Filed under: Nazir
Nasso Bs”d
This is the longest parsha in the holy Torah. What is its great significance ?. This parsha has hidden within it is the format that will bring out righteous mashiach. Let us look closer. It says in the song of songs “The voice of the turtle is heard in our land”. The Zohar tells us the turtle is mashiach . As the parsha takes a long time to read, it takes the turtle long a long time to get there. As the day of Atonement may seem like a long day and creating the ashes, and water of purification of the Red Heifer is a long process. But as said by the Cohen Gadol on Yom Kipor “I shall sprinkle water on you and you shall be clean. Just as a fountain renders unclean clean so does Hashem make Yisrael clean”. May we all receive this water as the Torah is known as water.
In this parsha the first mention is to the family of the Levi, and their duties. It is by the duties of the Cohanaim that Yisrael is able to reach atonement through them. This is reflected in the service of Yom Kipor as first the Cohen Gadol offers a bullock as a sin offering for himself and his family. Then he can bring a goat as a sin offering to atone for all Yisrael. In the parsha after the explanation of the Levi and Cohen’s duties then laws are given concerning the purity of the camp. As by their duties as said before all Yisrael reach atonement. Next are listed the service of the sin offering, the sotah (test-adultery offering) and the mitzvah of the Nazir. Then are given instructions for the blessing by the Coheniam. The blessings which one may receive from Hashem are infinite. So lets look at the 2 mitzvot that precede the blessing of the Coheniam as a source of guidance as preparation so to receive the blessing of Hashem. Concerning the mitzvah sotah (adultery offering). Sotah in the Holy tongue literally means “to go astray, to be demented and foolish”. This is similar to what the Fredica Rebbe said “ A Jew acting in any way other then fulfilling what the Torah asks of him is suffering from a illness”. Rebbe Manachem Mendell tells us that the adulterous women of mitzvah Sotah is representative of the sins of all Yisrael. As Yisrael is the wife to Hashem. Any sin we do Go-d forbid causes exile of the Shechina.
To get a deeper understanding of the mitzvah of Sotah lets look to gematria as the letters of Sotah have the same gematria as וחקרת (and search). If we exchange the letters of Sotah in atbash it becomes אבנץ , in the month of אב both Temples were destroyed signifying a time of hardship, as the adulterer finds when she drinks the water. As the Gemora says that as the transgression starts in the thigh and ends in the womb, so does the punishment. Much like Avshalom who was caught up in the beauty of his hair, and took 10 of his father concubines. So he was killed with 10 lances and got caught up in a tree hung up by his hair. אב also means father as Hashem is everywhere even in the most severe corrections. The next 2 letter נץ means to sprout, flower and blossom. The time that the first light of a new day is revealed is called Netz. This all illudes to the blessing from the mitzvah of Sotah if the women did not sin, she being blessed with a Holy child. This all shows us as the Sotah may be displaced from her husband, and can prove herself and return in a moment. So can Yisrael on a ultimate level with the complete redemption. This is alluded to by the fact the Sotah is gematria 714 the same as ושחת (and spilled). This was when Onan spilled his seed refusing to fulfill the mitzvah of raising up seed with his dead brothers wife. From her lineage eventually comes Dovid haMelch, and will come Mashiach. 714 is also the gematria of הקטרת which is called “Holy of Holies”.
As the Sotah represents all transgression, the other mitzvah of our parsha the Nazir alludes to all sanctification as it says “You shall be Holy”. On a lower level the Nazerite vow was taken by people who felt prone toward illicit relations, but ultimately it was a way of ascending to receive spiritual gifts, prophesy. Permuting the letters of נזיר we have יר (to fear) זן (go astray). Fearing to go astray as said before was a reason for the Nazerite vow. Samuel the Prophet was a Nazir, peace unto him, also Shimshon. And all know of the spiritual strength that came through Shimshon’s hair. He was the strongest man who ever lived. The Nazerite vow is voluntary. We must chose to make ourselves holy. The mitzvah of the possible adulterer, is as a warning not to sin. As all sin is as harlotry.Nazir is gematria 267 the same as יראון (to see). May it be that by our sanctification in Holiness and Hashem’s great mercy that we will be able to see visions of Holiness with the arrival of our righteous mashiach quickly in our days.