After the Chuppah - Naso 5772

As you know, the Parshios are divided in ways that separate between topics. It is very strange that Parshas Bamidbar contains Masa Bnei Kehas, the Tzavaa and different details of what the family of Kehas carried and this week’s Parsha begins with Masa Bnei Gershon and the Masa of the Bnei Mirari (with the details of the job of the Bnei Gershon and Bnei Mirari and the things that they carried when transporting the Mishkan). It is very strange that the 2 Parshios should be broken up in a way that it doesn’t leave either the Bnei Gershon or the Bnei Mirari together with Parshas Bamidbar. After all Parshas Naso has plenty of Pesukim to spare. Or the reverse, putting the Bnei Kehas in this week’s Parsha. It is a very strange way for it to be broken up.

In the Sefer Acharai Ro’i he has a beautiful Pshat. The Hakdama to this Pshat is the Ohr Hachaim Hakodosh who writes that when the three families of the Leviim divided the job of carrying the utensils of the Mishkan from one place to another it wasn’t one job that was divided among three. Rather it was three jobs in the sense that each carrying job had its own personality had its own uniqueness. The Bnei Kehas carried the Aron. Ha’aron Nosei Es Nosav. It was not a job that involved heavy physical work. It was easy to do. The Aron carried those who carried it. It was a certain level of carrying. Bnei Gershon carried the curtains that housed the Shechina. They carried things that were very close to the Shechina. The Bnei Mirari had the hard job of carrying the Kerashim the wooden beams that formed the walls of the Mishkan and their job was the most physical of all. In sorts the Bnei Kehas had the most spiritual job, the Bnei Gershon in between, and the Bnei Mirari the most physical part of this holy work of carrying the Mishkan.

Parshas Bamidbar always occurs before Matan Torah, before Shavuos. This is something mandated by the Gemara in Maseches Megillah 31b (13 lines from the bottom) (תניא ר' שמעון בן אלעזר אומר עזרא תיקן להן לישראל שיהו קורין קללות שבתורת כהנים קודם עצרת) (Ed. Note: the Gemara mentions that the Klalos of the end of Sefer Vayikra in Parshas Bichukosai are read before Shavuos, however, Tosafos in Dibbur Hamaschil (קללות שבת"כ קודם עצרת ושבמשנה תורה קודם ראש השנה) mentions (ומטעם זה אנו קורין במדבר סיני קודם עצרת כדי שלא להסמיך הקללות שבבחוקותי לעצרת)). Parshas Naso is always afterwards. As you know Mattan Torah is very much like a Chuppah between Klal Yisrael and the Ribbono Shel Olam. When it comes to getting married there are different attitudes which a person must succeed at dealing with in marriage.

When ones comes to a Chuppah, Ha’aron Nosei Es Nosav. A person is carried to the Chuppah on cloud 9. A person is carried there happily. It is not a hard job to come to one’s own wedding. However, after the wedding a person has to know that the job changes. It becomes much more tedious and it becomes much more difficult. First you have the job of having walls, utensils, things in the house that keep the Kedusha of the house going. Later on in life if one is successful and is Zoche to have a family, Zoche to have a business, Zoche to have a home, than the job becomes a much more physical job. A job that involves much more labor and much more difficulty. All of this to build a Mishkan, a place of Kedusha.  Therefore, the Parsha was broken up this way. Before Mattan Torah which is the Chuppah of Bnei Yisrael with the Ribbono Shel Olam, we have the carrying of the Ha’aron Nosei Es Nosav. We talk about carrying the Mishkan and the matter of carrying the Aron, of flying high as one approaches Mattan Torah as one approaches the Chuppah. After the Chuppah which was Shevuos, we read about the next job, maintaining the Kedusha that we have and ultimately the Bnei Mirari which is the job of doing physical things, hard things that have to do with our physical existence. For example, going to work, paying bills, struggling with physical challenges. All of this in a manner of Kedusha of leading to the building of the Mishkan. Therefore, the Seder is B’davka. The Seder is Kehas first, Shevuos second, Gershon & Mirari next. A beautiful Vort for the Parsha and a beautiful Vort for this coming month of June where many of us have Aufrufs, Chasunah, Sheva Berachos, Simchos relating to Chosson V’kallah. This is a very appropriate Vort for such an occasion.

Hands Up - Naso 5771

There is a Chakira, is Nisias Kapaim, the raising of the hands a Tenai in Duchaning or is it the Guf Hamitzvah (the definition of the Mitzvah).

What I mean to say is this, Amida – standing is not the Guf Hamitzvah of Duchaning, it is a condition of Duchaning. The question is if Nesias Kapaim is like Amida – standing or no Nesias Kapaim is the definition of Duchaning. After all we call it Nesias Kapaim and we don’t call it Birchas Kohanim. The Gemara in Maseches Kesuvos 22 calls it Nesias Kapaim .

What is interesting is that this Chakira is the subject of a Machlokes in the Halacha L’mayseh world. All Berachos have to be said before the Mitzvah is done. So the question is the following, when the Kohen makes the Beracha should the Kohen already have their hand stretched out, make the Beracha and go directly into Nesias Kapaim, or should they first make the Beracha and then lift up their hands. If you hold that lifting up the hands is the Guf Hamitzvah then the Kohanim should first make the Beracha and then lift up their hands. However, if you hold it is only a Tenai then on the contrary lifting the hands should be done first so that they are ready for the Mitzvah.

There are 2 Minhagim in what the Kohen does first. Most Kohanim stretch out the hands first, make the Beracha and in middle of the Beracha turn towards the congregation. The Shulchan Aruch Harav (which is the Minhag followed by Chabad) says in 128:17 that Nesias Kapaim is the Guf Hamitzvah and therefore the Beracha should be said first, the arms are stretched out second. So we find here a major difference if the Inyan of Nesias Kapaim is a Tenai in the Mitzvah or if it is the Guf Hamitzvah.

The Biur Halacha at the beginning of 128 in Dibbur Hamaschil B’zor wonders how is it that we have a custom that a Father blesses his children with the same Nusach as the Kohanim on Erev Yom Kippur and most do it every Erev Shabbos. So the Biur Halacha asks a Zar, someone who is not a Kohen is not allowed to Duchan and he is Over an Issur if he Duchans?

If you hold like the Shitta of the Baal Hatanya this would be answered because putting the hands out is the Guf Hamitzvah and if you bless a child without putting out the hands you are not Over on Bal Tosef.

In fact the Torah Temima on this week’s Parsha writes that the Gra was Makpid not to Bentch somebody with two hands on the head because that is Nesias Kapaim with your arms spread out and he would only Bentch somebody with one arm spread out. In the Siddur HaGra it says that as well. This is controversial as there are those that say that it is inaccurate. But at any rate the point is the same. That if you hold that Nesias Kapaim is the Guf Hamitzvah then Avada if somebody doesn’t do it with the proper Nesias Kapaim then he is not Over on Bal Tosef.  Even though it is a minority Shitta, the Bal Hatanya, nevertheless it would answer the Biur Halacha’s Kasha and it would come out very Geshmak with that.

There is something else that comes out very Geshmak. Tosafos in Yevamos 7a asks a question. Why is it that a Kohen that kills someone even if it was B’shogeg can’t Duchan again and yet in the Bais Hamikdash this Kohen is not Posul to do the Avoda if he killed somebody if he is not a Rasha, meaning that he did Teshuva or he did it B’ones.

Tosafos in the second Teretz says (ואין קטיגור נעשה סניגור) the hands which cause someone’s death cannot be the same hands to bring Beracha. 

It is Mashma from Tosafos that the hands are what bring the Beracha itself, because after all if the hands are only something that is part of the ceremony then Zerikas Hadam, the spreading of the blood in the Bais Hamikdash also requires hands. However, if we understand Nesias Kapaim the use of the hands as the Guf Hamitzvah then that is a whole different story. So this is something else that would come out very Geshmak based on this Chakira.

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.