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“Speak to the Bnei Yisrael… man or woman who shall disassociate themselves by taking a Nazirite vow for the sake of Hashem.” (6:2)

Rashi cites Chazal who give a practical reason for the juxtaposition of the laws of Nazir upon those of the sotah, the wayward wife. They comment that one who sees a sotah in her degradation should take a Nazirite vow prohibiting himself from drinking wine. Drinking wine in excess may cause one to lose control of his faculties, so that he sins. We may question this rationale. If one sees the tragic results of promiscuity and wanton behavior is it still necessary to become a Nazir? After all, would the horrible sight of the sotah’s debasement and death not be…

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“Speak to Aharon and his sons, saying, so shall you bless the Bnei Yisrael.” (6:23)

The Kohanim are to serve as the vehicles through which Hashem’s blessing is bestowed upon Klal Yisrael. In order to transmit blessing one must maintain a harmonious relationship with the people. Indeed, Chazal teach us that a Kohen who does not “get along” with the people should not bless them. The Maharsham, zl, was bothered by the brachah which the Kohen recites prior to the blessing. He says, “And He commanded us to bless His nation Yisrael with love.” How does one express himself lovingly to all Jews? Does this “love” apply also to the rasha, wicked Jew, who has…

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“And it was on the day that Moshe finished setting up the Mishkan.” (7:1)

Rashi states that although it was Betzalel, Ohaliav and the entire crew of craftsmen who built the Mishkan, the Torah ascribes the honor to Moshe. His tenacious dedication to certitude that each artifact was made according to its exact dimensions, and that each craftsmen properly executed his task, earned him this distinction. The Midrash Tanchuma in Parashas Pekudei relates that Moshe asked Hashem, “How is it possible for a man to set up the walls of the Mishkan on his own?” On a simple level, Moshe, of course, is referring to the sheer physical weight of the beams, walls and…

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“On the second day, Nesanel ben Tzuar offered, the Nasi of Yisachar.” (7:12)

The Torah does not contain a single redundant letter. We can derive a lesson even from the different spellings of a given word. Why then is so much space devoted to the korbanos brought by the twelve Nesiim? Would it not have conceivably been appropriate to describe the korban of Nachshon ben Aminadav — who was the first Nasi to bring a sacrifice — then say that each of the other Nesiim followed suit? The commentators address this question and respond with various lessons to be derived from the repetition. The Midrash explains that although the twelve offerings were identical,…

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“A man or woman who shall disassociate himself by taking a Nazirite vow of abstinence for the sake of Hashem; from new or aged wine he shall abstain …” (6:2,3)

Rashi cites Chazal who explain the juxtaposition of the laws of the Nazir to the laws of the Sotah. They state that one who sees a Sotah in her state of degradation should take a Nazirite vow in order to enforce his abstinence from wine. The Sotah is a woman who has profaned herself by destroying the fidelity of her marriage. She has submitted to her passions by allowing her heart to overpower her mind. Wine stimulates the senses and catalyzes a behavior which, if not controlled, can be detrimental. By abstaining from wine and focusing on the lessons gleaned…

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“And the Nesiim brought their offering before the Altar.” (7:10)

Rashi states that Moshe did not accept the offerings from the Nesiim until he was instructed to do so by Hashem. The Netziv, z.l., attributes Moshe’s reluctance to accept their korbanos to the fact that they brought ketores, incense, to be offered upon the Mizbei’ach Ha’Chitzon, outer altar. As Rashi later notes (pasuk 14), we find incense offered neither by a yachid, individual, nor upon the outer altar, except for this instance.  It would seem that a special dispensation was made during the dedication of the mizbei’ach in regard to korbanos and the usual place where they were to be…

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“And the Nesiim brought their offering before the Altar.” (7:10)

The Torah goes on to enumerate the various gifts offered by the Nesiim for the dedication of the Mishkan. The Midrash notes that, although the korbanos were all identical, they are nonetheless each mentioned separately to indicate their individual uniqueness. Each Nasi formulated his gifts independently, reflecting his own ruach ha’kodesh, Divine inspiration, and symbolizing the various traits and history of his tribe.  Inasmuch as externally the korbanos were the same, their inner essence, the reasons and reflections behind them, differed, thereby creating twelve distinctive korbanos. Hence, the Torah lists them separately. We derive from here that although two activities…

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“Command the Bnei Yisrael that they send out of the camp every leper, and every zav, and whosoever is unclean by a (dead) person.” (5:2)

Horav Zalmen Sorotzkin z.l. offers a homiletic exposition of this pasuk. Many observant Jews ignore their co-religionists whom they notice acting in an offensive manner. When they see members of their community transgressing the Torah by desecrating Shabbos, eating non-kosher food, and acting reprehensibly, they delegate to the Rabbi the responsibility to chastise the offenders. These individuals refuse to get involved, claiming various lame excuses to justify their apathy to the public travesty against Hashem.  They feel that by sharing the details of their friends’ miscreancy with the Rabbi, they have fulfilled their requirements as Jews. Thus, they consider themselves…

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“Anything in which grapes have been seeped he shall not drink.” (6:3)

The Torah forbids the nazir to drink any intoxicating liquor or any beverage derived from grapes, even if it contains no alcohol. He may not even eat fresh or dried grapes. The prohibition includes water in which grapes had been briefly soaked, even if only a mere hint of the grapes had been present in the water. Chazal infer from this concept that the taste of a food is regarded as representative  of  the  food  itself,  or the taste is like the substance. In the Talmud Nazir 37b, Chazal also derive from this pasuk that when a half-measure of permitted…

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“Speak unto Aharon and unto his sons saying, so you shall bless the Bnei Yisrael.” (6:23)

Hashem commands that His blessing be conferred only by the kohanim. Horav Moshe Shternbuch, Shlita, suggests a practical reason for this. Regrettably, many people posit that the kohen and his present day counterpart, the Torah scholar are supported by the community without any reciprocation. Many individuals believe that if an individual is not “working” in the way that they are, he is not contributing to the community. This notion is, of course, categorically wrong.  The sustaining power of Klal Yisrael is manifest only through Torah and Torah scholars who devote their lives to its study and dissemination. This also applies…

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