וַעֲבַדְתֶּם־שָׁ֣ם אֱלֹהִ֔ים מַעֲשֵׂ֖ה יְדֵ֣י אָדָ֑ם עֵ֣ץ וָאֶ֔בֶן אֲשֶׁ֤ר לֹֽא־יִרְאוּן֙ וְלֹ֣א יִשְׁמְע֔וּן וְלֹ֥א יֹֽאכְל֖וּן וְלֹ֥א יְרִיחֻֽן׃
Là, vous serez soumis à ces dieux, œuvre des mains de l’homme, dieux de bois et de pierre, qui ne voient ni n’entendent, qui ne mangent ni ne respirent.
Akeidat Yitzchak
(3) The Nazir legislation addresses itself to the often debilitating effect of wine or strong alcoholic drink. The repeated references to various grape products correspond to the various ways in which drunkenness affects man. Most instances in the Torah in which drinking is discussed, refer also to the undesirable after effects of drinking wine. (Genesis 9,21, 43,34, the story of Lot and his daughters) We have numerous other examples in the books of the prophets. 1) The first effect of drunkenness usually is a loosening of inhibitions. A person's behaviour becomes unrestrained, lawless. 2) A second effect is that when the lawmaker is drunk, he may legislate unfair laws while under the influence of strong drink. The misunderstanding of the teachings ascribed to Tzaddok and Bayssus are examples of heresy that may have been due to their having studied Torah while under the influence of wine. (Avot de Rabbi Natan chapter 5) Judges must not sit in Court after having drunk wine. This is alluded to in the words mishrat anavim a liquid in which grapes had been soaking. The Talmud illustrated this by the example of a Nazir who soaked his bread in wine. The Torah criticises the elders who, while having a vision of G'd, ate and drank at the same time. (Exodus 24,11) They are described as like people who while having an audience with the king, bite into their bread. (Exodus Rabbah 15) The fourth and worst result of drunkenness is the loss of one's religious faith. The allusion in our text is the reference to "either fresh or dried grapes." (6,3) This refers to the harbouring of as yet unripe thoughts. The former are the contemplating of sinful conduct, already at the surface of consciousness, awaiting only execution, whereas the "dried grapes" refer to those ideas that will need to incubate somewhat longer before being translated into deeds. Generally, these problems occur with advancing age, and the Torah lists them in corresponding order. Young people react negatively to any kind of restrictions imposed on them. Once they have become a little older, they realise the need for an ordered lifestyle, but they tend to draw their inspiration only from their own personal experiences. Still later in life, they get around to study other people's wisdom and experience, and they even study some of the proper sources, but not necessarily with a clear head. Finally, when facing death, and an accounting for the way they have lived their lives, they have to confront what is true faith and what is not. In order to distinguish between these different periods of their lives, the Torah each time commences with the words "all the days," to indicate that successive portions of one's life account for changing attitudes. The Torah tells the Nazir that the discipline imposed on his lifestyle by not touching grape products, does not by itself guarantee progress towards his objective, but that he must not use a razor or shears to remove his hair. The lesson is that no individual is free to decide arbitrarily by himself what disciplines to impose upon himself. If the Nazir is to avoid ritual impurity during the currency of his vow of abstinence, this is to enable him to receive the full benefit of Torah study during that period. If his mind is to concentrate on matters spiritual, success can be guaranteed only when his body remains in a state of purity. Man's crowning achievement is the attainment of serenity based on his complete and unshakable faith in the goodness of his Creator, and his acceptance of whatever fate seems to have in store for him. Many great men, though guilty of individual acts of sinful behaviour, were saved from being entrapped by sin due to their all embracing faith in G'd and His Torah. A splendid example is Samson, whose dealings with Delilah, though sinful, did not turn him into a heretic or otherwise undisciplined person. Until Samson revealed that his strength lay in the hair of his head, at Delilah's fourth attempt, and that it represented spiritual powers and faith, he had been able to cope with all of Satan's (read Delilah's) efforts to drag him down. Once he desecrated the focus of his purity, he fell victim to the machinations inspired by Satan. (The Talmud suggests that the very name DELILAH means "weakening," watering down his strength) Shimon the Just, who is reported to have eaten only one Nazirite offering in his long career as High Priest, tells of an incident which he describes as a legitimate reason for adoption of the Nazarite's vows. (Nedarim 9) From his description it is clear that the reason he did not eat from other such sacrifices is not that none were at hand, but that he considered any other person in his lifetime who had taken upon himself Nazirite vows as having been frivolous.