"איש או אשה כי יפלא לנדור נדר נזיר וכו'" (במדבר ו-ב)
"A MAN OR WOMAN WHO EXPRESSES A NAZARITE VOW TO G-D…” (BAMIDBAR 6:2)
The Torah here speaks about the extraordinary greatness of the Nazir, who refrains from cutting his hair and drinking wine for thirty days. The Torah lauds and exalts him with praise upon praise. "He is holy… (BaMidbar 6:8);" he is not permitted to become tameh (impure) even to bury his immediate family (BaMidbar 6:7) just as the law states concerning a Kohen Gadol. The Torah even proclaims that the very crown of Hashem lies upon the Nazir’s head (BaMidbar 6:7)
The Baal HaTurim, (BaMidbar 6:7), provides us with additional insight into the holiness and purity of the Nazir. He explains why the Nazir is not permitted to become tameh (impure) even for his immediate family. For if the Shechina of Hashem would rest upon him due to his holy level of Nazirus, it should not be said that he is seeking assistance from the dead. People should not think that a Nazir, upon whom the Shechina could possibly rest, is beseeching the dead with prayers.
We see from this Baal HaTurim, a further indication of the hallowed and divine nature of the Nazir. The Nazir is even worthy of attaining the holiest of all levels, the status of having the Shechina itself rest upon him. If this is so, then in essence, he possesses the same qualities as a prophet upon whom the Shechina rests as well. Thus we see clearly from all of the above that the Nazir possesses extraordinary and indescribable greatness.
Which Jew among us is worthy of attaining these holiest of levels? Any Jew, even the simplest among us, can be the recipient of these glowing appellations. Even a young bar mitzvah bachurel of thirteen years of age who would accept upon himself the sacred vow of the Nazir not to imbibe wine nor cut his hair, could attain this greatness. He would be holy, comparable to the Kohen Gadol. He could be worthy of having the Divine Shechina rest upon him and thus be likened to a prophet. He may even wear the crown of the King of kings, HaKadosh Baruch Hu Hi Himself, on his head.
This is mystifying. What did the Nazir do to deserve all of this greatness? Doesn't Hashem usually reward each person according to his efforts? What extensive efforts did the Nazir do by merely refraining from cutting his hair and drinking wine for thirty days? Surely this required little effort, if any at all.
Furthermore, even if we were to say that the Nazir did exert much effort by refraining from cutting his hair and drinking wine, would he then be worthy of such extraordinarily disproportionate
rewards? Would he be worthy of being proclaimed by the Torah as holy, of being equated to the Kohen Gadol, and of being possibly on par with a prophet of Hashem? Should he be worthy of wearing the crown of Hashem on his head? Are not these incredible rewards way out of proportion to his efforts?
Perhaps, according to the Even Ezra's understanding of the meaning of Nazirus, these questions can be resolved. The Torah states, "Ish Ki Yafli" (BaMidbar 6:2), which the Even Ezra interprets to mean that the Nazir is doing something peleh, incredible. It is incredible because "most people of the world are in passionate pursuit of obtaining more and more temptations," while the Nazir, differentiating himself from the bulk of the population, is desperately trying to break free and to disassociate himself from these temptations. He sees his life as being meaningless, without direction. His life consists of nothing more than amassing more and more material gain and experiencing more and more physical pleasures, with little or no deeper thought whatsoever as to why he was created and what his duties are on earth, and what is expected of him. He consequently comes to the realization that he must stop this downward spiral, and infuse himself with spirituality. He thus, accepts upon himself the Nazirite vow to refrain from drinking wine and cutting his hair, in order to detach and break free from his meaningless pursuit of material and physical pleasures.
In light of the Even Ezra’s insight, our questions can now be answered. The greatness of the Nazir lies not merely from the fact that he abstains from cutting his hair and drinking wine for thirty days. This surely involves little or no effort and would certainly not warrant such great rewards. Rather, the greatness of the Nazir lies in his purpose and intent in refraining from involvement in these activities. He is embarking upon a bold and courageous mission.
He has taken upon himself to go out to battle against man's arch-enemy, the Yetzer Hara itself, head-on. What an extremely difficult path he has chosen! Not many people have the strength or the courage to be warriors setting out to "conquer their passions." The Nazir is the one with that innate greatness who strives to go against the trend of the masses, which is to indulge in all sorts of enticements and temptations. He goes "against his grain" of yearning for physical pleasures, and instead, he aspires to conquer his passions. The magnificent reward that the Torah bestows upon the Nazir is in direct proportion to the monumental effort that the Nazir puts forth in his fierce battle against the Yetzer Hara.
Although we are not suggesting actual Nazirus in our times due to various halachic constraints, nevertheless the concept and ideals of Nazirus are something that we certainly should aspire to achieve. Every Yiddisher neshama has that inherent potential within himself to attain the lofty spiritual level of the holy Nazir. The way to attain this heightened level of spirituality is to actively and aggressively go out to battle the adversary within us, the Yetzer Hara.
May we be zocheh to break away from our attachment to the materialistic pursuits of life, and thus embark on a new path in our lives – one that moves us in a direction of spiritual growth and spiritual elevation. Amen.
These weekly Parsha sheets are based on Shiurim delivered at Yeshiva Kesser Torah by HaRav Elyakim G. Rosenblatt, Shlita, Rosh HaYeshiva. This Shiurim is adapted from a Shiurim of Maran HaGaon HaRav Leib Chasman, ZT"L.
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