[Par-reg] for Parshat Naso - shiur re: the Nesiim

Tue May 31 02:34:14 EDT 2011

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     THE TANACH STUDY CENTER [http://www.tanach.org]

          In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag

     Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem Leibtag

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              PARSHAT NASO - the Nsiim

    We were all taught from a young age that the Torah

doesn't 'waste' any words.  Nevertheless, the repetition
of

the 'korbanot' of the Nsiim [the Princes (of each tribe)]
in

Parshat Naso certainly leaves the reader with the
impression

that [at times] the Torah can be very 'wordy'.

    In the following shiur, as we study chapter 7, we will

attempt to explain the thematic significance of that

repetition - to show how the Torah's 'wordiness' is not

'wasteful' at all.

INTRODUCTION

  Rarely does anyone pay careful attention to the second
half

of Parshat Naso; and for a very simple reason.  In those
last

eighty some psukim (see 7:12-83), the Torah repeats twelve

times the exact same details of the exact same korban
brought

by each "nasi"!  Then, 'to top it off', in the final five

psukim (see 7:84-88) the Torah tallies them for us as
well.

  For that reason, you probably never paid attention to
the

last pasuk of the Parsha - but if you did, it most
certainly

should have bothered you!

     Let's explain why:

AN ALMOST PERFECT FINALE

     At the conclusion of the Torah's tally of all of the

offerings brought during those twelve days we find what

appears to be a 'perfect' summary pasuk:

  "zot chanukat ha'mizbeiach... " - 'this was the
dedication

  offering for the Altar on the day that it was
consecrated.'

    (see 7:88)

     Clearly, 7:88 could (and should) have been the final

pasuk of this entire unit.  To verify this, simply note
how

7:88 provides perfect 'closure' for 7:84, as well as for
7:1

(which began the entire unit)!

  [It is highly recommended that you take a look in your

  Chumash to see this for yourself!]

     But to our surprise, after this summary is complete,
the

Torah 'adds on' an additional pasuk that appears to be
totally

unrelated. Let's take a look:

  "...And when Moshe would come into the OHEL MOED to
speak to

  Him, he would hear God's voice speak to him from above
the

  KAPORET above the ARON between the two keruvim, and then
He

  would speak to him."

    (See 7:89, i.e. the end of Parshat Naso)

     The information in this pasuk may be important, but
it

has absolutely nothing to do with the 'korbanot' that were

just offered.  After all, what connection could there be

between 'how God spoke to Moshe from the Ohel Moed' and
'the

twelve days of korbanot' that were just offered by the
Nsiim?

NOTHING NEW

     To complicate matters, not only does this pasuk
appear to

be 'out of place', it also appears to be totally
superfluous -

for it doesn't contain any information that we didn't
already

know beforehand.  Let's explain why.

     Concerning how God spoke to Moshe from above the
KAPORET

etc. (see 7:89) - note how this very same detail was
already

recorded in Parshat Terumah - in God's commandment to
Moshe

concerning how to build the Mishkan:

  "and in the ARON put the EYDUT... And I will meet you
there

  and speak to you from above the KAPORET between the two

  KERUVIM that are on the ARON HA'EYDUT..." (see Shmot
25:21-

  22)

     Later on, in the very first pasuk of Sefer Vayikra,
we

were already informed that God had indeed spoken to Moshe

Rabeinu from the Ohel Moed (see Vayikra 1:1).

     Therefore, all the information provided by 7:89 is

already known, and hence this pasuk seems to be both 'out
of

place' and superfluous.

     To uncover the importance of this 'add on' pasuk, we
must

return to our study of what transpired on this special day
in

the Bible - the day when the Mishkan was first dedicated -
as

the events on that day are described not only here in
Sefer

Bamidbar, but also in Shmot and Vayikra!

YOM HA'SHMINI

     Recall that in addition to Parshat Naso, there are
two

other units in Chumash that describe the story of the

Mishkan's dedication:

*   Toward the conclusion of Parshat Pekudei, the Torah

described how the Mishkan was assembled, followed by how
the

shechina dwelled upon it (see Shmot chapter 40);

*   In Parshat Shmini, the Torah detailed the special

korbanot offered by Aharon and the people on that day,
that

enabled God's glory to appear (see Vayikra 9, especially
9:1-

6).

     Even though each of story describes a different
aspect of

what happened on that day, they both focus on how God's

"shechina" returned to Am Yisrael on that day (see Shmot
40:34-

38 and Vayikra 9:5-6,24).

     We will now show how the final pasuk of Parshat Naso
may

also relate to that same event, and for an important
thematic

reason!

BACK TO CHET HA'EGEL

     Recall that in the aftermath of chet ha'egel [the sin
of

the Golden Calf /see Shmot 32], God concluded that Bnei

Yisrael would not be able survive if His divine Presence -
the

shechina" - remained in their midst.  Therefore, God
informed

Moshe that He would be taking away His "shechina" from the

camp of Bnei Yisrael (see Shmot 33:1-4).  As a consequence
of

this punishment, God instructed Moshe to re-locate his own

tent from inside the camp to OUTSIDE the camp:

  "And Moshe took the tent, and set it up OUTSIDE the
camp,

  FAR AWAY from the camp, and called it the OHEL MOED,
then

  anyone who would seek God would need to go to the tent

  OUTSIDE the camp (see Shmot 33:7).

     From this perspective, the very placement of Moshe's
tent

OUTSIDE the camp, and the fact that God would now only
speak

to him at this location served as a constant reminder of
Bnei

Yisrael's 'down-graded' status.

  [Note as well that Moshe's tent outside the camp is now

  named the OHEL MOED - the tent of meeting (between God
and

  Moshe) - a name that will later be used to describe the

  Mishkan itself!]

     With this background, we can better appreciate the

thematic importance of the wording of God's opening

commandment for Bnei Yisrael to build the Mishkan (in
Sefer

Shmot):

  "And you shall build for Me a MIKDASH, so that I can
dwell

  in THEIR MIDST..." (see Shmot 25:8)

     Building the Mishkan would enable the shechina to
return

to the camp of Bnei Yisrael.

    [In regard to whether this commandment was given
before

    [Ramban] or after [Rashi] chet ha'egel - see TSC shiur
on

    Parshat Terumah.  This thematic connection between the

    Mishkan and the story of chet ha'egel certainly
supports

    Rashi's (and Chazal's) approach.]

     Recall as well that even though God had answered
Moshe

Rabeinu's plea to forgive their sin (see Shmot 33:12-19)
by

invoking His thirteen attributes of Mercy (see 34:1-7) -
the

"shechina" did not immediately return.  Rather, in order
to re-

establish their special covenantal relationship with God,
Bnei

Yisrael are instructed to first build the Mishkan (see
35:1-6).

  Therefore, during that entire interim time period, i.e.
the

six months between Moshe's descent from Har Sinai on Yom

Kippur and the Mishkan's dedication on Rosh Chodesh Nisan,
any

conversation between God and Moshe took place in the OHEL
MOED

located OUTSIDE the camp.

     [See Ibn Ezra, Ramban, and Chizkuni on 33:7!]

  Until the Mishkan would be assembled, the existence of

Moshe's special OHEL MOED outside the camp served as
constant

reminder to Bnei Yisrael that were still not worthy for
God to

dwell in their midst.

     Thus, the location of the Mishkan at the center of
the

camp, and God speaking to Moshe from its innermost
sanctuary

(see Shmot 25:21-22) would certainly serve as a sign to
Bnei

Yisrael that God had forgiven their sin, and that they
have

returned to their pre-"chet ha'egel" status.

THE BIG DAY!

     With this background, it becomes clear why the
highlight

of the day of the Mishkan's dedication would be the return
of

God's "shechina" to the camp, a sign not only of their
divine

pardon, but also an indication that they could now
continue

their journey to Eretz Canaan.

     Therefore, the FIRST time that God will speak to
Moshe

from the Mishkan (in contrast to his OHEL MOED outside the

camp) will certainly be a major event in the eyes of the

nation - for it will indicate that their construction of
the

Mishkan has achieved its primary goal!

     From this perspective, the final pasuk of Parshat
Naso

becomes the most important pasuk of the entire Parsha!  It
is

no longer a misplaced 'add on'; rather it should be
understand

as the highlight of the entire chapter - for it describes
how

God spoke to Moshe from the KAPORET in the OHEL MOED (see

7:89) - the key event that everyone was waiting for!

     Note how this interpretation completes our parallel
to

the other two descriptions of the dedication ceremony of
the

Mishkan in Shmot and Vayikra:

*   In Sefer Shmot, the Torah described the return of the

     shechina (i.e the KAVOD and ANAN /see 40:34) at the
conclusion

     of MOSHE RABEINU's assembly of the Mishkan.

        There, the Torah focuses on the leadership of
Moshe

     Rabeinu, and how God answered his prayer (see
34:8--9!)

                       ["b'zchut" Moshe]

*   In Sefer Vayikra, the Torah describes how the
"shechina"

     word return by the offering of special korbanot 

     (see 9:5-6 & 9:24).

       There, the Torah focuses on the function of Aharon,
and

     the kohanim, who serve as the liaison between God and

     His people.

                       ["b'zchut" Aharon]

*   Now, In Sefer Bamidbar, the Torah describes how the

      shechina returned due to the leadership of the
Nsiim.

                       ["b'zchut" ha'Nsiim]

     But why were these korbanot offered by the Nsiim so

instrumental towards the return of God's shechina?

     To answer this question, we must return to our
analysis

of Sefer Bamidbar.

A SHOW OF UNITY

     Recall how the first ten chapters of Sefer Bamidbar

describe Bnei Yisrael's preparation for their journey from
Har

Sinai to Eretz Canaan.  During this journey it was the job
of

the Leviim to transport the Mishkan, while the twelve
tribes

both encamped and traveled with the Mishkan at their
'center'

(see Bamidbar 10:11-24).

     On the day of the Mishkan's dedication, the leaders
of

the twelve tribes - i.e. the Nsiim - took a joint
initiative

to donate six transport wagons - that would help the
Leviim

carry the Mishkan during their journey (see 7:1-9).
Together

with the presentation of these six wagons, each and every

"nasi" also offered a special korban - in honor of the

dedication of the Mishkan (see 7:10).

     Instead of each leader trying to outdo the other
[ever

hear of such a thing?], to our surprise - each NASI
offered

the exact same korban, and they all presented their
korbanot

to Moshe Rabeinu together on that very first day.

  For some reason, God instructed Moshe not to accept them
all

on the same day; rather Moshe was commanded to set aside a

special day for each NASI (see 7:11!).  Furthermore, the
Torah

dedicates the next eighty psukim to detail the precise
korban

offered by each leader on each consecutive day!

  One could suggest that this show of 'unity' was so

important, that the Torah found it worthwhile to detail
each

and every korban, even though they were all identical!

BACK TO DAY ONE!

     It would have been significant enough had the Torah
only

repeated each korban; but to 'top it off', the Torah
continues

in 7:84-88 by providing us with a tally of all the
offerings

brought over those twelve days (like we don't know how to

multiply!).

  But note carefully how that summary unit begins:

  "This was the dedication of the MIZBAYACH, on THE DAY
that

  it was anointed, by the NSIIM of Israel...  (7:84)

  The Torah has returned to 'Day One' of the dedication

ceremony, reminding us that all of these korbanot were
first

presented jointly by all the Nsiim - on the very first day

(i.e. when the Mishkan was first dedicated):

     This could provide us with a reason for this summary.

The Torah does not need to teach us multiplication; rather
it

is emphasizing once again how all of these korbanot were

presented to Moshe Rabeinu by ALL of the NSIIM on the very

first day - in a show of national unity!

  As these psukim describe what transpired on the first
day of

the Mishkan's dedication - the Torah concludes (in 7:89)
by

telling us how this joint offering enabled the most

significant event on that day to take place.  From now on,
God

would speak to Moshe from the Ohel Moed within the camp of

Bnei Yisrael!  It may have been this show of unity that

inspired God to allow His "shechina" to return to dwell in

their midst.

  The nation, via its leaders, had shown their worthiness
to

return to their status as God's special nation - chosen to

represent Him before the eyes of all mankind.

     United in purpose, Bnei Yisrael were now ready to
leave

Har Sinai with God in their midst, to take the challenge
of

establishing God's model nation in the Promised Land.

  [See also Rashi on Shmot 19:2 "va'yichan" everyone as
one

  person with one heart...", describing how Bnei Yisrael
first

  encamped at Har Sinai.]

     It may be that it was because of this collective
effort,

where everyone acted together towards a common goal, while

keeping their own identity; that God found it important to

give each Nasi his own special day.  By acting with unity,

each Nasi was now able to shine as an individual.  It may
have

been that understanding of the important balance between
the

nation and the individual - that made room for God to
'join

along' with His nation, as they prepared for their next
stage

of Redemption!

     That show of unity was only short lived in Sefer

Bamidbar, as the nation returned to divisiveness as soon
as

they left Har Sinai (see chapters 11 thru 25 in Sefer

Bamidbar).  Nonetheless, that short moment of unity can
remain

as inspiration for future generations, especially to their

leaders, and especially at times of historic potential.

                                   shabbat shalom,

                                   menachem

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