Parashat Naso - Third Aliyah
Read the biblical text and try to understand it on your own, before reading the commentary.
Numbers 5:1 to 5:10
1. Preserving the Purity of the Camp
“Vishaleḥu min hamaḥane kol tzaru’a vechol zav vechol tame lanafesh” (“Send out of the camp every leper, every one with a discharge, and every one impure by reason of the dead”, verse 2)
The first command refers to removing different types of impure persons from the camp of Israel. Why?
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Because God dwells among them, and the camp must be pure and dignified.
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There is importance to a physical and spiritual environment that is clean, elevated, and honoring of the Shechina.
2. Confession and Repentance
“Vehitvadu et ḥatatam asher asu” (“And they shall confess the sin which they have done”, verse 7)
These verses deal with a person who stole and swore falsely (Rashi on verse 6), and seeks to correct his actions:
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He confesses with his mouth, and admits the guilt.
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He returns the stolen item or the debt, with an added fifth (one fifth, 20%).
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If the victim has no heir (such as in the case of robbing a convert), the money is given to the Kohen (verse 8).
Rambam (Mishneh Torah, Laws of Repentance 1:1) learned from here: verbal confession is a positive commandment from the Torah. As it is said: “And they shall confess the sin which they have done.”
3. The Holiness of the Gifts
“Vechol truma lechol kodshei bnei Yisrael asher yakrivu lakohen lo yihye” (“Every contribution of all the holy gifts of the children of Israel, which they bring to the Kohen, shall be his”, verse 9)
The aliyah concludes by emphasizing that every contribution or gift a person gives from the holy belongs to the Kohen.
- The Torah teaches here a principle of holiness and transfer: when a person consecrates something, the holiness leaves his domain.
What Is the Message?
Three levels of work of the heart and the deed:
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Internal and external purity: to keep our camp clean.
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Confession and correction: the courage to admit mistakes and correct them.
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Consecration and giving: to know how to set aside and to give, out of respect for the holy.
Sometimes a sending out from the camp is needed, in order to preserve the holy. Sometimes a return to the camp is needed, through repentance. And sometimes, simply to know to give and to release, that which is no longer yours.
This is how one builds a society that is pure, just, and holy.
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