Devar/5770/Naso
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< Devar | 5770
עברית
English
Speak unto Aaron and unto his sons, saying: On this wise ye shall bless the children of Israel (Num 6:23)
The Torah does not usually command us to say specific words. Almost every blessing we say derives from the Sages' authority, not from the Written Torah itself. Therefore, it is very interesting when the Torah specifies which words we must utter.
In our verse, the Torah commands the Kohanim, sons of Aaron, to use specific phrases of blessing when they bless the rest of the people. Before our verse, in the portion of the Sotah (wayward wife), the Torah says: and the woman shall say: 'Amen, Amen.' (Num 5:22). Regarding the first fruits, a person brings the first fruits of his trees to the Temple; and once again, the Torah gives him a text to recite: And thou shalt speak and say before the LORD thy God: 'A wandering Aramean was my father… (Deu 26:5). The question is: why does the Torah establish specific verses to recite in these circumstances?
The common denominator among them is that each is a situation in which a person -- against his will -- must think of others. The Kohanim are required to bless the rest of the people, specifically "with love" -- and it may very well be that they don't feel that at that particular moment. Therefore the Torah gives them specific words to say. The Sotah must think of her husband, and the emotional trauma she caused him (even if she did nothing other than give him just cause to be suspicious of her). And though it is almost certain she does not want to drink the "bitter water", the Torah requires her to answer: "Amen, Amen". The man who brings his first fruits to the Temple at the conclusion of a long and difficult year of field work can only with difficulty disabuse himself of the notion that his hands produced all this bounty. Therefore, the Torah requires him to thank God not only for the produce he brought, but also for all His wondrous deeds which brought the world to the point where he could bring his modest offering.
The Torah wants us to break out of our self-absorption and develop a proper perspective. Only with the correct approach may we progress beyond being "naked apes" and become human.
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