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Shiur by HaRav Soloveichik ZT’L on Parshas Naso

Written by Shiur by HaRav Soloveichik ZT'L

The Rav noted that though Parshas Naso contains several different themes, the Haftorah deals with the topic of Nezirus, specifically with the Nezirus Shimshon. The Rav analyzed the connection between Parshas Naso and Nezirus Shimshon. Shimshon was one of the judges, Shoftim, of Bnay Yisrael. He was the only judge that Hashem demanded of him Nezirus. Not only was Shimshon forbidden to drink wine and eat unclean foods, his mother was forbidden to eat them as well throughout her pregnancy and birth of Shimshon, as Shimshon was to be a Nazir from conception, Nazir Mibeten.
The Malbim comments that Manoach requested that the angel should return and instruct him what to do with the child that would be born to him. We find that when Manoach’s wife recounts her encounter with the angelshe only mentions those things that she was forbidden to do, such as being forbidden to drink wine and grape derived products and to eat unclean (Tamay) items. She does not mention the specific restrictions that apply to the child, such as the child is forbidden to ever cut his hair. The angel returns and tells Manoach that that the child was restricted from whatever he mentioned to his wife: to refrain from eating and drinking wine and grape products and unclean items and that the child shall never cut his hair. This last aspect was new to Manoach. He was told that the Nezirus of Shimshon was special from all other Nezirus. Usually a Nazir is restricted in 3 areas: drinking wine; defiling himself through touching an item that is Tamay, e.g. touching a corpse; cutting his hair. Shimshon was only forbidden to cut his hair and drink wine. The permanent ban on cutting Shimshon’s hair was not mentioned to Manoach by his wife until the angel appeared to them a second time. Shimshon’s Nezirus was unique and made him unique as well, as he mentioned to Delilah that if his hair was to be cut he would lose his unique Kedusha, and be like any other man, without his special gifts and strength.
The Rav raised the question as to why was Shimshon singled out as the only Shofet that was required to be a Nazir from cradle to grave? The Rav answered this by noting the difference between Shimshon and all the other Judges. All the other Judges, as well as the Kings of Israel and the High Priests, were sanctified either with Shemen Hamishcha, the annointing oil, or when there was no Shemen Hamishcha, they were consecrated through fulfilling the required tasks associated with their appointed roles.
The Shoftim were characterized by their leadership of the people in various campaigns, yet they were always joined by members of the other tribes in their campaigns (e.g. Gideon). They had a “Heskem Hatzibbur”, an acknowledgement of their leadership expressed by the participation of the people in their battles. This consecration via “popular acclamation” granted a certain Kedusha to the Shofet. Shimshon acted alone, without the help and assistance of his fellow Jews. What sanctified Shimshon and granted him his special status as Judge? What provided him with the special powers and abilities far beyond those of normal men to kill 10,000 Phillistines at a time? It was his status as a Nazir, his hair that was unique and immediately recognizable, that was the symbol of his uniqueness and selection as Shofet. It also was the medium that consecrated him as a unique Shofet, one who acted as an individual without the assistance of the rest of the Jewish People. It is noteworthy that when Shimshon revealed the source of his strength to Delilah, he mentioned that as a Nazir he was forbidden to cut his hair, and were he to cut his hair he would be rendered weak as a normal man.
Why did Shimshon neglect to mention that as a Nazir he was also forbidden to drink wine? Because the central defining characteristic of a Nazir is his hair, Ki Nezer Elokav Al Rosho. In fact the, the hair of a Nazir who has completed his Nezirus is to burned on the altar and it is forbidden to derive any benefit from it. That is why Shimshon told Delilah that his power derives from his hair as the symbol of his Kedusha. As long as he or any leader of a generation retains their aspect of Kedusha that identifies them as a leader they will be victorious. (The Rav noted that this applies to leaders in our generation as well. They must appreciate and distinguish themselves through Kedusha. If one attempts to lead without appreciating this special Kedusha, they become like Shimshon after his hair was cut. Shimshon went out to battle the Philistines as he always did, yet he did not realize that Hashem had left him. Leaders who have been successful in confronting our enemies, often forget that their mandate derives from the special Kedusha. If they fail to maintain that Kedusha, their attempts to confront the Phillistines of today and be successful as they were in the past will not be rewarded.)
In addition to his great strength, Shimshon possessed other “magical” powers that enabled him to kill so many of his enemies. Apparently they were mesmerized by him and panicked to a degree that they could not escape him. His mysterious spiritual power could be described as a magical aura that surrounded him in battle. The Phillistines recognized that they were facing someone who possessed something that went beyond great physical strength. They were unable to vanquish him in battle and they were also unable to escape from him as well. The aura that surrounded him instilled fear and paralyzed his enemies. According to Chazal the secret of his aura was his Nezirus as symbolized by his hair, Ki Nezer Elokav Al Rosho. The Phillistines enlisted Delilah in an attempt to discover the secret of his aura, Bameh Kocho Gadol.
Shimshon explained to Delilah that through his hair he maintains the Kedusha that makes him special, that makes him a Shofet. Without his hair he becomes like any other man, weak without the special aura that strikes fear in the heart of his enemies. Shimshon’s hair functioned like the Tefillin Shel Rosh does for all Jews: “And all the nations of the world shall see that the name of Hashem is upon you and they shall fear you”. (The Rav noted that a similar paralysis was obvious in the 6 Day War in 1967, when the Arab armies were overcome by fear and fled in panic before the Israeli Army. This was a manifestation of the special Kedusha that Bnay Yisrael have. However if the leaders of the state want it to become like the other nations of the world, they will relinquish the special Kedusha that makes Eretz Yisrael unique and strikes fear in the hearts of our enemies.) The Rav noted that one of the important messages in Parshas Naso is to be found in the verse that Vlivnay Kehas Lo Nasan Ki Avodas Hakodesh Alayhem Bakasef Yisau. (Bnay Kehas were responsible for carrying on their shoulders the holy objects of the Ohel Moed.) The power of the Jew rests in the fact that he is willing to carry the Holy Ark on his shoulders for all to see.
Reprinted with permission by by Dr. Israel Rivkin and Josh Rapps, Edison, N.J.

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