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PARSHAT NASO Rabbi Michael Gold ASCETICISM “He Shall Offer

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PARSHAT NASO Rabbi Michael Gold ASCETICISM “He Shall Offer PARSHAT NASO Rabbi Michael Gold ASCETICISM “He shall offer his offering to the Lord, one male lamb of the first year without blemish for a burnt offering, and one ewe lamb of the first year without blemish for a sin offering, and one ram without blemish for peace offerings.” (Numbers 6:14) Asceticism is the practice of giving up pleasures in this world for spiritual purposes. It is common in virtually every classical religion, both in the East and West. In Christianity, priests and nuns take vows of “poverty, chastity, and obedience.” Some monastic communities take on even stronger ascetic practices, including vows of silence. Many religious traditions encourage poverty, celibacy, teetotalism, and vegetarianism as religious practices. The idea is that by denying the physical one can focus on the spiritual. Such ascetic practices do exist in Judaism, particularly the tradition of taking on personal fasts for spiritual purposes. In addition to the set fast days in the Jewish calendar, many pious Jews take on additional fast days. One Talmudic rabbi, Ben Azai, gave up sex and marriage to dedicate himself to a life of Torah (Tosefta Yebamot 8:7). But the classic example of asceticism in Judaism are the laws of the nazir, found in this week’s Torah reading. The nazir took a special vow to give up certain practices and pleasures. The nazir could not enter a cemetery or attend a funeral, similar to the kohen or priest. The nazir was forbidden to cut his or her hair throughout the period of the vow. And most important for our purposes, all wine and other alcoholic beverages were forbidden. If “wine gladdens the heart of man” (Psalms 104:15), the nazir must live without that gladness. Traditionally, the nazir vow was for a limited period of time. Nonetheless, Samson was subject to a lifelong vow taken by his mother. That is why he lost his strength when Delilah cut his hair. When the period of the vow was over, the nazir would bring special offerings to God. These included a sin offering. What was the sin? Jewish tradition teaches that the nazir denied himself or herself pleasures that were permitted. As the Jerusalem Talmud teaches in a powerful statement, “R. Chizkiyah said in the name of Rav: You will one day give reckoning for everything your eyes saw which, although permissible, you did not enjoy’ (Jerusalem Talmud, Kiddushin 4:12). Jewish tradition teaches that the pleasures of this world are to be enjoyed. That is why Judaism never fully developed the ascetic practices of Christianity or Eastern religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. An example of this principle of enjoying the pleasures of this world involves the eating of meat. I am aware that many argue the value of a vegetarian diet, whether for health or ethical reasons. Many Orthodox Jews disagree. They argue that since the Torah explicitly permits the eating of meat, it would be arrogant to refuse to eat what God has permitted to us. Yesterday was the festival of Shavuot, with a long tradition of eating dairy. But although many Orthodox Jews ate some dairy, they then sat down to a meat meal for the festival. They could not imagine enjoying a festival without meat. A few weeks ago, I was mistaken in a message I wrote. I said that the late Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, chief rabbi of what would become the state of Israel, was a vegetarian. That was true during the week. But on the Sabbath he ate meat. Whether or not one chooses a vegetarian diet, there is a profound message in the laws of the nazir. Life is to be enjoyed in this world. There is enough that Judaism forbids. A few years ago, in a restaurant in Maine, the server could not believe that I would refuse to taste the Maine lobster. I want to enjoy in this world whatever Judaism permits. Of all the many great religious traditions of both the West and East, Judaism is probably the most this-worldly. Our job is to transform this world. And our job is to enjoy the permitted pleasures of this world. That is why, when we reach the next world, we will be told to give an account of every legitimate pleasure we did not enjoy..
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