TORAH FOR THE TIMES
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Torah Reading: Parshat Naso, Numbers 4:21 - 7:89
Haftora: Judges 13:2 - 25
Shabbat Candle Lighting: 8:06 PM
Shabbat Ends: 9:15 PM
NASO
LIFT UP AND UPLIFT!
No Coincidences
Nothing happens by coincidence! This is a central teaching of the Chassidic movement as declared by its founder, Rabbi Israel Ba’al Shem Tov (whose 220th Yahrtzeit was observed this past Shavuos). When events, happy or sad, occur during a special time of the year it compels us to look at those events in light of, and in connection to, the Holidays and Torah portions of that particular time.
I’m compelled to refer to the horrific torture and murder of a human being by a policeman recorded in vivid, excruciatingly painful and repulsive detail and exposed to the entire world. I’m also referring to the tragic aftermath where, instead of responding with life-affirming, peaceful, unifying and loving words, we’ve witnessed the opposite, to put it mildly.
These events occurred in the week after Shavuos, a week which is still connected to and under the influence of the event it commemorates and relives: the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. The message this confluence of events conveys is that we must connect them to Torah. Indeed, the only approach to situations like the ones we’ve witnessed is to invoke the Torah, the source of both justice and peace.
The breakdown of civility and the hatred evident in society in these last days point us in one direction; we need a total reorientation of our societal values and priorities. It is tragic that today’s slogan in our society is that we cannot breathe. The atmosphere is so toxic; we are pining for a politics and polemics-free infusion of oxygen.
The Only Way Out
Considering the polarity of our society and the hatred that accompanies it, one can suggest that the only sure way we can climb out of this morass is through the coming of Moshiach.
Although, we should welcome Moshiach any way he comes, I am pained that we have so far missed the opportunity for Moshiach to come in an atmosphere of peace, love and enlightenment.
However, the lesson from Pesach Sheni-the Second Passover, which was observed just a few short weeks ago, and will be reading about in next week’s parsha, is that it is never too late! We can, and always must, reclaim our innocence and ascend to the higher ground to warrant Moshiach because of us and our behavior; not G‑d forbid in spite of us.
First and foremost, we have to take this opportunity to lift ourselves out of the quagmire of hatred and division; leaving the stifling, discordant and strife-riddled mindset of society today.
The Week of “Naso-Lift-Up”
But that is not enough this week in which we read the parsha of Naso which means “lift up.” Of course, we must leave behind hatred, incrimination, revenge and division. But we have to also lift ourselves out of pettiness, mediocrity and everything, even the most benign, that locks us in the vicious cycle of Galus.
For example, we hear of people advocating tolerance in this atmosphere of violence and hatred. But mere tolerance is still mediocrity. Parshas Naso-Uplift demands of us that we do far better than that.
Let us not stop at simply tolerating the Other with whom we disagree.
To be sure, toleration of others is preferable to its alternative, but it is a far cry from love and embrace of the Other. Tolerance is a benign form of confinement. In Torah parlance it is Galus-exile because it is limited; it doesn’t capture the true inner essence of who we are and what we are capable of being.
Unconditional Love is uplifting, liberating and redemptive; it is Geulah.
At any other time, we could perhaps make an argument for mere tolerance, but when we read the Torah parsha of Naso-Uplift, we must rise above conventionality and reach for the spiritual “Grand Prize.”
True Inner Peace
But to achieve true peace we must be at peace with our true inner selves. And the only way we can achieve and access that inner peace is through Torah, which is the very source of peace. Torah is, by definition an expression of Naso, a transcendent Divine wisdom, which lifts us out of the ordinary and conventional.
However, the lesson of Naso-uplifting cannot be limited to conventional Torah learning. We must endeavor to uplift even the Torah that we learn.
Indeed, the opening words of this week’s parsha are “Lift up the heads (it is usually translated as “Count the heads” but literally meaning “Lift up the heads.)” The Rebbe taught us that it means that even the head, the seat of the highest intellectual aspect of the human being as it is filled with Torah knowledge, must be uplifted. We must endeavor to reach higher levels and dimensions of Torah knowledge.
This “Naso-uplifting” enhancement of our Torah learning can be realized in several ways:
a) To increase one’s Torah study schedule.
b) To infuse whatever Torah we study with greater energy, enthusiasm and depth.
c) To study the inner, spiritual teachings of Torah as they have been revealed in mystical and Chassidic texts, many of which are available on line. These teachings have the power to touch deeper levels of consciousness and allow us to access deeper parts of our soul.
d) To study the Torah subjects of Redemption and Moshiach because these subjects, when taught through the prism of Torah, have the capacity to change our Galus mindset.
Twin Lessons
Every negative phenomenon has a silver lining. There are few events that capture world attention.
This tragedy is one such event preceded by the corona virus which also had a galvanizing effect on the entire world.
To Jews who believe in Divine providence, G‑d is sending us a message: “The Time of Your Redemption has arrived. Get ready for the ultimate and final upheaval that will capture the entire world’s attention in a totally positive way.
But if that is G‑d’s plan why did He need two globally riveting events? If all He wanted was our attention wouldn’t the corona virus have sufficed?
One can only conjecture, but, perhaps G‑d was trying to teach us twin lessons:
The first lesson is that a microscopic virus can change the entire world. This should teach us that no detail is in the world by accident. As the Ba’al Shem Tov taught us that even the tiny movement of a leaf fluttering in the world relates to the entire purpose of the universe. This lesson impresses that G‑d’s working have infinite ramifications and that we should to see G‑d’s hand in everything.
But, that is G‑d’s doing.
The second lesson is that one abhorrent human action has so dramatically affected the entire country and indeed the entire world. This instructs us that we too, individually, have the power to galvanize and even change the whole world.
These twin lessons speak of G‑d’s greatness and power and that He endowed us with our own small measure of that infinite power.
Let us take the inspiration from these universal events to access that power. Once unleashed, we will indeed change the world for the good, uplift and liberate it with the coming of Moshiach and the Final Redemption!
