" SHALOM. Today is 9 Sivan 5777. We say relationship of a person who sins that the road of sin Kiddush Levanah tonight. multiplies and breeds more sins. In essence the Torah is teaching us the necessity to structure our lives properly in Mazel Tov to Avichai Shekhter upon today’s all dimensions in order to purify our life and the lives of celebration of his Bar Mitzvah. Mazel Tov to Avichai’s those around us. parents Ilya & Hanna Shekhter, and to the entire 3. The emotional response of the husband is described family. as Kin’ah, which we normally translate as jealousy. The negative tension that exists between the husband and wife TORAH DIALOGUE can only come to a bad result. The halachah is that the (p. 586 Hz) (p. 814 S) (p. 527 Hi) (p. 748 AS) entire process of the investigation, denial, and the drinking of the special, potentially lethal waters, cannot begin unless Numbers 4:21 the husband warns his wife and expresses to her his [Compiled by Rabbi Edward Davis (RED) suspicions. This must be done in front of two witnesses. Young Israel of Hollywood-Ft. Lauderdale] on the Torah and the Rambam ( 1:1) say that the Kin’ah that the Torah refers to is …. that he will say to 1. After completing the description of each of the jobs her in front of witnesses: “Do not be in a secluded place required of the Levitical families, the Torah goes on to with Ploni (a specific-named person)”. The process begins describe what is necessary to purify the Camp of Israel. In with the semi-public declaration. The fact that there are Chapter 5 the Torah tells us “if a man or a woman sins witnesses is bringing the internal matter to light. This is the against his fellow man, thus being untrue to God, and first step to engage the private matter in order to correct it. becoming guilty of a crime; he must confess the sin that he Not everything must become public. This system of Sotah has committed. He must then make restitution of the stems from a very private issue and then gradually principle plus a 20% surcharge and give it to the victim of becomes a very public display until the resolution which is this crime.” The Rambam in his legal code of highly public. It seems that the pressure of the public Torah does not identify the mitzvah to do Teshuvah, to display is necessary in order to create a proper resolution repent to God. It is not listed as one of the 613 to an otherwise damaging situation. The connection commandments (the Ramban on the other hand does list between expelling those who are impure from the camp is Teshuvah as one of the 613). The Rambam does quote this an attempt to purify the entire Camp of Israel. This is also verse as the source to require a person to orally confess his within that same subject. (RED) sins. This he describes as a biblical commandment. I would see this is the way the Rambam has initially formulated the 4. The next chapter is the law of the Nazir, the person mitzvah of Teshuvah as a fundamental necessity to orally who takes a vow to God. He separates himself from confess his sin. One needs to analyze how confession wine products, isolates himself, has no contact with a works as an integral part of the Teshuvah. It is an attempt corpse and grows his hair long. This entire process is in to re-create oneself; in essence to say, “I am not the same order for this individual, male or female, to be involved in an person I was before – I am a different person entirely…” attempt to re-create his personality. At the very end of the (RED) period of the vow the Torah describes that he drinks again, and the Torah in that verse (6:21) refers to the person again 2. The next paragraph of the Torah describes at length as a Nazir. The Torah is perhaps saying that he has not the incident of the Sotah, the suspected adulteress. This is changed at all, just that he was called a Nazir initially but he a highly unusual halachah in the Torah because it is is still called a Nazir afterward because he is going back dependent totally upon divine intervention to resolve the and drinking. Perhaps that is why he is bringing a particular issue. In the name of the Vilna Gaon the following Sin Offering at the end. The chances that he can re-create difficulty is recorded. The Torah states beforehand that a himself in such a short time are small. To develop new person has to bring certain gifts to the Kohen. An individual habits and change one’s character to conduct oneself in a who denies the gifts of the Kohen will eventually require the better way takes monumental effort. A slow process is more Kohen’s assistance because he will be bringing his wife as effective than the radical change in this particular case. a suspected adulteress. Yet at the very end of the Sotah (RED) portion our Sages state that the whole process will not work if the husband has been sinful. The Vilna Gaon says the 5. Chapter 6 ends with the description of the priestly sins of the husband are not necessarily the same benediction, the Birkat Kohanim. The Kohanim who get up orientation as the wife’s. If we combine the statements of and bless us are not necessarily the most learned of our Sages in the beginning and the end then we would individuals. They are a family among the tribes of Israel. We conclude that the whole law of Sotah will not work because have learned to revere the Kohanim and for the most part the reason the man is bringing his wife is because he failed during the times of the made sure the Kohanim to give the required gifts to the Kohen. In other words he participated as members of the Sanhedrin. But it is not a had sinned and we learn at the end that if he does possess requirement that each Kohen learn a certain volume of sins then the Sotah resolution will not happen. This leaves halachic material or be intellectually gifted in order to bless us with a problem in understanding properly the process. I everyone else. The question is why put people in this would think that the Vilna Gaon is pointing out in the

" position to give blessings if they are not the most HAFTORAH intellectually gifted in the Torah society? Perhaps the (p. 602 Hz) (p. 835 S) (p. 890 Hi) (p. 1181 AS) sincerity of the brachah is inherent within the Torah’s JUDGES system. In other words the Kohanim involved were sustained by the 24 different types of priestly gifts given to There were certain personalities in the Bible who were them by the people. Hence the Kohanim truly wanted the considered but not exactly like the Nazir described people to be blessed so they would succeed economically in the Torah. One such type of Nazir is Shimshon () in the material world. It was to their benefit because they who is referred to as a Nazirite to God because his vow was are dependent upon the people to give them. This makes imposed upon him by an angel of God. Several laws were sense in the old system during Temple times, but how unique to Shimshon besides the length of the vow (from about today? Today we understand that we are all together birth to death). One law was that some of the Nazirite law in the same boat. If there is financial stability and we are was imposed upon his mother during the pregnancy. Most able to succeed materialistically then everybody can share important was that Shimshon was permitted to be in contact in the abundance of the success. Hence the brachah they with a dead body (, Nazir 4). This was permitted give us is one they wish to receive for themselves as well. since Shimshon's life was dedicated to fighting the In this way I can understand very well that since we are all Philistines who desecrated the Holy Ark. To take revenge in the same boat that their continuing the family tradition is against the Philistines, he was required to kill with the sword one that is important to us and important to them as well. and with his hands. Similar to Shimshon, the prophet (RED) Shmuel was also a Nazir for his entire life, and the vow was imposed upon him (by his mother) and not initiated by him. 6. The first of the priestly benedictions is, “May God bless A third form of Biblical Nazirite was the vow taken by you and keep watch over you” (6:24). This brachah is Avshalom (King David's son). He took his vow as an adult, financial and materialistic. Rashi mentions that God will and the vow would last until his death. He was permitted to bless us with financial gain, and then in the second clause cut his hair once in twelve months. “watch over us” is that He will protect us so that people would not steal the advancement that we have received. SHABBAT HALACHAH The Netivot suggests that when a person is successful in finances the tendency, as the Torah describes to us, is that The technical discussion of Shabbat ball playing that person will “wax fat and kick.” This means that a involves questions of carrying on Shabbat and the surface person’s success will lead him to arrogance and rebellion upon which the playing occurs. Another halachic against God’s decrees. So perhaps the priestly benediction, dimension to the question is the proper use of Shabbat according to the Netivot, is that God will bless us with time. Adults and older children (even prior to Bar Mitzvah financial success and then watch over us in a sense that age) are advised to refrain from playing ball on Shabbat and we will not succumb to the normal repercussions of to devote their time to learning and to activities more in financial success. We will not rebel and will continue to keeping with the holiness of the day. We do not stop have dedicated allegiance to the teachings of Torah. smaller children from playing ball provided that they are playing in an area wherein one is permitted to carry (i.e. 7. The Torah describes to us the fact that the Kohanim indoors or in an area within an Eruv.) Furthermore, one is lift up their hands to bless us. Only the Kohanim do this. not permitted to play ball on a ground that is not paved or [When I bless my children and grandchildren, I do not put surfaced. This would be a violation of leveling the ground both my hands on their heads because I am not a Kohen. I or possibly digging a hole in the ground. do put one hand on the child’s head, but not two. See the Torah Temimah on this verse.] We really need to ask why is it necessary for the Kohanim to extend their hands or for that matter for me to even extend one hand. A brachah can be given orally. Hopefully an oral brachah is effective. Certainly when I give a brachah to my child or grandchild over the telephone I believe that it is an effective brachah. But even more effective is a brachah that is combined with the action of raising one’s hand or hands. This indicates a willingness to combine the oral blessing with active deeds. Hands indicate a willingness to do good deeds. (RED)

8. Parshat Naso is the longest parsha in the Torah because of the repetition that dominates the latter part of Torah Dialogue sponsored by Batsheva, Mordechai, the sidrah. Each tribal prince brings the exact same Yaffa, and Nava Shekhter in honor of their sacrifice to the dedication of the Altar. Why does the Torah brother Avichai's Bar Mitzvah give a separate paragraph for each prince? Why not lump all their gifts into one paragraph since they were identical?