Musar zu Bamidbar 6:29

One who follows this course is called a "sinner", for lo it is said of a Nazarite: "and make expiation on his behalf for the guilt that he has incurred through the corpse" (Numbers 6:11). The Sages said, "If one who denies himself only wine is called a sinner how much more he who denies himself all pleasure" (Ta'anith 11a). The Sages said, "Is it not enough for you that the Torah has forbidden that you wish to forbid yourself other things?" (T.P. Nedarim 9:1). And on this subject and similar ones, Solomon said, "Be not righteous overmuch: neither make thyself overwise; why shouldest thou destroy thyself?" (Eccl. 7:16).

In order to explain somewhat the quality of peace, I shall adduce some of the apothegms of Chazal on this subject. This is from Ma'aloth Hamiddoth: "Know, my sons, that peace is among the highest qualities, it being one of the names of the Holy One Blessed be He, as it is written (Judges 6:24): And he called it [(the altar) 'the L-rd-Shalom.'" Wherever peace is found, fear of Heaven is found. Where there is no peace, there is no fear of Heaven. Great is peace before the Blessed One, our sages of blessed memory saying in the aggadah (Yevamoth 65b, Bava Metzia 87a): "Great is peace, even Scripture prevaricating to maintain peace between Abraham and Sarah. For whereas she said (Bereshith 18:12): 'And my lord [Abraham] is old,' G-d transmitted this to Abraham as (Ibid. 13): 'And I [Sarah] am old.'" Similarly (Ibid. 40:16-17): "and they had it reported to Joseph: 'Your father commanded before he died: "So shall you say to Joseph: 'Forgive, I pray you, the offense of your brothers and their sin, for they accorded you evil.'" Now nowhere do we find Jacob commanding any such thing at all, for he entertained no apprehension whatever of Joseph's conduct. My sons, come and see how great is the power of peace, for the Holy One Blessed be He said that even foes should be approached with peace as it is written (Devarim 20:10): "When you draw close to a city to wage war against it, call out to it for peace." Great is peace, for it consummates the priestly benediction, as it is written (Numbers 6:26): "And He shall repose peace upon you." Great is peace, for it is the consummation of prayer, as it is written (Psalms 29:11): "The L-rd will give His people strength; the L-rd will bless His people with peace." And what is more, in the day of Israel's consolation, the first report shall be of peace, as it is written (Isaiah 52:7): "How comely upon the mountains are the feet of the herald, announcing peace!" My sons, come and see how great is the power of peace, for the Holy One Blessed be He said that even foes should be approached with peace, as it is written (Devarim 20:10): "When you draw near to a city to wage war against it, call out to it for peace." It was stated of R. Yochanan b. Zakkai that no one ever preceded him in greeting, not even a gentile in the marketplace. And our sages of blessed memory have stated (Avoth 4:15): "Extend greeting to all men." What is meant by greeting "all men"? Even if you see that he is ill disposed towards you, extend greeting to him; for if you do so, you will cause him to love you. What is more, even if he will not condescend to make peace with you, the Holy One Blessed be He will deliver him into your hand and humble him beneath you, as it is written (Devarim 20:1): "And if it [the city] does not make peace with you, but wages war against you, then you shall besiege it, and the L-rd your G-d will deliver it into your hand…" And so we find with David, may peace be upon him, that he pursued peace with Saul, as it is written (Psalms 120:7): "I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war." Not only was Saul not appeased, but he pursued David to do him injury, and the Holy One Blessed be He delivered him into David's hand in the cave and in the encampment. And even so, it never entered David's heart to do him wrong. For one must love peace and pursue peace, as it is written (Ibid. 34:15): "Seek peace and pursue it." Seek it with your friend and pursue it with your enemy. Seek it in your place and pursue it in other places. Seek it with your body and pursue it with your money. [Sometimes one must be liberal with his money to seize upon the "stronghold of peace."] Seek it for yourself and pursue it for others. Seek it today and pursue it tomorrow. And do not despair, saying: "I will never achieve peace," but pursue it until you do achieve it. And what is the pursuit of peace? Thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Sanhedrin 110a): "This is speaking peace at a time of dispute and sacrificing one's honor for the general good, as was done by Moses, as it is written (Numbers 16:25): 'And Moses arose and he went to Dathan and Aviram…,'" and suspending one's affairs to make peace between a man and his wife, a man and his neighbor, and a teacher and his student — even to the extent of arranging a meal for two to make peace between them.

Come and see how great is the power of peace. For in the beginning of the creation of the universe the Holy One Blessed be He employed Himself in the creation of an instrument of peace, as it is written (Bereshith 1:3): "And G-d said: 'Let there be light' — and there was light." And how do we know that light is peace? For it is written (Isaiah 45:7): "He fashions light and creates darkness; He makes peace and creates evil." On this basis, our teachers of blessed memory ruled (Shabbath 23b): "As between a candle for his house and wine for kiddush, to sanctify the Sabbath [if he can afford only one], a candle for his house takes precedence because of the peace of his household." What is more, our sages enacted many ordinances in pursuit of the paths of peace, viz. (Gittin 59a): "They declared the following in pursuit of the paths of peace: 'The Cohein reads first [in the Torah], then the Levite, then the Israelite, because of "the paths of peace."'" An eruv [a halachic enabling device] is placed in an old house, because of "the paths of peace." The pit nearest the irrigation canal is filled first because of "the paths of peace."'" And so is it written (Proverbs 3;17): "Its [Torah's] ways are ways of pleasantness and all of its paths are peace." And thus did our sages of blessed memory say in the aggadah (Bamidbar Rabbah 15:13, Tanchuma Beha'alothecha 11): "There are thirteen things that the Holy One Blessed be He loved, and of all of them, He "doubled" [in profusion of love], only "peace." They [(the thirteen)] are: Cohanim, Levites, Israel, Sanhedrin [the high court], the first-born, the offerings of the tabernacle, the sacrifices, the oil of anointment, the Land of Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, the kingdom of the house of David, and the silver and the gold. The Cohanim — (Shemoth 28:41): "And they shall be priests unto Me." the Levites (Numbers 3:41): "And I shall take the Levites unto Me." Israel — (Shemoth 19:6): "And you [Israel] shall be unto Me a kingdom of priests." Sanhedrin — (Numbers 11:16): "Gather unto Me seventy men." The first-born — (Shemoth 13:2) "Sanctify unto Me every first-born." The offerings of the tabernacle — (Ibid. 25:2): "And they shall take unto Me an offering." The sacrifices — (Numbers 28:2): "You shall heed to sacrifice unto Me in its appointed time." The oil of anointment — (Shemoth 30:31): "The holy oil of anointment shall this be unto Me for your generations." The Land of Israel — (Ibid. 19:5): "For unto Me is all the land." Jerusalem — (I Kings 11:36): "The city that I have chosen unto Me." The Temple — (I Chronicles 17:12): "He shall build unto Me a habitation." The kingdom of the house of David — (I Samuel 16:1): "For I have seen in his sons a king unto Me." The silver and the gold — (Chaggai 2:8): "Mine is the silver, and Mine is the gold." But, of all of these, none was doubled [in profusion of love] but "peace," as it is written (Isaiah 27:5): "Or let him take hold of My strength. He shall make peace unto Me; peace shall he make unto Me." Great is peace, which takes precedence to praise of the Blessed One Himself. For when Yithro came to Moses, immediately (Exodus 18:7): "And each made inquiry of the other's peace," whereas only afterwards (Ibid. 8): "And Moses related to his father-in-law all of the miracles that the Holy One Blessed be He had wrought for Israel." What is more, for all of the mitzvoth that the wicked perform in this world, the Holy One Blessed be He gives them their reward in this world — such as wealth, property, years, honor, and the like — except peace, which He does not give them, as it is written (Isaiah 57:21): "There is no peace, says my G-d, for the wicked." And, what is more, the Holy One Blessed be He gives peace as a reward to the righteous, as it is written (Ibid. 32:17): "And the reward for righteousness shall be peace…" What is more, it is with peace that He draws near to Him converts and penitents, as it is written (Ibid. 57:19): "He creates the utterance of the lips: 'Peace, Peace,' for the far and the near, says the L-rd, and I will heal him." Great is peace, for in regard to all of the journeyings in the desert it is written "And they journeyed and they rested," journeying in strife and resting in strife. But when they came to Mount Sinai, they made one great "resting," as it is written (Shemoth 19:2): "And Israel rested there, before the mountain." (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "The Holy One Blessed be He said: 'The time has now arrived for Me to give Torah to My children.'" For as long as they are at peace with one another, the Shechinah is among them. And thus is it said (Devarim 33:5): "And He was a King in Yeshurun when the heads of the people were gathered, together with the tribes of Israel." When does the kingdom and the Shechinah of the Blessed One abide in Israel? When they are all gathered together as one. Come and see how great is the power of peace; for it is through the power of peace that the world endures. For thus have our sages of blessed memory said (Avoth 1:18): "On three things does the world stand: on judgment, on truth, and on peace, as it is written (Zechariah 8:16): 'Truth and a judgment of peace shall you judge in your gates.'" What is more, when there is peace among men, there is blessing in their fruits, as it is written (Ibid. 12): "For as the seed of peace, the vine shall give its fruit, and the earth shall give its produce, and the heavens shall give its dew, and I shall bequeath all of these to the remnant of this people." And thus is it written (Psalms 147:14): "He makes peace on your borders and sates you with the fatness of wheat." Our sages have said (Vayikra Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for if one erases one letter of G-d's name, he transgresses a negative commandment, as it is written (Devarim 12:3): 'And you shall wipe out their [the idols'] name from that place,' followed by (Ibid. 4): 'You shall not do so to the L-rd your G-d.' Yet to make peace between a man and his wife, the Torah says (Numbers 5:23): 'And the Cohein shall write these curses [containing G-d's name] in a book and erase them into the bitter waters.' The Holy One Blessed be He says: 'Let My name, which was written in holiness, be erased by the waters.'" And Chazal have said further (Vayikrah Rabbah 9:9): "Great is peace, for all of the goodly blessings and consolations that the Holy One Blessed be He convokes upon Israel conclude with "peace." The Shema — "He spreads a canopy of peace." The Amidah — "He makes peace." The priestly blessing — "And He shall repose peace upon you." "Therefore, my sons, be circumspect in this trait — to love peace and to pursue peace. For there is no end to the reward for loving peace and pursuing peace." Until here, the language of Ma'aloth Hamiddoth.

Peace is such a valuable commodity that the Sages comment in Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah (11:7) that no vessel is more capable of holding blessing than peace. They note that for this reason the priestly blessing ends with the words, “And He will grant you peace” (Bamidbar 6:26). Similarly, we are told that the Holy One Himself, “makes peace On High” (Iyov 25:2), that is, among the angels. And if peace is needed among the angels, who have no evil inclination and who are free of jealousy and hatred, how much more is it needed between man and his neighbor, between the minority and majority, whom the Satan is perpetually goading into discord and quarreling.

The Kabbalists are agreed that כהן, לוי, ישראל, represent the emanations of חסד, גבורה, תפארת respectively. We have practical examples of this when we look at the Nazirite legislation, where the Torah forbids the Nazirite to cut his hair, i.e. תער לא יבא על ראשו (Numbers 6,5). The reverse is the case when we read about the Levites being consecrated in Numbers 8,7, where the Torah commands the Levites to shave off all the hair on their bodies, i.e. והעבירו תער על כל בשרם. In the case of the נזיר, the Torah stipulates that he must retain the "crown," i.e. nezer, just as a כהן wears a "crown," i.e. מצנפת. Both are forbidden to defile themselves through contact with the dead. Just as the sanctity of the כהן derives from the emanation of חסד, so do the special "powers" of the נזיר derive from that emanation. His hairs allude to the צנורות עליונות, conduits from "higher regions," and divinely inspired characteristics which are derived from the attribute of חסד. This is why he is commanded not to destroy them (the linkage to that attribute). The Levite's spiritual strength, on the other hand, derives from the attribute of גבורה=דין and unbroken contact with this source, which is also the source that inspires negative manifestations here on earth, and must be avoided. That is why he must proceed in manner opposite to that of the Nazirite. This is then why the Torah commands that he shave off all his hair, i.e. all that is reminiscent of conduits connecting him with that source. It is the task of the Levite to frustrate the powers of impurity, to prevent them from gaining ascendancy anywhere. He does so symbolically by destroying his hair, i.e. "by removing the thorns from the vineyard." כהן, לוי, ישראל, can also be viewed as representative of חסד, גבורה, תפארת.

וכפר עליו מאשר חטא על הנפש . Rashi says on this verse (6,11), that this procedure was necessary in the event the Nazirite had inadvertently defiled himself with a corpse. Rabbi Eliezer Hakappor says that the atonement was necessary because the Nazirite had caused himself unnecessary pain by vowing not to drink wine, something that the Torah had permitted him to do. Many people who read this statement by Rabbi Eliezer Hakappor use it as an excuse to indulge in wine, quoting the great scholar Rabbi Eliezer in support of their lifestyle. As a result, they are liable to die in a state of sinful befuddlement. I believe therefore that it is in order for me to clarify this matter in order to open the door to repentance.

I refer to all that has been written about this in the Talmud and the commentaries of the Tosafot on Taanit 11a and I will add my own comments. The discussion commences with Samuel stating that anyone who observes Fast-Days [that have not been proclaimed] is guilty of a misdemeanor. He agrees with Rabbi Eliezer Hakappor who interpreted our verse above as demonstrating that denying oneself the use of wine is sinful. Samuel argued, that if merely denying oneself wine is sinful, then surely it must be even more sinful to deny oneself food and drink altogether! Rabbi Eleazar countered that on the contrary, anyone imposing fasts upon himself is called "holy." He quotes from our section of the Torah (6,5) קדוש יהיה גדל פרע שער ראשו, "holy shall be he who allows his hair to grow wild on his head." His argument runs as follows: "If a person who merely abstains from wine is called "holy" by the Torah, surely a person who denies himself other pleasures such as food and drink must be considered "holy!" The Talmud asks: "How can Samuel refute the argument of Rabbi Eleazar?" Samuel responds by saying that the Torah calls the person who allows his hair to grow wild "holy". The term "holy," does not, however, apply to someone who vowed not to drink wine. To this Rabbi Eleazar responds that the only one who is called "sinner," i.e. in need of atonement, is the Nazirite who defiled himself during the currency of his vow, seeing that he was not allowed to become impure. The Talmud goes on to ask if Rabbi Eleazar is consistent in his viewpoint, seeing he is on record as saying that a person ought to conduct himself at all times as if something sacred resided within him, and he must not harm such sacred material, since the prophet Hoseah 11,9, states: "Something holy is in your midst, and I will not come into the city!" This surely means that a person must not fast voluntarily! The Talmud answers that this is really not a contradiction within the views expressed by Rabbi Eleazar. In the case where a person knows that the fast does not harm his health, he is allowed to fast. When he has reason to believe that the fast is harmful to him, he must not fast. Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish describes the person who imposes Fast-Days upon himself as "pious" rather than as "holy."

It is written, “Hashem will bless you and protect you” (Bamidbar 6:24). The Sages comment (Midrash Bamidbar Rabbah 11:5): “‘Hashem will bless you’ — with wealth; ‘and protect you’ — from harmful destructive spirits.” This Midrash requires explanation. It seems to me that it can be understood in light of a passage in Chullin (105b): Some porters were carrying a barrel of wine. Wishing to stop for a rest, they placed the barrel under a drainpipe, whereupon the barrel was broken [by a destructive spirit dwelling there]. The porters came before Mar bar Rav Ashi, who took out a shofar and proclaimed a ban (cherem) on that destructive spirit, compelling the spirit to appear before him. Mar bar Rav Ashi asked him, “Why did you do it?” The spirit replied, “What was I supposed to do when they placed the barrel upon my ears?” Mar bar Rav Ashi said, “What were you doing in a place that is frequented by people? You are the one who deviated from the norm. Go and pay.” The spirit answered, “Specify a date and I will pay them.” So Mar bar Rav Ashi specified a date. When the date arrived the spirit procrastinated and failed to show up on time. When he finally appeared Mar bar Rav Ashi inquired, “Why did you not come on time?” He answered, “We are not permitted to take any object that is bound and sealed or measured or counted. Therefore I was delayed until I found something that was neither bound nor counted nor measured.”

The Torah next deals with the regulations governing the behavior of the Nazirite. Our sages in Sotah 2a, state that the reason why this paragraph follows the paragraph dealing with the Sotah is that anyone who has seen the latter in her state of disgrace may decide to abstain from drinking wine in order to fortify himself against the temptation of adultery. He will abstain from anything connected with the fruit of the grapevine. The Zohar on our verse explains that we are dealing with the mystical dimension of the fruit of man, i.e. his deeds. It is taken for granted that the fruit Adam/Eve ate from was the fruit of the grapevine, that in fact she squeezed out the grapes. This seems based on Deut. 32,32, ענבמו ענבי רוש, "its grapes are grapes of poison.” Wine, grapes and grape juice are all perceived as deriving from the "left" line of the diagram depicting the ten emanations (the passive, feminine side). Its particular source is בינה, which is also described as יין המשומר, wine that has been preserved for a long time. We know that שכר is also from that side, because it stems from grapes. Crapes in turn collect all this (poison) from the "higher” emanations, since they are a simile for the emanation מלכות. The descent on the left side from בינה to מלכות, is of course, via דין, (also known as גבורה). This is the tree with which Eve sinned. If both “wet” grapes and “dry” grapes are forbidden to the Nazirite, this is because the former represent the attribute of דין קשה, the 'hard' attribute of Justice, whereas the latter represent מדת הדין הרפה, the softer attribute of Justice.

We find that he is commanded to let his hair grow and at the conclusion of the term of his vow to shave it off. There is no doubt that excessive hair or total hairlessness both deprive him of the typical appearance of a human being. Such a condition helps to minimize normal human appetites, such as greed and lust. Hair carefully coiffed, tends to reinforce such human desires. We find in Nazir 4b, that Simon the Just, who had officiated as High Priest for eighty years, stated that only once in all those years did he eat of the offering that a Nazirite who had defiled himself had been forced to offer. He relates that once a good looking young man from the South had come to him, and when asked why he had allowed his hair to look so disheveled and overgrown, the young man had told him that he had assumed the vows of a Nazirite after having had a glimpse of his reflection in the water. He found himself so good looking that he had become sexually aroused. He realized at that time that this was a ruse of the evil urge, and therefore let his hair grow wild in order to preserve his innocence and future in the Hereafter. When Simon the Just heard the reason this young man had adopted the Nazirite vows, he kissed him and said: "May there be many more like you whose motivation in adopting these vows is as commendable. Concerning the likes of you the Torah has written: איש כי יפליא לנדור נדר לה'." This is what the Torah refers to when it describes a נזיר as having נזר אלוקיו עליו, "having the crown of his G–d on his head." Such a person has entered the domain that Adam was in before he sinned, before he became a זר, when he too still wore that "crown". At that time his closeness to G–d was such that it did not require something זר, i.e. an intermediary, such as holy anointing oil. This status, however, is maintained only during the currency of his vow; afterwards the Nazirite reverts to being an ordinary mortal like the rest of us and this "crown" is withdrawn from him. He therefore has to bring certain offerings to atone for reverting to a lower level of sanctity, to the condition that Adam/Man has been in since the first sin. This, then, is the reason the Nazir has to bring sin offerings.

When the Princes consecrated the Tabernacle with their sacrifices, this was equivalent to the universe being consecrated anew. The Tabernacle is the world in miniature, and the offerings of the Princes correspond to the evolution of the twelve "worlds," i.e. the 12 possible permutations of the Ineffable Name. By the use of this Name three times in the blessings, we arrive at the number 216, i.e. 72 times 3. We refer to the calculations made in our commentary on Parshat Bamidbar. When the Torah concludes ושמו את שמי על בני ישראל “They shall place My name on the children of Israel, we observe that the first letters in the words על בני, equal 72. The author demonstrates how the 12 צירופים are actually 24, based on the Pardes Rimonim, who explains that the number 12 has to be doubled to allow for both the male and female aspect in that Holy Name. The numerical value of ישראל plus the number 72, i.e. the first letters in the words על בני is 613, the implication being that Torah, the Holy Name of G–d, and Israel, are really one and the same, when Israel is at its best.

The following is an excerpt of the סמ"ג’s introduction to the list of negative commandments: " Maimonides includes a widow and an orphan as a collective entity whenever the Torah enjoins us to treat the widow or orphan in a certain way, or not to treat them in a certain way. Similarly Maimonides lumps the Moabite and the Ammonite together. Whenever we read in the Torah that a Moabite or a member of the people of Ammon is prohibited from something, this constitutes a single prohibition in Maimonides' count. Maimonides also treats the prohibition of שאור ודבש, leaven and honey which are forbidden to constitute a smoke or incense offering on the altar, as a single negative commandment (cf. Leviticus 2,11). Maimonides similarly views the physical blemishes mentioned in Deut. 23,2 (someone whose member is cut off, or whose testes have been crushed and who is therefore prohibited from marrying a Jewish woman), as a single negative commandment. The same applies to someone eating the Passover sacrifice whether it is raw or boiled in water (Exodus 12,9). Because Maimonides has thereby reduced the number of negative commandments making up the required number of 365, he was forced to look for other negative commandments to make up the required number. We have already demonstrated in the name of Rashi that the prohibition of offering leaven or honey on the altar constitutes two separate Biblical prohibitions. Rashi also admits that though the widow and the divorcee that the High Priest is prohibited from marrying (Leviticus 21), are mentioned together we deal here with two separate prohibitions. When discussing these respective commandments in our book, we have demonstrated clear proof that this is so." So far the introductory comments of the סמ"ג.

The סמ"ג goes on to quote a Rashi in the name of a Rabbi Yitzchak demonstrating that Rava considers such a transgression as a transgression of at least two if not four prohibitions. [Although the Rashi in our edition of the Talmud on that folio merely mentions that four penalties of lashes are administered, this does not change the point the סמ"ג tries to make. Ed.]

What all this has to do with Samael injuring the כף ירך יעקב, the thigh joint of Jacob, is simple. Our sages say on 32,26: וירא כי לא יוכל לו, ויגע בכף ירכו ותקע כך ירך יעקב, that the thigh joint of Jacob refers to the later descendants who experienced the harsh decrees by the various nations who were their hosts in exile. When the Hasmoneans overcame the Greeks, they reversed this injury, i.e. the כף became a פך a cruse of oil. What had been a vulnerable part of Jacob's ירך now became the solid basis of the candelabra, ירך מנורה.