~ Nasso is a packed portion. It has the continuation of the Levite census, laws regarding impurity, the bitter waters ritual, the laws regarding the nazir, the priestly blessing and our triennial!
Our portion focuses on the chieftains and their offerings.
As we read, I would like to invite you to:
1. Look for any symbolic meaning you can regarding the offerings themselves.
2. Try to remind what you know about the first chief, Nachshon ben Aminadav.
3. Why would all the chief offer exactly the same thing, and we have to read exactly the same words 12 times?
~ Note the progression: from Adam to Noach
~ Torah as the center
~ the Patriarchs
~ And finally a bit of "recent" history
There is a message, says Rashi, on these offerings: they are symbolic of the relationships of God with the world and with us, and of our relationships with one another inside B'nai Israel. They denote transcendence of the self, the need for connection with others and with our own identity, our own people, but without forgetting that this people, too, is part of a larger whole.
Enter Nachshon! Who is he? As far back as I can remember, when I learned about קריעת ים סוף, I learned that there was a man by the name of נחשון בן עמינדב who jumped into the Sea, and that's why it actually opened, because someone decided to show to the people that there is hope face an impossible impasse. His bold individual action actually becomes a moniker in Israel: who is the Nachshon? Meaning, who will take action?
אמר לו רבי יהודה לא כך היה מעשה אלא זה אומר אין אני יורד תחילה לים וזה אומר אין אני יורד תחילה לים קפץ נחשון בן עמינדב וירד לים תחילה שנאמר (הושע יב, א) סבבוני בכחש אפרים ובמרמה בית ישראל ויהודה עוד רד עם אל ועליו מפרש בקבלה (תהלים סט, ב) הושיעני אלקים כי באו מים עד נפש טבעתי ביון מצולה ואין מעמד וגו' (תהלים סט, טז) אל תשטפני שבולת מים ואל תבלעני מצולה וגו' באותה שעה היה משה מאריך בתפלה אמר לו הקב"ה ידידיי טובעים בים ואתה מאריך בתפלה לפני אמר לפניו רבונו של עולם ומה בידי לעשות אמר לו (שמות יד, טו) דבר אל בני ישראל ויסעו ואתה הרם את מטך ונטה את ידך וגו' לפיכך זכה יהודה לעשות ממשלה בישראל שנאמר (תהלים קיד, ב) היתה יהודה לקדשו ישראל ממשלותיו מה טעם היתה יהודה לקדשו וישראל ממשלותיו משום דהים ראה וינוס
Rabbi Yehuda said to Rabbi Meir: That is not how the incident took place. Rather, this tribe said: I am not going into the sea first, and that tribe said: I am not going into the sea first. Then, in jumped the prince of Judah, Nahshon ben Amminadab, and descended into the sea first, accompanied by his entire tribe, as it is stated: “Ephraim surrounds Me with lies and the house of Israel with deceit, and Judah is yet wayward toward God [rad im El]” (Hosea 12:1), which is interpreted homiletically as: And Judah descended [rad] with God [im El]. And in this regard, the tradition, i.e., the Writings, explicates Nahshon’s prayer at that moment: “Save me, God; for the waters are come in even unto the soul. I am sunk in deep mire, where there is no standing…let not the water flood overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up” (Psalms 69:2–3, 16). At that time, Moses was prolonging his prayer. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to him: My beloved ones are drowning in the sea and you prolong your prayer to me? Moses said before Him: Master of the Universe, but what can I do? God said to him: “Speak to the children of Israel that they go forward. And you, lift up your rod and stretch out your hand” (Exodus 14:15–16). For this reason, because Nahshon and the tribe of Judah went into the sea first, the tribe of Judah merited to govern Israel, as it is stated: “Judah became His sanctuary, Israel His dominion. The sea saw it and fled” (Psalms 114:2–3). The baraita interprets the verses in this manner: What is the reason that Judah became His sanctuary and Israel came under His dominion? It is because “the sea saw it and fled.”
~ Note the many connections to Hallel
~ Nachshon knows when to jump in and break the mental image of an impasse for B'nai Israel. When all seemed lost, it is Nachshon that quite literally takes the plunge and moves the group forward. At the same time, when there is no crisis, and all are building the mishkan, Nachshon is content with offering the same thing that others are, he is content on latching on to the universal meaning of a Mishkan and not stand out. He ends up being a lesson on leadership: never lose hope nor faith, using your personal gifts to move B'nai Israel forward, while keeping the value that not everything needs to be done by you.