In Parshat Naso (Bamidbar 6:23-26) we are given the formula for Birkat
Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing:

This is
how you shall bless B’nai Yisrael, saying to them: May God bless you and
protect you. May God cause His countenance to shine upon you and favor you. May
God lift His face to you and grant you peace.

In
Israel, the Kohanim bless the congregation with the Birkat Kohanim every day,
while outside of Israel it is only performed on the holidays. The Rama in
Darchei Moshe on Orach Chayim 128:21 explains why:

In
those lands, where the Kohanim and the Jewish nation are worried about
supporting themselves while living in exile, they are not in a state of
happiness and therefore the custom is that Birkat Kohanim is only performed on
Yom Tov.

Birkat
Kohanim ends with the word peace. There is a discussion in the Talmud, Rosh
HaShana 18b about peace:

Rav Ḥana bar
Bizna said that Rabbi Shimon Ḥasida said: What is the meaning of that which is
written: “Thus said the Lord of hosts: The fast of the fourth month (17^th
of Tamuz), and the fast of the fifth (Tisha B’Av), and fast of the seventh
(Tzom Gedalia), and the fast of the tenth (10 B’Tevet), shall become times of
joy and gladness, and cheerful seasons, to the house of Yehuda” (Zechariah
8:19)? It calls them days of “fast” and it calls them “times of joy and
gladness.” How so? When there is peace, they will be times of joy and gladness,
but when there is no peace, they are days of fasting.

What is meant
by “peace”?

According to
Rashi, peace is when the non-Jews are not attacking Israel.

Rav David
Avraham Spector comments:

We are at peace
when the Jewish people are an independent and sovereign nation in the Land of
Israel. When the Jewish people have internal peace within ourselves, we will
have outward peace with the nations of the world. The Maharsha taught: When you
have peace amongst yourselves, it will be a happy time. The next step will be
the building of the Beit HaMikdash.

May we merit to
have peace amongst ourselves, with our neighbors and with all of the nations of
the world. May this war come to an end and may all of the hostages be returned
home.

In the Haftara for Parshat Naso
(Shoftim 13:2-25), we read the opening of the story of Shimshon. Interestingly,
the introductory passage (verse 1) which explains why we are in need of a good
leader is left out: “B’nai Yisrael continued to do what was evil in the eyes of
God, and God delivered them into the hand of the Plishtim for 40 years.” 

Shimshon is totally different from
the other judges in the book of Shoftim. Rather than being selected as a leader
later in life, God determined that Shismshon would be the leader even before he
was born. The angel appeared to Manoach’s wife (Shoftim 13:3-5) who was unable
to conceive a child and explained that she would conceive and give birth to a
son. She was then told: “And now, be careful not to drink wine nor strong
drink, and not anything contaminated. For you shall conceive and give birth to
a son; a razor shall not come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazir to
God from the womb, and he will begin to save Israel from the hands of the
Plishtim.”

Shimshon’s mission was already laid
out: to begin to save Israel from the hands of the Plishtim.

Radak explains that it says “he will
begin to save Israel from the Plishtim” because he would begin the task but he
would not complete it, because his salvation would only be partial.

Radak also mentions that the earlier
judges didn’t fight the Plishtim.

Ramban points out that some of the
judges did in fact fight the Plishtim to some extent but not the way that
Shimshon did. In Breisheet 49:16 on the words “Dan shall judge his people” Ramban
explains that Yaakov’s blessing to Dan is referring to Shimshon who will later
come from the tribe of Dan. The Plishtim wronged Israel many times. In the days
of Shamgar ben Anat they began their oppression of Israel and in the days of
Yiftach and after in the days of Abdon ben Hillel. There was none among the
judges who subdued them or had any victory over them. With Shismshon, it says
that “he will begin to save Israel from the Plishtim” and he avenged the cause
of Israel from them for he slew many people and killed all of the lords of the
Plishtim. It says “Dan shall judge” since this avenger was a judge, not a king.

In the Talmud, Sotah 10a we learn that
the previous judges were inhibited by Avraham’s covenant with Avimelech, king
of the Plishtim in Breisheet 21:22-24:      

At that time, Avimelech and Pichol,
his general said to Avraham, “God is with you in all that you do. Now swear to
me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me nor with my son nor with
my grandson; according to the kindness that I have done for you, do with me,
and with the land in which you have sojourned.” And Avraham said, “I will
swear.”

Rabbi Chama B’Rabbi Chanina said:
The oath of Avimelech was desecrated, and therefore no longer in effect. Since
the Plishtim were the first to violate the oath, by subjugating the Jews,
Shimshon was not bound to it either.

Shimshon was different from the
other judges as he worked alone. While the others called up their troops and
went out to battle, Shimshon used his God given strength to fight by himself.
We even see the tribe of Yehuda trying to turn him in to the Plishtim so that
their plight won’t get worse. We don’t see the nation praying, repenting or
doing anything else that would make them worthy of salvation and therefore
Shimshon is not able to complete the job and the Plishtim continue to haunt
B’nai Yisrael in the book of Shmuel under the leadership of Kings Saul and
David.

In the middle of the story of
Shmishon, Shoftim 15:20, which is not in our Haftorah, we are told that “[Shimshon]
judged Israel in the days of the Plishtim for 20 years.” That verse marks the
end of the successful part of his career.

Shimshon’s downfall is in Gaza as
described in the Talmud, Sotah 9b: Rebbi says: The beginning of his downfall
was in Gaza, he was therefore smitten in Gaza. He married Delilah and finally
gave her the secret to his strength. She cut off his hair and the Plishtim
poked out his eyes. They put him in prison and then put him on display. At that
point he prayed (Shoftim 16:28): “My Lord, HaSem Elokim! Remember me and
strengthen me just this one time, O God and I will exact vengeance from the
Plishtim for one of my two eyes.” He forcefully grasped the pillars and the
building collapsed on everyone who was inside. He killed more people in his
death than in his lifetime.

We see that up to the moment that he
died, he continued fighting as many enemies as possible. The prophecy that the
angel gave his mother came true: “he will begin to save Israel from the hands
of the Plishtim.” Since the rest of the nation was not united behind him, he
was unable to finish the job that would soon fall in the laps of the future
kings of Israel.

We see from the story of Shimshon
that we have always had issues in Gaza and we learn from Shimshon that we must
do our best to defend ourselves from those who want to destroy us.

In Parshat Naso we will read Birkat
Kohanim (The Priestly Blessing). Throughout the world, on Shavuot, as well as
on the other festivals, the Kohanim will bless the congregation with these same
words. In many parts of Israel, the Kohanim bless the congregation every day.

The command to Aharon and his sons
(the Kohanim) to bless the congregation is very specific in Bamidbar 6:23-26, “This
is how you shall bless B’nai Yisrael, saying to them: May God bless you and
protect you. May God cause His countenance to shine upon you and favor you. May
God lift His face to you and grant you peace.”

Rabbi Shimshon Rephael Hirsch points
out:

The Kohen who blesses is just an instrument,
a medium through which the bracha is expressed. The death of the two sons of
Aharon (Vayikra 10) the first heirs of the kehuna emphasized the irrevocable
law that only service “which God had commanded” could be considered service.
Service “which God had not commanded”- human deeds and machinations constitutes
something alien and the very opposite of the service desired by God. This same
principle applied to Birkat Kohanim- “This is how you shall bless B’nai Yisrael”-
only this way and no deviation whatsoever is permitted…Only after being
summoned by the congregation do they recite the bracha, with the representative
of the congregation acting as the prompter so that the congregation invokes the
divine blessing through the vocal medium of the Kohanim.

In the Harftara for Naso, Shimshon’s
mother is told that he will be a Nazir from the womb which means that he will
not be allowed to have anything from the grapevine, wine, aged wine and
anything contaminated and he will not be allowed to get a haircut.

Both the Kohanim and Shimshon were
born into a special status with special responsibilities (all of the other
nazirim take nazirut upon themselves for limited amounts of time).

Shimshon did try hard to keep up
with being a nazir as we see in Shoftim 14:5:

“Then Shimshon and his parents went
down to Timna, and they came to the vineyards of Timna and behold a young lion
roared against him.”

Malbim asks what happened to his
parents, as they were just with him. He concludes that they went with him as
far as the vineyard. They went through the vineyard but Shimshon didn’t as the
Talmud advises the Nazir to make a detour and not go through a vineyard.

We also see how extremely careful
Shimshon was not to let the Plishtim know that his strength was in his hair
until he finally succumbed to Delilah.

Nechama Leibowitz points out that
Shimshon did not conduct himself like the Nazirite of God, like the man charged
with the Divine mission of saving Israel. He wasted his strength. Abstention
from drink and shaving are purely external signs of the Nazir but they cannot
make him a saint. Unfortunately he chose a wife from the Plishtim in spite of
his parent’s protestations.

We see from here that when God chooses
us for a specific mission, we have a lot to live up to. This includes each and
every member of the Jewish people, as well as subgroups such as Kohanim and Leviim.
We are expected to follow what we are commanded and not deviate from the laws
in the way that Aharon’s sons and Shimshon did.

May we all receive only blessings.

In Parshat Naso (Bamidbar 7:2) we
read: “The princes of Israel (nesiim), the heads of their fathers’ household,
brought offerings; these were the princes of the tribes, they stood by during
the counting.

According to Bamidnar Raba 12:17, the
princes of the tribes were the officers (shotrim) who were appointed
over B’nei Yisrael while they were slaves in Egypt as it says in Shmot 5:14, “The
officers of B’nei Yisrael were beaten- those whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had
appointed- and were told, ‘Why have you not completed your quotas of brick
making as you did yesterday and before neither yesterday, nor today?’”

Shmot Raba 2:20 adds: The officers
took the beatings in place of B’nei Yisrael so that the nation as a whole would
be spared. From here we see that the officers of Israel were ksherim, good people who gave themselves over to
suffer on behalf of B’nei Yisrael and endured the beatings of the Egyptian taskmasters.
Therefore, these officers merited to have Ruach Hakodesh, Divine Spirit.

In Bamidbar 11:15 God said to Moshe: “Gather
seventy men for Me, from among the elders of Israel, men whom you know to be
the people’s elders, and its officers, and you shall take them to the Tent of
Meeting and they shall stand there with you.”

Rashi states that Moshe knew these
men since they were the same appointed officers over Egypt for the body
breaking labor. Let them be appointed now, in their greatness, just as they
suffered when they were oppressed.

We see from here that the princes
did not appear out of nowhere. Rather, they worked hard protecting B’nei
Yisrael and each and every one sincerely earned his title.

We see a similar phenomenon in
Israel today. Many of our leaders were oppressed in their country of origin as
they fought for the rights of the Jews to study Hebrew and make aliya. Later,
when they were finally able to make aliya, they naturally became leaders in the
State of Israel. Two personalities who specifically stand out are Yuli
Edelstein and Natan Sharansky, both prominent Prisoners of Zion who made aliya
and eventually served in the Knesset. Yuli Edelstein is now the speaker of the
Knesset while Natan Sharansky is the Chairman of the Jewish Agency. Just like
the nesiim, after all of their suffering they were granted the
opportunity to become true leaders of Israel.

In the Haftara for Parshat Naso, we
read the beginning of the story of Shimshon (Shoftim 13:2-25).

The story begins with the words:
“There was a certain man of Tzorah, of the family of the Danite, and his name
was Manoach; his wife was barren and had not given birth.”

What stands out here is that the
man’s name is mentioned but his wife’s name is not.

In the Talmud, Bava Batra 91a, Rav
Chanan bar Rava said in the name of Rav: “Shimshon’s mother was Tzlelponit
(Hatzlelponi)”, a woman who is mentioned in Divrei Hayamim I 4:3.

The Gemara asks why it is necessary
to list the names of women whose names are not specified and then answers that
these facts are stated as a response to the heretics who may ask why their
names were not listed. Rashbam explains that we can tell the heretics that
these names were transmitted to us through the oral tradition.

What is the meaning of the name Hatzlelponi?

According to Bamidbar Raba 10:5, she
is called Hatzlelponi since she saw the angel (who looks like a shadow- tzel)
and the word tzlel means angel as it is a vision, just like a shadow. Since she
was righteous the angel appeared to her.

If an angel is like a shadow (tzel),
then why is the word tzlel used, why isn’t she named Hatzelponi instead of
Hatzlelponi?

The answer in Bamidbar Raba is that since
the angel appeared to her twice, once in the city and once in the field, the
word angel is used in her name in the plural form. The first time the angel
told her that she is barren however she will give birth and that the child will
be a Nazir. The second time the angel returned to her after Manoach’s prayer
and then told Manoach: “Of everything that I spoke to the woman, she should
beware… (Shoftim 13:13).”  In other
words, the angel came specifically to see Manoach’s wife and to deliver the
message directly to her both times.

At the end of the Haftara we read
(Softim 13:24) “The woman gave birth to a son and she called him Shimshon, the
lad grew and God blessed him…”

We see from here that the words of
the angel did come true.

Manoach’s wife is listed by Otzar
HaMidrashim as one of the 23 most righteous Biblical women in Israel.

In Psikta D’Rav Kahana, seven barren
women are listed: Sara, Rivka, Rachel, Leah, Manoach’s wife, Chana and the City
of Jerusalem.

In the same way that our Biblical mothers
were finally able to give birth, may we continue to see more children being
born in Jerusalem. As these six women were no longer called barren, may the
city of Jerusalem never again be without her children surrounding her.

Sponsored by Sharona and Josh Halickman in Honor of
Michael Schwartz’s Bar Mitzvah

In Parshat Naso, Bamidbar 6:2-6 we read: “Speak to B’nai
Yisrael and say to them: if a man or a woman sets apart a vow, a nazarite vow,
to set himself/herself apart for God. From new or old wine, he/she must
abstain. Vinegar made from new wine and vinegar made from old wine he/she may
not drink; anything steeped in grapes he/she shall not drink; moist grapes or
raisins he/she shall not eat. As long as he/she is a Nazir, from anything made of
the grape-vine, from seeds to skin, he/she shall not eat. As long as he/she is
under nazirite oath a razor shall not pass over (to touch) his/her head. Until
he/she completes their days as a Nazir to God, they shall be sacred, he/she
shall let the hair of their head grow long. All of the days that he/she is a
Nazir to God, he/she shall have no contact with the dead…”

Usually when we think of a Nazir, we think of a man
(Shimshon from this week’s Haftara is the most famous Nazir). However, there
was a famous Nezira (female Nazir), Queen Helene, the queen of Adiabene, near Assyria who lived in the first century, CE and converted
to Judaism together with her family.

We learn about Queen Helene’s time as a Nezira from the
Mishna, Nazir 3:6:  “One who made a vow
for a prolonged period and completed their nazirite spell and afterwards came
to the Land of Israel, Beit Shammai say: they must continue as a Nazir for
thirty days. Beit Hillel say: they must be a Nazir all over again. Queen Helene
whose son went to war, said, ‘If my son returns safely from the war, I will be
a Nezira for seven years!’- her son came back from the war, and she became a Nezira
for seven years; at the conclusion of the seven years she came up to the Land
of Israel, Beit Hillel instructed her that she had to be a Nezira again for
seven more years; but at the end of the seven years she became unclean and she
found herself a Nezira for twenty-one years. Rabbi Yehuda said she should not
have been a Nezira for more than fourteen years.”

Queen Helene was a well respected woman and the Mishna has
no problem using her as an example of what happens when someone becomes a Nazir
outside of the Land of Israel.

The Mishna teaches that since Chutz La’aretz was considered
ritually unclean, one could not observe nezirut outside of the Land of Israel
and therefore had to go up to the Land of Israel in order to fulfill their vow
of nezirut.

There was no distinction between women and men. Once a
nazirite vow was made by a woman or a man, it had to be fulfilled in the Land of Israel.

In Parshat Naso, Bamidbar 6:23, God speaks to Moshe
regarding the Birkat Kohanim (Priestly Blessing) saying: “Speak to Aharon and
to his sons, saying: This is how you shall bless (tivarchu) Bnei Yisrael,
saying (amor lahem) to them…”

Why is necessary to have both “tevarchu”, bless them and
also “amor lahem”, say to them?

According to Rashi, “amor lahem” refers to the fact that
everyone must hear. It is not enough for B’nai Yisrael to be blessed, they must
hear the blessing.

In Bamidbar Raba 11:4 we learn: Do not bless them with haste
and rushing, rather with concentration (kavana) and a whole heart (lev shalem).

We see from here that the Kohanim must have a tremendous
amount of kavana when they are blessing us and we must listen carefully in
order to receive their blessing. According to the Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chaim
128:23, during Birkat Kohanim, the members of the congregation should face in
the direction of the Kohanim, look down and concentrate on the words (we should
not turn our backs to the Kohanim).

The Gemara in Chagiga 16a states: Rabbi Yehuda the son of
Rav Nachmani, the spokesman of Reish Lakish expounded: Whoever gazes at three
items causes his eyes to dim: a rainbow, a prince and Kohanim.

When was the part about not gazing at the Kohanim in effect?
When the Beit HaMikdash (Temple)
was standing and the Kohanim were on the platform and blessing the entire
nation with the “Shem HaMeforash”, the Ineffable Name of God. Under those circumstances,
the Divine Presence rested upon the knuckles of their outstretched hands.

Tosafot point out that even without the Beit HaMikdash, it
is forbidden to gaze at the Kohanim during Birkat Kohanim so as not to be
distracted from what they are saying.

We see from here that today we don’t look directly at the
Kohanim since looking at them could ruin our concentration. It is very
important for us to focus on the blessings that are being showered upon us.

May we all be blessed with the blessings of the Kohanim:

May God bless you and protect you

May God cause His countenance to shine upon you and favor
you

May God lift His face to you and grant you peace.

Birkat Kohanim- Every Day in Jerusalem

In Jerusalem, as well as in
many other parts of Israel
(excluding certain cities in the north who only have the custom on Shabbat) we
are blessed by the Kohanim every day.

In Chutz LaAretz (outside of Israel), Birkat Kohanim (The
Priestly Blessing) is only recited on the Shalosh Regalim- Pesach, Shavuot,
Sukkot and Yom Kippur.

The Sefer HaChinuch states that the Mitzvah of Birkat
Kohanim, where the Kohanim bless the Jewish people at Shacharit, Musaf and
Neilah is in force everywhere, at every time.

Why isn’t Birkat Kohanim recited every day or at least on
Shabbat in Chutz LaAretz?

Over the years of Galut (exile), different issues arose
which prevented or deterred the Kohanim from performing Birkat Kohanim. Some of
the questions that came up were: Are the Kohanim pure enough? Are they really
Kohanim or did they lose their lineage? Is there enough Kavanah (intent) during
the Tefila? Can Jews in Galut be happy on a regular basis or are they too concerned
with making a living and are therefore only happy on the holidays?

Rabbi Aryeh Tzvi Frummer z”tl, h”yd (1884-1943), Rosh
Yeshiva of Yeshivat Chochmei Lublin who was killed in the Holocaust wrote in
his work Eretz HaTzvi that according to the Talmud, Eruvin, the Kohen can’t
perform Birkat Kohanim if he is drunk. When one is in exile, it is as if they
are drunk since their thoughts are all confused. It would therefore not be
proper for them to lead Birkat Kohanim. However, on Yom Tov they are in a state
of happiness and are not involved in the confusion of exile so leading Birkat
Kohanim on the holidays would not be a problem.

Can those who are not in shul or not even in Israel still benefit
from the daily Birkat Kohanim that is recited on behalf of Am Yisrael?

We learn in the Talmud, Sotah 38b: Adda said in the name of
Rabbi Simlai: In a shul whose attendance consists of only Kohanim, all of the
Kohanim ascend to recite Birkat Kohanim. The Gemara asks: To whom is their
blessing addressed if no other congregants are present? Rabbi Zeira said: It is
addressed to their brothers who are working in the fields and therefore can’t
come to shul.

Even though Birkat Kohanim is not recited in Chutz La’Aretz
aside from on the holidays, the Jews throughout the world who can’t move to
Israel for whatever reason or the Jews in Israel who are unable to attend
services every day due to health or work related issues may still be included
in the blessings of the Kohanim in Jerusalem every day.

How ironic that a Charedi rabbi who lives in Jerusalem yet strongly opposes the Zionist State of Israel
suggests that Jews who live in Chutz La’Aretz should ask a Kohen in Jerusalem to have them in
mind during Birkat Kohanim. If we didn’t have the State of Israel would Kohanim
really be able to pray freely on behalf of Am Yisrael?

Sometimes we take the fact that we have the State of Israel
and the united city of Jerusalem
for granted, another reason why we need the blessings of the Kohanim.

The last words of Birkat Kohanim state: “Viyasem lecha
Shalom”, May God establish peace for you.

On this Yom Yerushalayim we pray that Israel will be at peace with her neighbors and
that the different Jewish communities within Israel will be at peace with one
another.

The Gemara in Ketubot 72a states that the source for a
married woman’s hair covering is found in Parshat Naso in the section dealing
with the Isha Sotah (wife who is suspected of being unfaithful) which would
mean that it is a Biblical prohibition for a married woman to leave her home
with her head uncovered.

It is written in Bamidbar, Naso 5:18: “The Kohen shall
station the woman before God and expose the woman’s hair (ufara et rosh
haisha), and place, on her palms the meal offering of remembrance; it is a meal
offering of jealousy and there will be in the Kohen’s hand, the bitter, lethal
waters.”

Rashi states that he disentangles the plaits of her hair to
humiliate her. From this we derive that, for daughters of Yisrael, a bare head
is debasing.

Rambam does not feel that a married woman’s requirement to
cover her head is Biblical as it is only hinted to in the Torah and therefore
he would qualify it as Rabbinic.

Tosafot explains that a married woman is not required to
cover her head at home or in her own courtyard.

Rabbi Zeira explains in Ketubot 72b that if women were
required to cover their heads even within their own courtyards “then you will
have not left our father Avraham a daughter who will remain living with her
husband!” In other words, if you are so strict then there will be no more
reputable women left.

Some women may choose to be more machmir (strict) and cover
their heads all of the time. The key here is that the women must have the
opportunity to learn the leniencies and stringencies and make an educated
decision of how they are going to observe the Halacha in a way that they are
comfortable with.

Parshat Naso describes the Nazir, a man or woman who voluntarily takes upon themselves three restrictions: They are forbidden to eat or drink grape products, their hair may not be cut and they may not be contaminated by a human corpse.

The Haftorah from Shoftim, Chapter 13 recounts the story of Shimshon, whose mother was told by an angel even before his birth that he must live his life as a Nazir.

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to stand in the territory of Dan “between Tzora and Eshtaol” (Shoftim/Judges 13:25), where Shimshon’s family lived as we traveled on a journey “In Search of the Plishtim”, beginning in Tel Bet Shemesh where “the spirit of God began to resound in Shimshon (Ibid)”.

One may ask why in Shoftim 13:24 the pasuk states: “The woman gave birth to a son and called him Shimshon”, without an explanation of where the name came from.

1. The name Shimshon is obviously from the root “Shemesh”, sun and therefore may not have needed a further explanation.

2. The sun was a Canaanite and mythological god and the Navi may not have wanted to associate with that allusion. The city of Bet Shemesh actually gets its name from the Sun god. I wonder how many residents of Bet Shemesh today are aware of that!

3. In the Gemara, Masechet Sotah 10a Rabbi Yochanan said: Shimshon is called by the name of God, as it is stated in Tehilim 84:12: “For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and honor: no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly”. Just as God protects the entire world, Shimshon protected Israel in his generation.

4. According to Maharsha, the suns rays can be harmful or beneficial. Shimshon’s activities helped the Jewish people and punished the Plishtim.

Since his mother knew what his mission would be she gave him the name Shimshon.

As we visited the cities of the Plishtim, we became increasingly aware of how small Israel is and how close the Plishtim lived to B’nai Yisrael.

Shimshon’s strength frightened the Plishtim but did not remove them and they continued to control the Land until the reigns of Saul and David.

We can learn from Shimshon the famous lesson from Pirkei Avot, The Ethics of Our Fathers: “Lo Alecha HaMlacha Ligmor”, “You are not required to complete the task, yet you are not free to withdraw from it”.