Rabbi Frand on Parshas Naso
This dvar Torah was adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher
Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape # 195,Birchas
Kohanim. Good Shabbos!
This week's "RavFrand" shiur is dedicated by the Chait family l'iluy nishmas
(in memory of) Russie Chait, Rus Elisheva bas HaRav Chaim Ozer, on the
occasion of her 2nd Yarzheit, 10 Sivan.
Naso - A Redundant Word Introduces the Sotah Portion
In this week's parsha, we learn about a Sotah - a woman who is suspected by
her husband of unfaithfulness. The Torah prescribes a special mixture,
"Sotah water" to ascertain whether or not the suspicion is correct. As a
result of drinking this mixture, the woman either dies or is vindicated and
blessed.
The pasuk [verse] begins with the words "Ish ish..." ["Any man," or
literally "Man, man"] "whose wife goes astray..." [Bamidbar 5:12]. It is
peculiar that the Torah employs this style of "Ish ish" to connote the idea
of "any man". The normal way to convey that message is by using the term
"ish" [man] only one time.
I saw an interesting comment from Rav Moshe Chafetz. Rav Chafetz explains
that the Torah is using the extra "ish" to tell us that sometimes the
situation of the suspected wife results from the husband being too much of
an "ish". The husband asserts himself too much -- the "ish" is too
demanding. The man is too interested in the "ish" part of the marriage and
not enough in the "isha" [woman, wife] part of the marriage.
If I had to pick one word to describe the quality or fault upon which most
marital problems begin, I would have to pick the word "selfishness". And
the word that I would pick to describe the key to a successful marriage is
"selflessness".
Most problems, whether money problems or in-law problems -- all the
problems that we know which contribute to unhappy marriages -- usually stem
from the fact that people are too insistent on themselves and for
themselves. They are not compromising enough. They are not willing to give
in enough.
Sometimes the problem is the husband asserting too much of the "ish" part
of the marriage, and sometimes the problem is the wife asserting too much
of the "isha" part of the marriage. Marriages have problems when one of the
partners places too much of an emphasis on him or herself. When marriages
have such problems, Sotah situations can develop.
Rash"i cites a famous Chazal, which asks: Why does the parsha of Sotah
follow immediately after that of one who neglects to bring the proper gifts
of Priesthood to the Kohain? The answer given is that if one does not take
care of the Kohain by providing the proper gifts, one day he will find
himself needing the Kohain to take care of his wife's "Sotah water".
The Torah Temimah explains the connection between the two. The reason why a
person does not give the proper items to the Kohain is because he is
stingy, cheap, and selfish. Those are also reasons that can cause Sotah
problems -- a stingy and selfish individual will also not have a giving and
selfless relationship with his wife. A lack of generosity of spirit and
refusal to compromise in marriage is bound to lead to Sotah situations.
Yaakov's Connection to the Sheep
The majority of the parsha is devoted to the sacrifices that were brought
by the Princes of the Tribes. Each Nasi [Prince] brought a single young
bull (par echad), a single ram (ayil echad) and a single sheep (keves echad).
Rash"i explains that the young bull represents Avraham, as it says "He
brought a young bull" [Bereshis 18:7]; the Ayil represents the ram of
Yitzchok, as it says "And he took the ram" [Bereshis 22:13]; and the Keves
represents Yaakov, corresponding to the verse "And Yaakov separated the
sheep" [Bereshis 30:40].
The Torah references each of the sacrifices to the essence of one of the
Avos [Patriarchs]. What is the essence of Avrohom? Avrohom is the master of
Chessed [kindness]. Therefore, by mentioning a young bull, the Medrash
marshals an example of Avrohom's kindness - when Avrohom ran to the herd to
bring a young bull to feed the Angels. The essence of Yitzchok is Gevurah
[spiritual strength]. The Torah portrays this attribute of Yitzchak's Awe
and Fear of G-d through the Akaidas Yitschak - the Binding of Isaac.
Therefore, the ram alludes to Yitschak.
We are able to understand that the first two references epitomize Avrohom
and Yitzchak. However, how does the incident with Lavan's sheep represent
the essence of Yaakov? Why does the Medrash use that pasuk?
Rav Bergman, in his sefer [book] Sha'arei Orah, points out that the reason
why Yaakov separated the sheep was to insure that Lavan would not have the
slightest suspicion that Yaakov was trying to cheat.
Yaakov wanted all of his sheep to be one kind and all of Lavan's sheep to
be another kind, so that Lavan would not be able to claim that Yaakov took
any of his sheep. Yaakov made great efforts, not only to avoid actual
theft, but also to avoid even the slightest suspicion of theft. This
illustrates Yaakov's essence: Give Truth to Yaakov [Michah 7:20]. That one
sheep (keves echad) symbolizes the attribute of Yaakov: honesty above reproach.
It is interesting that in the Yotzros of Hoshannah Rabbah, the author of
the poem "Ta'aneh Emunim" (Answer the Faithful) describes Yaakov as "the
one who peeled rods at the troughs of water". Is this is all that the
author can think of to tell us about Yaakov? What about telling us about
Yaakov learning in the Yeshivah of Shem and Ever for 14 years? What about
fathering the 12 Tribes?
Here too, the answer is the same. Yaakov's honesty and truth is his
essence. Even when dealing with a crook like Lavan, Yaakov goes out of his
way to be faithful in his dealings. Therefore, the sheep and the peeled
rods of Yaakov do represent Yaakov's essence - that of Emes - Truth.
Glossary
Kohain -- Priest
Chessed -- kindness
Gevurah -- (Spiritual) Strength
Yotzros -- Liturgical poems
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi
Yissochar Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah
portion (#195). The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is:
Birchas
Kohanim. The other halachic portions for Parshas Naso from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection
of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from
Project Genesis, 1-410-654-1799.
