YNA Newsletter Naso 1 of 7
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YNA Newsletter Naso 1 of 7 In This Issue Parshat Naso HaRav Nebenzahl on Parshat Naso "Man's Relationship with this World" Staff Dvar Torah By Rav Kenny Hirschhorn " Parshat Nasso and The End Of The Year In Yeshiva" Netiv Hachinuch "LETTER COMMENDING SCHOOLS TEACHING LAWS OF LOSHON HARA " Shabbatons Galore Petuchei Chotam on Parshat Naso Even though this week is an "Out Shabbat", there is still plenty of Yeshiva activity Dedications, Mazal Tov's, happening all around Israel. T ehilim List The entire Shana Bet has a Shabbaton in Neve Daniel. Join Our List Rav Shaul Weisner's Shana Alef shiur is having a Shabbaton at his house in Ramat Links Shlomo. yna.edu The British students are having a Shabbaton in Ramat Beit Shemesh with the director Ask Rav Nebenzahl of the British Programme Rabbi Mark Mays. Suggestion Box Alumni Update Form Shabbat Times Contact Us This week will be an out Shabbat, and there will be no davening in the Yeshiva. Candlelighting- 7:04 PM HaRav Nebenzahl on Parshat Naso HaRav Nebenzahl asks that his Divrei Torah are not read during Tefillah or the Rabbi's sermon. "Man's Relationship with this World" THE NAZIR - SINNER OR TZADDIK? This week's Parsha elaborates greatly on the Mitzvah of the Nazir. The Torah informs us that a Nazir who defiles his sanctity by coming in contact with a dead body must bring an asham-offering (see Bamidbar 6:12). At first glance it would appear that this offering serves to atone for his having violated one of the precepts of his vow. The difficulty with this approach is that the halacha demands this offering even from one who cannot be held accountable for becoming "tamei", as the pasuk itself states: "if a person should die near him with quick suddenness" (Bamidbar 6:11). The Nazir is deemed guilty of violating the terms of his Nezirut, in spite of the general principle that "Hashem exempts one in extenuating circumstances" (Avoda Zara 54a). It would appear that YNA Newsletter Naso 2 of 7 the Torah is teaching us that had the Nazir been on a higher level, Hashem would not have brought about a contingency in which his sanctity would be defiled. The fact that Hashem placed him in a situation in which he became "tamei", albeit not through his choosing, indicates something lacking in the Nazir and it is for this that he must bring this guilt-offering. It is not only the Nazir who becomes "tamei" who must bring an offering associated with a sin. The Nazir who successfully completes his Nezirut is required to bring a Korban Chatat (see Bamdibar 6:13-14). Why should someone who meticulously carried out all the demands placed upon him be required to bring a sin-offering? Did he not abstain from drinking wine, cutting his hair, and becoming "tamei" as the Torah requires? Why then must he bring a Korban reserved for one who has sinned? In the view of one opinion in the Gemara: "'He shall offer atonement for having sinned concerning the soul' (Bamidbar 6:11), and concerning which soul has this Nazir sinned? Rather he has distressed himself from wine" (Taanit 11a). (The pasuk quoted by the Gemara refers to one who has become tamei in the midst of his Nezirut, yet the same reasoning applies to one who has completed his term of purity as well. Although one view in the Gemara reserves the term "sinner" for the Nazir who violated the terms of his Nezirut by becoming "tamei", there is an opinion that a Nazir who remains "tahor" is also deemed a sinner. Whether he is referred to as a sinner or not, the fact remains that a Nazir who remains "tahor" until the conclusion of his term of Nezirut must bring a sin-offering.) This approach in Chazal states that becoming a Nazir is in and of itself sinful. The A-lmighty has provided us with many pleasures in this world one of which is wine - what gave this man the right to deprive himself of this enjoyment of Hashem's creation? According to the Gemara his sin is simply that he deprived himself of wine, it is not that he did not recite Kiddush over wine, because this Mitzvah could have been fulfilled by hearing the Kiddush from someone else. Chazal, however, teach us that there are times when it is proper for a person to take upon himself the vow of Nezirut. In response to the question of why the section dealing with Nazir immediately follows that of Sotah, Chazal answer "To tell you that anyone who sees a Sotah in her state of disgrace should take upon himself to abstain from wine" (Sotah 2a). Wine, is a cause of much sin, and anyone who witnesses too much corrupt behavior should take upon himself more stringent behavior than that required of the average person as a way of setting boundaries or fences for himself to protect the levels of holiness. Yet Chazal refer to the Nazir as a holy man (as the Torah states: "holy shall he be" (Bamidbar 6:5)). He is not a sinner! On the contrary he is holy. In general, the Tanach views Nezirut as something positive as well. The prophet states: "I established some of your sons as prophets and some of your young men as nazirites" (Amos 2:11). This would indicate that Nezirut is very close to the level of prophecy which is associated with Ruach HaKodesh. I cannot say whether or not the Nazir has the prophet's ability to see into the future, yet what is clear is that the Nazir appears to be a holy individual not far below the level of prophet. THE NAZIR - TWO TYPES Perhaps the reason for this dichotomy is because there are two sorts of Nezirim. On the one hand we find Avshalom, the son of David. He may have been a Nazir who grew his hair and kept the other laws of Nezirut, yet he was a very bad person. He fought against his father and almost murdered him in addition to his other treacherous acts. In the end he was hanged from his own hair as it became caught in a tree and he was unable to escape. The level of his Nezirut was unable to save him. On the other hand, we find Shimshon HaGibor. He became a Nazir after an angel informed his mother that she would give birth to a son who would then become one. From that point on she refrained from partaking of anything that was forbidden to the Nazir such as wine. Shimshon's Nezirut was what gave him the strength to battle the Plishtim and save the Jewish nation. In his case observing of the Nezirut was fulfillment of a great Mitzvah. Futhermore, there is a view in Chazal that the prophet Shmuel was a Nazir. According to this opinion it was his mother who caused him to become a Nazir. Why would his mother wish for him to become a Nazir? I believe that Chana came to pray for a son on the same day that Eli HaKohen became the leader of Klal Yisrael. When did Eli become the leader? Following the death of Shimshon. Chana wanted to have a son that would continue in the path of Shimshon, the Nazir who battled the Plishtim. (We can read of Shmuel's battles with the Plishtim and the Plishtim escaping in the Tanach). How can we understand this paradox -at on the one hand the Nazir is viewed as acting sinfully while on the other hand he is viewed as having achieved a special level of Kedusha? The Tanach's view seems to be that Nezirut is holy. The Torah commands us "kedoshim tihyu" "you shall be holy" (Vayikra 19:2). What does it mean to be holy? Chazal interpret this as "prushim tihyu" "you shall separate" (Yalkut Shimoni Parshat Kedoshim remez 604) keep yourself as far away from sin as possible. BEING HOLY = BEING SEPARATE The Messilat Yesharim explains this concept of "prushim". On the one hand a person may not avoid partaking of the pleasures of this world, as Chazal tell us: "a person is destined to be judged on all that his eyes saw and he did YNA Newsletter Naso 3 of 7 not enjoy" (Yerushalmi end of Kiddushin). The Talmud brings the story of certain Amoraim who would pool their pennies together in order to purchase each species of fruit at least once a year in order to recite "shehecheyanu", a blessing thanking the A-lmighty for this wonderful world He has given us. A person will be judged for all that he has seen in this world and did not partake of. This does not imply that we need to eat everything we see in the grocery store, but it means that we should try to taste from the many different sorts of foods. We should not avoid the pleasures of this world, yet we should not eat all day long. A person should eat only when he is in need of food, and when that happens he should not avoid seeking the best fruits he has. The Messilat Yesharim cites an adage from Chazal "filling the stomach ranks among the types of evils" (Brachot 32a), yet we should not abstain from the pleasures of this world for no apparent reason. In short our aim should be to eat whatever we need to serve Hashem. In order to remain healthy we have to eat, but not too much.