Chinuch For Nezirus - Naso 5772

(האיש מדיר את בנו בנזיר). A man can make his son a Nazir. The Gemara says on the top line of 29a (אמר ריש לקיש כדי לחנכו במצות) this is to train him in doing Mitzvos. This idea is a Pliya as I guess you will all appreciate and understand that a man is Mechaneich his son to be a Nazir. What does that mean? What in the world is that supposed to mean? A person doesn’t need Chinuch to be a Nazir. A child will never be a Nazir unless he makes himself a Nazir.

The Maritz Chiyus in Nazir 29 asks this Kasha. What’s Shayich in a Mitzvah that will likely never happen to the child and he certainly never has to do? I would ask a second Kasha. We have a rule Ain Chinuch L’Aveilos there is no obligation to be Mechaneich a child in being an Avel in practicing Aveilos because Aveilos is Lo Shichichi. One of the reason given by Rishonim is it is not a common thing that occurs. Nezirus is certainly less common (Shichiach). Tzorech Iyun Gadol?

In the Keren Orah on Nazir 29 he says a beautiful Pshat. It very much ties to what we spoke about earlier. He says we are not Mechaneich a child to be a Nazir, we don’t anticipate that he will be a Nazir. However, we are Mechaneich a child in Perishus. In being able to push away his physical needs and physical desires in order to follow the commandments of the Torah. Nezirus is an example of that Chinuch, however, it is an extreme example. The idea that we are Mechaneich a child is this idea of being  Mecheneich a child to understand this very basic very fundamental idea of being a Porush. Therefore, this makes a lot of sense that we have to be Mechaneich our children in Perishus. This is something that we in our generation have not succeeded in doing. We want the best for our children and we tend to follow our natural inclination to give them everything they want. To give them nice clothing, fancy clothing, even when they don’t need it. They are 3, 4, 5 years old and we tend to dress our children beautifully. For what? We dress them like dollies, what are we doing?

We are being Mechaneich them the reverse of a Nazir. We are Mechaneich them to need more and more and more. The message of the Nazir is that we should be Mechaneich our children from early on and teach them not to need more, not to need extra, not to need things that are really not required. For that reason it would be very good if we would take the lesson of Nazir to heart. Especially this lesson of Nazir.  

The 12 Year-Old-Nazir - Naso 5769

There was a 12 year old boy whose Rebbi was bothering him to get a haircut. One day when this happened, the boy said I am Mekabeil on myself that I will be a Nazir until tomorrow. You might say, he is only 12 so there is no problem. However, a 12 year old is someone who is capable to make a Neder and Nezirus. So you may be thinking, so he won’t drink wine or take a haircut for a day, so it is not a problem. However, it is a big problem because someone who makes themselves a Nazir today is a Nazir until Mashiach comes. The reason is, because a Nazir stays a Nazir until he gets his haircut and brings his Korbanos and obviously this boy couldn’t bring his Korbanos. Another problem is, the Rambam says a Nazir must move to Erertz Yisrael because they were Goizer Tumah on Eretz Ha’amim. So you may be thinking, let him be Shoiel on his Neder. Not so simple. Toisafois in Maseches Niddah 46b says that the fact that a 12 year old is Samuch L’ish is only L’hachmir and not L’hakeil. So the Mishneh L’melech says that if someone who is Samuch L’ish makes himself a Nazir, he can’t be Shoiel on his Neder until he turns 13. So this boy has a really serious problem. This Shaila is in a Kuntros written between the two World Wars. It was a Tumal in Litta. Some Rabbanim held that he is a Nazir until he becomes 13. Others held, either he is a Nazir and then he could be Shoiel or he is not a Nazir and he doesn’t have to be Shoiel. Mima Nafshach, either he is a Gadol or he is not a Gadol. There were those who held that it is an Anan Sa’adi that it was a joke and that should be a Heter. When we learned Maseches Kiddushin we spent time on the Inyan of Kiddushin Derech S’choik. I am not sure he meant it as a joke. I think he meant it seriously, that he wanted to be a Nazir for a day. This is most probably one of the more difficult Shailois, and the Mussar is to tell your children not to Chas V’shlaom, come Lidei Kach.