Embracing Mitzvot Properly

Parshat Naso


by Rabbi Avi Billet

The Yalkut Shimoni (Naso 6:710) raises an interesting non-halakhic debate between Rabbi Yehuda and Rabbi Shimon as to what was the motivation for becoming a Nazir.

Rabbi Yehuda claims the Chassidim Harishonim (the early pious ones) would take upon themselves the vow of Nezirut (abstaining from cutting hair, drinking wine, and becoming tameh to a dead body) in order to obligate themselves to bring a Sin offering on the completion of the vow.

Rabbi Shimon disagrees as he finds it unconscionable that people would take a vow of Nezirut for the sole purpose of having to bring a certain sacrifice afterwards. For instance, there are many offerings people could commit to bringing without having to go through a process that, noble and ascetic as it may be, brings about an obligation for a sin offering upon its completion. In fact, claims Rabbi Shimon, they would never commit to be a Nazir because they did not want to have a sin – mild as it may be in the scheme of things – on their record. Regardless of the impetus, bringing a Sin-offering is a sure sign that the one bringing it has sinned. 

The question of who is right is either a question for historians to explore or for the philosophers to debate. My gut tells me Rabbi Shimon is correct. At the same time, I am fascinated by the thought Rabbi Yehuda ascribes to these early pious ones.

 Chapter 6 describes the personal and spiritual responsibilities and goals of the Nazir during the Nezirut period, a time in which the Nazir is considered holy, and consecrated to God (Bamidbar 6:8). The Children of Israel, certainly have a responsibility to achieve that end as much as we can (Vayikra 19:2).

But the method that is utilized by the Nazir, as it were, is highly criticized. What gives a person the right to withdraw completely from the world? To swear off wine – which is considered one of the sources of true joy (Tehillim 104:15, Kohelet 10:19)? During the minimal one month period of Nezirut, for example, the Nazir will miss 4 or 5 opportunities to perform Kiddush properly on Shabbos!

What gives a person the right to neglect one's grooming, to have the appearance of a mourner?

What gives a person, especially a non-kohen, the right to swear off becoming tameh to one's relatives?

To understand the thought process of the Nazir is to understand one who either is trying to commit wholly to God at a price, or who is looking to get away from the world because that seems the best choice at this time, in a manner that successfully pushes off one's problems for the duration of the Nezirut (of course there may be other reasons driving a person).

According to Rabbi Yehuda, the early pious one purposely sought this existence not necessarily because they felt being a Nazir was a good thing, but because they wanted to be able to fulfill a mitzvah they could not otherwise do without going through the process.

Imagine a person wants to make the Yom Kippur confession and repentance a more meaningful experience. A person might deliberately sin, might deliberately eat forbidden foods or engage in sinful behavior as a one-time shot, knowing full well that a one-time satisfied craving will be enough to last a life-time, such that it will never really be a challenge again, in order to be counted as sincerely penitent on Yom Kippur, in a manner the person knows can be maintained. A real baal teshuvah!

This method is certainly a lot easier than promising not to return to the sinful ways we nonetheless return to each year. And yet we know it is ludicrous. How does the future penitence justify the current wrong behavior? It doesn't! Being committed to the Torah and its mitzvot does not mean a person needs to fulfill every one of the mitzvot.

It does mean that one's heart and mind is committed to the life-system that is ordered by the Torah. I don't need to kill an Amalekite, I never to need to send away the mother bird, and I don't need to become a Nazir.

Any marriage that lasts a lifetime never needs to see the issuance of a get. Even the prophet Shmuel chastised the people for asking for a King – there is an element of ideal in a Jewish king, but apparently it is not always the best option for the people of Israel.

A committed Jew seeks to perform mitzvot either because they are simply available without arm-twisting, or because they enhance a person's life. But mitzvot that are set-up as a follow up to a less than ideal circumstance – such as denying certain pleasures we are encouraged to enjoy – are not meant to be for everybody. They are not mitzvot that must be fulfilled at all cost.

Rabbi Shimon said it best when he said "Chas Veshalom" that a person feel obligated to t ake such a route. This is an aberration of the Torah's stance on commitment and obligation. It is a sign of weakness and false piety – certainly not a sign of strength.