּעַ,
ravua), just as
Exodus 30:2 uses the word “square” (
רָבוּעַ,
ravua, referring to the inner altar). Rabbi Jose argued that just as in
Exodus 30:2 the altar’s height was twice its length, so too in
Exodus 27:1, the height was to be read as twice its length (and thus the altar was 10 cubits high). Rabbi Judah questioned Rabbi Jose’s conclusion, for if priests stood on the altar to perform the service 10 cubits above the ground, the people would see them from outside the courtyard. Rabbi Jose replied to Rabbi Judah that
Numbers 4:26 states, “And the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the Tabernacle and by the altar round about,” teaching that just as the Tabernacle was 10 cubits high, so was the altar 10 cubits high; and
Exodus 38:14 says, “The hangings for the one side were fifteen cubits” (teaching that the walls of the courtyard were 15 cubits high). The Gemara explained that according to Rabbi Jose’s reading, the words of
Exodus 27:18, “And the height five cubits,” meant from the upper edge of the altar to the top of the hangings. And according to Rabbi Jose, the words of
Exodus 27:1, “and the height thereof shall be three cubits,” meant that there were three cubits from the edge of the terrace (on the side of the altar) to the top of the altar. Rabbi Judah, however, granted that the priest could be seen outside the Tabernacle, but argued that the sacrifice in his hands could not be seen.
[45]
Rav
Hamnuna taught that God's decree that the generation of the spies would die in the wilderness did not apply to the Levites, for
Numbers 14:29 says, "your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from 20 years old and upward," and this implies that those who were numbered from 20 years old and upward came under the decree, while the tribe of Levi — which
Numbers 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 39, 43, and
47 say was numbered from 30 years old and upward — was excluded from the decree.
[46]
The
Tosefta noted that
Numbers 4:3, 23, 30, 35, 39, 43, and
47 say that Levites "30 years old and upward" did service in the tent of meeting, while
Numbers 8:24 says, "from 25 years old and upward they shall go in to perform the service in the work of the tent of meeting." The Tosefta deduced that the difference teaches that all those five years, from the age of 25 to the age of 30, Levites studied, serving apprenticeships, and from that time onward they were allowed to draw near to do service. The Tosefta concluded that a Levite could not enter the Temple courtyard to do service unless he had served an apprenticeship of five years. And the Tosefta inferred from this that students who see no sign of success in their studies within a period of five years will never see any. Rabbi Jose said that students had to see success within three years, basing his position on the words "that they should be nourished three years" in
Daniel 1:5.[47]
A Midrash inferred from the words "from 30 years old . . . every one that entered upon the service" in
Numbers 4:35 that a man attains his full strength at age 30.
[48]
Belvati in the name of
Rabbi Johanan derived the Levite's obligation to sing songs while offering sacrifices from the words of
Numbers 4:47, "to do the work of service." Belvati reasoned that the work that requires service is the song.
[49]
Numbers chapter 5 [edit]
Rabi Levi taught that the discussion of how to purify the camp in
Numbers 5:1–4 was one of eight passages given to Moses on the day that the Tabernacle was erected (because the people needed to study them immediately).
[50]
Chapter 9 of Tractate
Bava Kamma in the Mishnah and Babylonian Talmud and chapters 9 and 10 in the Tosefta interpreted
Numbers 5:6–8 together with
Leviticus 5:21–26.[51]
The Mishnah taught that if one robbed another of something worth a
perutah and the robber nonetheless swore that the robber did not do so, the robber was obliged to take restitution to the victim even if the robber needed to go as far as Persia. The robber could not give the restitution to the victim’s son nor to the victim’s agent, but the robber could give it to an agent of the court. If the victim died, the robber had to restore it to the victim’s heirs.
[52]
The Mishnah interpreted the requirements of
Numbers 5:8 regarding restitution where the victim died without kin to apply as well to where a proselyte victim died. The wrongdoer would have to pay the priests the principal plus 20 percent and bring a trespass offering to the altar. If the wrongdoer died bringing the money and the offering to Jerusalem, the money was to go to the wrongdoer's heirs, and the offering was to be kept on the pasture until it became blemished, when it was to be sold and the proceeds were to go to the fund for freewill offerings. But if the wrongdoer had already given the money to the priest and then died, the heirs could not retrieve the funds, for
Numbers 5:10 provides that "whatever any man gives to the priest shall be his."
[53]
Tractate
Sotah in the Mishnah, Tosefta,
Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the woman accused of being unfaithful (
sotah) in
Numbers 5:11–31.[54]
Hezekiah the son of Rabbi Parnak said in the name of Rabbi Johanan that the laws of the woman accused of being unfaithful in
Numbers 5:11–31 follow immediately on laws dealing with the
heave offering (
תְּרוּמָה,
terumah) and tithes to teach that if one has a heave offering or a tithe and does not give them to the priest, in the end he will require the priest's services to deal with his wife. For
Numbers 5:10 says, “Every man's hallowed things shall be his,” and immediately afterwards
Numbers 5:12 says, “If any man's wife go aside,” and thereafter
Numbers 5:15 says, “the man shall bring his wife to the priest.” Even more, in the end, such a person would need the tithe for the poor, as
Numbers 5:10 says, “Every man's hallowed things shall be his” (in the form of a tithe for the poor). In contrast,
Rav Nachman bar Yitzchak taught that if he does give, he will eventually become rich. For
Numbers 5:10 says, “Whatever a man gives the priest, he shall have,” and that means that he shall have much wealth.
[55]
The Mishnah taught that before a husband could accuse his wife pursuant to the procedure of
Numbers 5:11–31, he had to warn her not to associate with a certain man.
Rabbi Eliezer said that he warned her on the testimony of two witnesses, and made her drink the bitter water on the testimony of one witness or his own testimony.
Rabbi Joshua said that he warned her on the testimony of two witnesses and made her drink on the testimony of two witnesses.
[56]
The Mishnah taught that it was not sufficient for the husband simply to say to his wife (in the presence of two witnesses) not to converse with a man. And if she nonetheless conversed with him, she was still permitted to her husband and (if a daughter of a Kohen) still permitted to eat from sacrifices. If, however, she entered a private place with the man and stayed with him long enough to have committed misconduct, she was forbidden to her husband and forbidden to eat from sacrifices, and if her husband died, she was required to perform the ceremony of
halizah and could not contract a
levirate marriage.
[57]
The Mishnah deduced from the two uses of the words "they shall enter" in
Numbers 5:22 and
27 that just as the bitter water tested the suspected wife, so it tested the suspected paramour, punishing him as well as her if they were guilty.
[58]
Reading the report of
Exodus 32:20 that Moses "took the calf . . . ground it to powder, and sprinkled it on the water, and made the children of Israel drink it," the Sages interpreted that Moses meant to test the Israelites much as the procedure of
Numbers 5:11–31 tested a wife accused of adultery (
sotah).
[59]
A Midrash taught that there is nothing greater before God than the "amen" that Israel answers. Rabbi Judah ben Sima taught that the word "amen" contains three kinds of solemn declarations: oath, consent, and confirmation.
Numbers 5:21–22 demonstrates oath when it says, "Then the priest shall cause the woman to swear . . . and the woman shall say: ‘Amen, Amen.’"
Deuteronomy 27:26 demonstrates consent when it says "And all the people shall say: ‘Amen.’" And
1 Kings 1:36 demonstrates confirmation when it says, "And
Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada answered the king, and said: ‘Amen; so say the Lord.’"
[60]
The Mishnah taught that when adulterers multiplied, Rabban
Johanan ben Zakkai discontinued the sotah ceremony of
Numbers 5:11–31, as
Hosea 4:14 says, "I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, nor your daughters-in-law when they commit adultery; for they themselves consort with lewd women, and they sacrifice with harlots; and the people that is without understanding is distraught."
[61]
Numbers chapter 6 [edit]
Tractate
Nazir in the Mishnah, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud interpreted the laws of the nazirite (
נָזִיר,
nazir) in
Numbers 6:1–21.[62]
It was taught in a
Baraita that
Rabbi taught that the laws of the nazirite in
Numbers 6:1–21 follow immediately those of the woman accused of being unfaithful in
Numbers 5:11–31 to teach that anyone who sees an unfaithful wife in her ruination should (take a lesson from her ways and) completely abstain from wine (for wine brought her to her end).
[63] Similarly, a Midrash taught that when they made the suspected wife drink, they told her that much might have been due to wine. And all the Israelites who had seen it would come home and bemoan the person who had drunk wine, got intoxicated, committed sin, and died. And so they would swear never to taste wine, so that they might not meet the same fate. And the Midrash provide another explanation: Just as the nazirite was separated from wine, so God separated the faithless wife from other women.
[64] Similarly, another Midrash taught that wine leads to whoredom. And thus God wrote the section about the nazirite after the section about the suspected wife to indicate that one should not copy the deeds of the adulterer and adulteress who drank wine and disgraced themselves, but that one who is afraid of sin should separate from wine.
[65]
The
Sifre taught that the words of
Numbers 6:2, “When either
man or
woman shall clearly utter a vow, the vow of a nazirite,” excluded minors from taking such a vow. The Sifre taught that the rule of
Numbers 6:2 thus applied only to those who knew the meaning of making such a special vow. And on that basis the rule of Mishnah Niddah 5:6
[66] was given that the vows of a boy of the age of 12 years and one day must be examined (to ascertain whether the boy understood their significance).
[67]
The Sifre taught that the words of
Numbers 6:2, “shall clearly utter a vow, the vow of a nazirite, to consecrate himself unto the Lord,” applied only if the person took the vow willingly and not under duress.
[68]
The Mishnah interpreted the "nazirite's vow" of
Numbers 6:2. The Mishnah taught that all substitutes for a nazirite vow functioned just like a nazirite vow. A person who said, "I shall be one," became a nazirite. A person who said, "I shall be comely," "a nazirite," "a nazik," "a naziah," or "a paziah," became a nazirite. A person who said, "I intend to be like this," or "I intend to curl my hair," or "I mean to tend my hair," or "I undertake to develop tresses," became a nazirite.
Rabbi Meir said that a person who said, "I take upon myself an obligation involving birds," became a nazirite," but the sages said that the person did not become a nazirite.
[69]
A person who said, "I declare myself a nazirite to abstain from pressed grapes," or "from grape stones," or "from cutting my hair," or "from contracting ritual defilement," became a nazirite subject to all the regulations of naziriteship.
[70]
A person who said, "I vow to be like
Samson," "the son of
Manoah," "the husband of
Delilah," or "the one who plucked up the gates of
Gaza," or "the one whose eyes the
Philistines put out," became a nazirite like Samson (who was a nazirite for life). The difference between nazirites like Samson and life-nazirites was that life-nazirites could thin their hair with a razor and then offer three animal sacrifices, while should they be ritually defiled, they had to offer the sacrifice prescribed for defilement. Nazirites like Samson were not permitted to thin their hair, and if ritually defiled, they did not offer the sacrifice prescribed for defilement.
[71]
A nazirite vow of unspecified duration remained in force 30 days.
[72]
The Sifre asked why
Numbers 6:1–4 set forth the effectiveness of nazirite vows, when the general rule of
Numbers 30:2 would suffice to teach that all vows — including nazirite vows — are binding. The Sifre explained that
Numbers 6:1–4 warned that a person making a nazirite vow would be bound to at least a 30-day nazirite period.
[73]
A person who said, "I intend to be a nazirite for one long period," or "I intend to be a nazirite for one short period," became a nazirite for 30 days, even if the person added, "for as long as it takes to go from here to the end of the earth." A person who said, "I intend to be a nazirite, plus one day," or "I intend to be a nazirite, plus an hour," or "I intend to be a nazirite, once and a half," became a nazirite for two 30-day periods.
[74] A person who said, "I intend to be a nazirite for 30 days plus an hour," became a nazirite for 31 days, as there was no naziriteship for a period of hours.
[75]
People who said, "I intend to be a nazirite as the hairs of my head," or "the dust of the earth," or "the sands of the sea," became life-nazirites, cutting their hair every 30 days. Rabbi said that such nazirites did not cut their hair every 30 days. Rabbi said that the nazirites who cut their hair every 30 days were the ones who said, "I
undertake naziriteships as the hair on my head," or "the dust of the earth," or "the sands of the sea."
[76]
They interrogated people who said, "I intend to be a nazirite a house full," or "a basket full," to determine their intent. A person who said, "I vowed one long period of naziriteship," became a nazirite for 30 days. But a person who said, "I vowed without attaching any precise meaning to the statement," became a nazirite for life, as the Rabbis regarded the basket as though it were full of mustard seed.
[77]
If a person said, "I intend to be a nazirite, as from here to such and such a place," they estimated the number of days that it took to get to the place mentioned. If the journey would take fewer than 30 days, then the nazirite becomes a nazirite for 30 days; otherwise the nazirite became a nazirite for that number of days.
[78]
A person who said, "I intend to be a nazirite, as the number of days in a solar year," would be a nazirite for 365 terms. Rabbi Judah said that such a case once occurred, and when the nazirite completed the 365 terms, the nazirite died.
[79]
Rabbi Akiva (illustration from the 1568 Mantua Haggadah)
Rabbi
Simeon the Just was so skeptical of the reasons for which nazirites might have interrupted their status that he found only one that he really trusted. He said that only once in his life had he eaten of the trespass-offering brought by a defiled tear in connection with an interrupted nazirite vow. On that occasion a nazirite came from the South country, and Simeon the Just saw that he had beautiful eyes, was of handsome appearance, and with thick locks of hair symmetrically arranged. Simeon the Just asked him what reason the nazirite had seen to destroy this beautiful hair by shaving it for the nazirite vow. The nazirite replied that he was a shepherd for his father and once he went to draw water from a well and gazed upon his reflection in the water, and his evil desires rushed upon him and sought to drive him from the world through sin. But the shepherd swore that day that he would shave his beautiful hair off for the sake of Heaven. Simeon the Just immediately arose and kissed the nazirite's head, praying that there would be many nazirites such as him in Israel. And Simeon the Just said that it was of this nazirite that
Numbers 6:2 says, "When either a man or a woman shall separate themselves to vow a vow of a nazirite, to separate themselves unto the Lord . . . ." Rabbi Mani inquired why Simeon the Just did not eat of the guilt-offering of a nazirite. If it was because the nazirite was a sinner because he tormented himself, depriving himself of wine, that would be inconsistent ever eating of the sin-offering (for example) for tasting forbidden fat or of the sin-offering for tasting blood. Simeon the Just thought that people make the nazirite vow in a fit of temper, and since they vow in a fit of temper they will ultimately come to regret it. And once they regret it, their sacrifices become like those of people who slaughter unconsecrated animals in the Temple court (which would be disrespectful and forbidden). This nazirite, however, vowed after due mental deliberation and his mouth and heart were in agreement.
[80]
The Mishnah taught that
Numbers 6:2–8 forbade a nazirite three things: ritual defilement, cutting of hair, and products of the vine.
[81] The Mishnah taught that all products of the vine could be measured together, and that there was no penalty for violation of the nazirite's vow unless the nazirite ate an olive's bulk of grapes or drank a quarter of a log of wine. Rabbi Akiva said that there was a penalty even if the nazirite soaked bread in wine and enough was absorbed to make up an olive's bulk.
[82]
Siege and Destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans (1850 painting by
David Roberts)
The Mishnah taught that there was a separate penalty for wine, for grapes, for grape seeds, and for grape skins. But Rabbi
Eleazar ben Azariah said that there was no penalty for grape seeds or grape skins unless the nazirite ate at least two grape seeds and one grape skin.
[83]
In the Talmud, Rabbi Joshua discouraged
asceticism and abstaining from wine. The Rabbis taught in a Baraita that when the
Romans destroyed the
Second Temple, large numbers of
Judeans became ascetics, binding themselves neither to eat meat nor to drink wine. Rabbi Joshua asked the ascetics why they did not eat meat or drink wine. The ascetics asked how they could eat meat when priests used to offer meat on the altar that the Romans had destroyed. And they asked how they could drink wine when priests used to pour wine as a libation on the altar (as part of the Temple service), but did so no more. Rabbi Joshua told them that according to their logic, they should not eat bread either, as the meal offerings had ceased. The ascetics agreed, saying that they could live on fruit. Rabbi Joshua told them that they should not eat fruit either, for there was no longer an offering of first fruits. The ascetics replied that they could manage with other fruits (of types that the Israelites had not brought as first fruits). But Rabbi Joshua told them that they should not drink water either, for there was no longer a ceremony of the pouring of water (on
Sukkot, as described in Mishnah Sukkah 4:1, 9–10
[84]). To this the ascetics had no answer. So Rabbi Joshua taught them that not to mourn at all was impossible, because the Temple had been destroyed. But to mourn too much was also impossible, because we may not impose on the community a hardship that the majority cannot endure.
[85]
If nazirites cut their hair or had their hair cut by bandits, 30 days of their nazirite term were rendered void. Nazirites who cut their own hair incurred a penalty, no matter whether they used scissors or a razor, or no matter how little they trimmed their hair.
[86] Nazirites were allowed to clean their hair or part it with their fingers, but they were not allowed to comb it.
Rabbi Ishmael said that they were not allowed to clean their hair with earth, because it causes the hair to fall out.
[87]
A nazirite who drank wine all day long incurred only a single penalty. If the nazirite was repeatedly warned not to drink and then drank anyway, the nazirite incurred a penalty for each warning. Similarly, nazirites who cut their hair all day long incurred only one penalty, but if they were repeatedly warned not to cut and then cut anyway, they incurred a penalty for each warning. And similarly, nazirites who defile themselves by contact with the dead all day long incurred only one penalty, but if they were repeatedly warned not to defile themselves and then defiled themselves anyway, they incurred a penalty for each warning.
[88]
The Mishnah taught that defilement and cutting of hair had a stringency that products of the vine did not, as defilement and cutting of hair rendered void the previous period of nazirite observance, while consuming products of the vine did not. Products of the vine had a stringency that defilement or cutting of hair did not, as the prohibition of products of the vine had no exception, while the law allowed exceptions for where cutting of hair was a religious duty or where there was an abandoned corpse. Defilement also had a stringency that cutting of hair did not, as defilement rendered void the whole of the preceding period and entails the offering of a sacrifice, while cutting of hair renders voided only 30 days and did not entail a sacrifice.
[89]
The Sifre compared the prohibition of a nazirite having contact with dead bodies in
Numbers 6:6–7 with the similar prohibition of a
High Priest having contact with dead bodies in
Leviticus 21:11. And the Sifre reasoned that just as the High Priest was required nonetheless to become unclean to see to the burial of a neglected corpse (
met mitzvah), so too was the nazirite required to become unclean to see to the burial of a neglected corpse.
[90]
The Mishnah employed the prohibition of
Numbers 6:6 to imagine how one could with one action violate up to nine separate commandments. One could (1) plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together (in violation of
Deuteronomy 22:10) (2 and 3) that are two animals dedicated to the sanctuary, (4) plowing mixed seeds sown in a vineyard (in violation of
Deuteronomy 22:9), (5) during a
Sabbatical year (in violation of
Leviticus 25:4), (6) on a Festival-day (in violation of, for example,
Leviticus 23:7), (7) when the plower is a priest (in violation of
Leviticus 21:1) and (8) a nazirite (in violation of
Numbers 6:6) plowing in a contaminated place.
Chananya ben Chachinai said that the plower also may have been wearing a garment of wool and linen (in violation of
Leviticus 19:19 and
Deuteronomy 22:11). They said to him that this would not be in the same category as the other violations. He replied that neither is the nazirite in the same category as the other violations.
[91]
Tractate
Kinnim in the Mishnah interpreted the laws of pairs of sacrificial pigeons and doves in
Leviticus 1:14, 5:7, 12:6–8, 14:22, and
15:29; and
Numbers 6:10.[92]
The Mishnah taught that they buried the cut hair of a nazirite.
[93]
Queen
Helena of Adiabene converted to Judaism. When her son went to war, she vowed that if he returned in peace, she would be a nazirite for seven years. Her son did return, and she observed her nazirite vow for seven years. At the end of the seven years, she went to the
Land of Israel and the
House of Hillel ruled that she had to be a nazirite for seven more years. Towards the end of this seven years, she contracted ritual defilement, and so altogether she was a nazirite for 21 years. Rabbi Judah said that she was a nazirite for only 14 years (plus 30 days). If a person vowed a naziriteship of long duration and completed it and then arrives in the Land of Israel, the
House of Shammai taught that the person would then need to be a nazirite for 30 more days, but House of Hillel taught that the person’s naziriteship began for its full term again as at the first.
[94]
The Mishnah reported that Rabbi Nehorai taught that
Samuel was a nazirite, as in
1 Samuel 1:11, Samuel’s mother
Hannah vowed, “and no razor (
מוֹרָה,
morah) shall come upon his head.” Similarly, in
Judges 13:5 (in the
haftarah for the parashah), an
angel told Samson’s mother, “no razor (
מוֹרָה,
morah) shall come upon his head; for the child shall be a nazirite unto God from the womb.” Just as Scripture uses “razor” (
מוֹרָה,
morah) in the case of Samson to show that he was a nazirite, so Scripture must use “razor” (
מוֹרָה,
morah) in the case of Samuel to show that he was a nazirite.
[95]
Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar taught that
Numbers 6:11 required priests to "make atonement for" nazirites because the nazirites denied themselves wine. Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar thus reasoned that if nazirites were considered sinners because they denied themselves wine, then those who fast voluntarily or deprive themselves of other things are sinners, too.
[96] But Rabbi Eleazar said that the nazirite was termed "holy," as
Numbers 6:5 says, "he shall be holy, he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow long." Rabbi Eleazar thus reasoned that if nazirites were considered holy because they denied themselves just wine, then those who fast voluntarily are holy, too.
[97]
It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Judah taught that the early pious ones were eager to bring a sin-offering, because God never caused them to sin. So they made a free-will nazirite vow to God, so as to be able to bring a sin-offering. But
Rabbi Simeon taught that the early pious ones did not make nazirite vows. They would bring offerings freely, but they did not take nazirite vows, so as not to be designated sinners. For
Numbers 6:11 says, “And [the priest] shall make atonement for him, for that he sinned against a soul.”
[98]
Abaye summarized that Simeon the Just, Rabbi Simeon, and Rabbi Eleazar ha-Kappar all came to the same conclusion — that a nazirite was a sinner. The
Gemara questioned whether
Numbers 6:11 might refer only to a nazirite who became unclean. But the Gemara concluded that
Numbers 6:11 says that the priest must “make atonement” because the nazirite who became unclean sinned twice (both by becoming a nazirite at all and by defiling his nazirite vow).
[99]
Similarly,
Rav taught that a person will have to give account on the judgment day for every good permissible thing that the person might have enjoyed and did not.
[100]
Similarly,
Hillel the Elder taught that washing one’s body in the bath-house was a religious duty. For if the statues of kings, which were inscribed in theatres and circuses, were scoured and washed by the person appointed to look after them, how much more should a person, who has been created in the Image and Likeness of God, as
Genesis 9:6 says, “For in the image of God made He man.” A Midrash thus taught that
Proverbs 11:17, “The merciful man does good to his own soul,” applies to this teaching of Hillel the Elder.
[101]
A Midrash taught that the Priestly Blessing in
Numbers 6:22–27 follows immediately the laws of the nazirite in
Numbers 6:1–21 to teach that God commanded that just as a nazirite must not taste wine, so shall the priests must not taste wine when they are about to bless Israel. And for a like reason, the priests do not lift their hands in blessing during the afternoon service because of the possibility of intoxication.
[102]
Rav Havivi (or some say
Rav Assi) of Hozna'ah said to
Rav Ashi that a
Tanna taught that Aaron first said the Priestly Blessing of
Numbers 6:22–27 on "the first month of the second year, on the first day of the month" (
Exodus 40:17, the first of
Nisan), the same day that Moses erected the Tabernacle (as reported in
Numbers 7:1), and the same day that the princes brought their first offerings (as reported in
Numbers 7:2–3). A Tanna taught that the first of Nisan took ten crowns of distinction by virtue of the ten momentous events that occurred on that day. The first of Nisan was: (1) the first day of the Creation (as reported in
Genesis 1:1–5), (2) the first day of the princes’ offerings (as reported in
Numbers 7:10–17), (3) the first day for the priesthood to make the sacrificial offerings (as reported in
Leviticus 9:1–21), (4) the first day for public sacrifice, (5) the first day for the descent of fire from Heaven (as reported in
Leviticus 9:24), (6) the first for the priests’ eating of sacred food in the sacred area, (7) the first for the dwelling of the Shechinah in Israel (as implied by
Exodus 25:8), (8) the first for the Priestly Blessing of Israel (as reported in
Leviticus 9:22, employing the blessing prescribed by
Numbers 6:22–27), (9) the first for the prohibition of the
high places (as stated in
Leviticus 17:3–4), and (10) the first of the months of the year (as instructed in
Exodus 12:2).
[103]
The Mishnah taught that the priests recited the Priestly Blessing of
Numbers 6:24–26 every day.
[104]
Numbers chapter 7 [edit]
The Midrash concluded that when
Numbers 31:6 reports that “Moses sent . . .
Phinehas the son of
Eleazar the priest to the war with the holy vessels,” it refers to the
Ark of the Covenant, to which
Numbers 7:9 refers when it says, “the service of the holy things.” But Rabbi Johanan deduced from the reference of
Exodus 29:29 to “the holy garments of Aaron” that
Numbers 31:6 refers to the priestly garments containing the
Urim and Thummim.
[105]
The
Sifra taught that the goat of the sin-offering about which Moses inquired in
Leviticus 10:16 was the goat brought by
Nachshon ben Amminadav, as reported in
Numbers 7:12, 16.[106]
Noting the similarity of language between "This is the sacrifice of Aaron" in
Leviticus 6:13 and "This is the sacrifice of Nahshon the son of Amminadab" and each of the other princes of the 12 tribes in
Numbers 7:17–83, the Rabbis concluded that Aaron's sacrifice was as beloved to God as the sacrifices of the princes of the 12 tribes.
[107]
A Midrash taught that the length of the Tabernacle courtyard reported in
Exodus 27:18 at 100 cubits added to the length of the Tabernacle — 30 cubits — to total 130 cubits. And the Midrash taught that this number was alluded to when (as
Numbers 7:37 reports) the prince of the
Tribe of Simeon brought an offering of "one silver dish, the weight of which was 130 shekels." The Midrash taught that the dish was in allusion to the court that encompassed the Tabernacle as the sea encompasses the world.
[108]
Rabbi
Phinehas ben Yair taught that the 60 rams, 60 goats, and 60 lambs that
Numbers 7:88 reports that the Israelites sacrificed as a dedication-offering of the altar symbolized (among other things) the 60 cities of the region of Argob that
Deuteronomy 3:4 reports the Israelites conquered.
[109]
Rabbi Azariah in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon taught that the mode of conversation between God and Moses in the tent of meeting reported in
Numbers 7:89 reflected that Israel had outgrown the infancy of its nationhood. Rabbi Azariah in the name of Rabbi Judah ben Rabbi Simon explained in a parable. A mortal king had a daughter whom he loved exceedingly. So long as his daughter was small, he would speak with her in public or in the courtyard. When she grew up and reached puberty, the king determined that it no longer befit his daughter's dignity for him to converse with her in public. So he directed that a pavilion be made for her so that he could speak with his daughter inside the pavilion. In the same way, when God saw the Israelites in Egypt, they were in the childhood of their nationhood, as
Hosea 11:1 says, “When Israel was a child, then I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.” When God saw the Israelites at Sinai, God spoke with them as
Deuteronomy 5:4 says, “The Lord spoke with you face to face.” As soon as they received the Torah, became God’s nation, and said (as reported in
Exodus 24:7), “All that the Lord has spoken will we do, and obey,” God observed that it was no longer in keeping with the dignity of God’s children that God should converse with them in the open. So God instructed the Israelites to make a Tabernacle, and when God needed to communicate with the Israelites, God did so from the Tabernacle. And thus
Numbers 7:89 bears this out when it says, “And when Moses went into the tent of meeting that He might speak with him.”
[110]
In medieval rabbinic interpretation [edit]
The parashah is discussed in these
medieval rabbinic sources:
Numbers chapter 6 [edit]
The Title Page of the Zohar
The
Zohar found in the Priestly Blessing of
Numbers 6:24–26 components of God’s essential Name. In the Zohar, Rabbi Simeon taught from the Book of Mystery that the Divine Name has both a revealed and a concealed form. In its revealed form, it is written as the four-letter Name of God, the Tetragrammaton, but in its undisclosed form it is written in other letters, and this undisclosed form represents the most Recondite of all. In the Zohar, Rabbi Judah taught taught that even the revealed form of the Name is hidden under other letters (as the name ADoNaY,
אֲדֹנָי, is hidden within ADNY,
אדני) in order to screen the most Recondite of all. In the letters of God’s Name are concealed 22 attributes of Mercy, namely, the 13 attributes of God in
Exodus 34:6–7 and nine attributes of the
Mikroprosopus, the lesser revealed aspect of God. They all combine in one composite Name. When people were more reverent, the priests openly enunciated the Name in the hearing of all, but after irreverence became widespread, the Name became concealed under other letters. At the time when the Name was disclosed, the priest would concentrate his mind on its deep and inner meaning, and he would utter the Name in such a way as to accord with that meaning. But when irreverence became common in the world, he would conceal all within the written letters. The Zohar taught that Moses uttered the 22 letters in two sections, first in
Exodus 34:6–7 in the attributes of God, and second in
Numbers 14:18, when he uttered nine attributes of Mercy that are inherent in the
Mikroprosopus, and which are radiated from the light of God. All this the priest combined together when he spread forth his hands to bless the people pursuant to
Numbers 6:23–26, so that all the worlds received God’s blessings. It is for this reason that
Numbers 6:23 says simply “saying” (
אָמוֹר,
amor), instead of the
imperative form “say” (
אִמְרִי,
imri), in a reference to the hidden letters within the words of the Priestly Blessing. The word
אָמוֹר,
amor has in its letters the numerical value of 248 minus one (
א equals 1;
מ equals 40;
ו equals 6;
ר equals 200; and 1 + 40 + 6 + 200 = 247), equal to the number of a man’s bodily parts, excepting the one part on which all the rest depend. All these parts thus receive the Priestly Blessing as expressed in the three verses of
Numbers 6:24–26.[111]
Commandments [edit]
According to
Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are 7 positive and 11 negative
commandments in the parashah.
[112]
- To send the impure from the Temple[113]
- Impure people must not enter the Temple.[114]
- To repent and confess wrongdoings[115]
- To fulfill the laws of the sotah[116]
- Not to put oil on the sotah's meal offering[117]
- Not to put frankincense on the sotah's meal offering[118]
- The nazarite must not drink wine, wine mixtures, or wine vinegar.[119]
- The nazarite must not eat fresh grapes.[120]
- The nazarite must not eat raisins.[121]
- The nazarite must not eat grape seeds.[122]
- The nazarite must not eat grape skins.[123]
- The nazarite must not cut his or her hair.[124]
- The nazarite must let his or her hair grow.[125]
- The nazarite must not be under the same roof as a corpse.[126]
- The nazarite must not come into contact with the dead.[127]
- The nazarite must shave after bringing sacrifices upon completion of the nazirite period.[128]
- The Kohanim must bless the Jewish nation daily.[129]
- The Levites must transport the ark on their shoulders.[130]
In the liturgy [edit]
Reuven Hammer noted that
Mishnah Tamid 5:1[131] recorded what was in effect the first
siddur, as a part of which priests daily recited the Priestly Blessing of
Numbers 6:24–26.[132]
Many Jews recite the Priestly Blessing,
Numbers 6:24–26, as the first section of the Torah to which they turn after reciting the Blessings of the Torah in the morning.
[133] And the Priestly Blessing is reflected in the closing prayer for peace of the
Amidah prayer in each of the three
prayer services.
[134]
Haftarah [edit]
The
haftarah for the parashah is
Judges 13:2–25, the story of the birth of Samson, the nazirite.
The Offer of Manoah (1641 painting by
Rembrandt)
Summary [edit]
Manoah's wife was barren, but an angel appeared and told her that she would bear a son.
[135] The angel warned her not to drink wine or strong drink or eat any unclean thing, and foretold that no razor would come upon her son's head, for he would be nazirite from birth and would begin to save Israel from the Philistines.
[136]
Manoah and wife sacrifice to God (painting from the 1250
Morgan Bible)
Manoah's wife told Manoah what happened, and Manoah entreated God to let the man of God come again and teach them what to do.
[137] God heeded Manoah and sent the angel to the woman as she sat alone in the field.
[138] Manoah's wife ran and told Manoah, and he followed her to the angel, and asked him whether he was the one who had spoken to his wife, and he said that he was.
[139] Manoah asked the angel how they should raise the child, and the angel told him that they should do what he had told Manoah's wife: She was not to eat any product of the grapevine, drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing.
[140]
Manoah asked the angel to stay so that they could serve him a meal.
[141] But the angel told Manoah that even if he stayed, he would not eat, and if they wanted to make a burnt-offering, they should offer it to God.
[142] Manoah did not recognize that he was an angel, and asked him for his name so that when his prophecy proved true, they could honor him.
[143] But the angel asked why Manoah asked for his name, as it was hidden.
[144]
So Manoah offered to God a young goat and a meal-offering, and as the flame went up off the altar toward heaven, the angel ascended in the flame and disappeared, and Manoah and his wife fell on their faces, as Manoah realized that he was an angel.
[145] Manoah told his wife that they would surely die, as they had seen God, but she replied that if God had wanted to kill them, God would not have received the burnt-offering or shown them what God did.
[146]
Samson Slays a Thousand Men (watercolor circa 1896–1902 by James Tissot)
And the woman bore a son and called him Samson, and the child grew, and God blessed him, and the God's spirit began to move him in Mahaneh-dan, between
Zorah and
Eshtaol.
[147]
Connection to the Parashah [edit]
Both the parashah
[148] and the haftarah relate to the nazirite status.
Both the parashah and the haftarah speak of abstention from "wine and strong drink."
[149] And both the parashah and the haftarah note that "no razor shall come upon his head."
[150]
The parashah and the haftarah do differ, however, about some aspects of the nazirite status. While the parashah
[151] addresses one voluntarily becoming a nazirite, the haftarah
[152] speaks of one committed by another to nazirite status from birth. And while the parashah
[153] contemplates the nazirite period coming to a close, the haftarah
[154] envisions a lifetime commitment.
In his career after the haftarah, Samson proceeded to violate each of the three nazirite prohibitions. He apparently consumed intoxicants,
[155] frequently came in contact with the dead,
[156] and ultimately allowed his hair to be cut.
[157]
In classical rabbinic interpretation [edit]
The Gemara taught that Samson’s mother was named
Zlelponith. The Gemara taught that the oral tradition passed along this fact to provide a reply to the heretics (should they ask why the written Torah does not supply the name of the mother of such an important figure).
[158]
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