Portion of Naso - be a President be a Priest? Hey - it's not such a tough job!

 

 

 

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Saks Chief Rabbi of England   (and a pretty smart fellow ...)

suggested that all the topics in this portion attempt to give all persons of Israel

paths to connect with the Almighty in a non-conflicting non-competitive way

  

The answer lies in the last word of the priestly blessing: shalom, peace. 

 

the 15th century Spanish Jewish commentator Rabbi Isaac Arama explains that shalom

means completeness, perfection, the harmonious working of a complex system, integrated diversity,

a state in which everything is in its proper place and all is at one with the physical and ethical laws governing the universe.

 

Similarly, Rabbi  Isaac Abrabanel writes, "That is why God is called peace, because it is He who binds the world together and

orders all things ...

 

The various provisions of parshat Naso are all about bringing peace in this sense.

 

Between man and wife and between probable competitors

 

Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai after the destruction of the Second Temple, reminded us that some laws of this portion served as a

reminder as to how important domestic peace is in the Jewish scale of values.

 

Naso tells us that we have to go the extra mile in bringing peace between opposites

 

So does the Sabbath teach us a way to accomplish this.

 

Shabbat Shalom

 

Rabbi Andy Eichenholz