Save "Parashat Naso HJC 5780 - Talking About Privilege"
Parashat Naso HJC 5780 - Talking About Privilege
Worthy of Being Counted
מִבֶּן֩ שְׁלֹשִׁ֨ים שָׁנָ֜ה וָמַ֗עְלָה עַ֛ד בֶּן־חֲמִשִּׁ֥ים שָׁנָ֖ה תִּפְקֹ֣ד אוֹתָ֑ם כָּל־הַבָּא֙ לִצְבֹ֣א צָבָ֔א לַעֲבֹ֥ד עֲבֹדָ֖ה בְּאֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃

Record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of tasks for the Tent of Meeting.

הבא לצבא צבא. פירוש צבא חברת אנשים המשתתפים יחד לעמוד במשרת עבודתם. (פעראיין) וטעם לצבא צבא, כל הבא להיות שותף החברה.

Who are subject to service. The explanation of "service" is a group of men who join together to stand in service. And the meaning of "who are subject to service" means all of those who are able to join the group.

Worthy of Being Cleansed
מִזָּכָ֤ר עַד־נְקֵבָה֙ תְּשַׁלֵּ֔חוּ אֶל־מִח֥וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶ֖ה תְּשַׁלְּח֑וּם וְלֹ֤א יְטַמְּאוּ֙ אֶת־מַ֣חֲנֵיהֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֲנִ֖י שֹׁכֵ֥ן בְּתוֹכָֽם׃

Remove male and female alike; put them outside the camp so that they do not defile the camp of those in whose midst I dwell.

מזכר עד נקבה תשלחו מאיש עד אשה לא נאמר לומר לך שלענין טומאה שוים גדולים וקטנים.
מזכר עד נקבה תשלחו, “be such a person male or female he or she must be removed from the camps forbidden for their category of defilement.” The verse teaches that in respect of ritual defilement the Torah does not make a distinction between minors and adults, males or females.
Worthy of Being Allowed to Make Restitution
דַּבֵּר֮ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ אִ֣ישׁ אֽוֹ־אִשָּׁ֗ה כִּ֤י יַעֲשׂוּ֙ מִכָּל־חַטֹּ֣את הָֽאָדָ֔ם לִמְעֹ֥ל מַ֖עַל בַּה' וְאָֽשְׁמָ֖ה הַנֶּ֥פֶשׁ הַהִֽוא׃

Speak to the Israelites: When a man or woman commits any wrong toward a fellow man, thus breaking faith with the LORD, and that person realizes his guilt,

וטעם מכל חטאת האדם...ואמר בכאן איש או אשה מפני שאין דרך האשה לגזול ואולי לא יחייב אותה הכתוב בחומש ואשם כאיש

And the meaning behind any wrong toward a fellow man...And the text says here "a man or a woman" because it is not the way of a woman to steal and if she does, she is not obligated by the text to pay the restitution [like a man].

Worthy of Being Believed
דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אִ֥ישׁ אִישׁ֙ כִּֽי־תִשְׂטֶ֣ה אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וּמָעֲלָ֥ה ב֖וֹ מָֽעַל׃

Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: If any man’s wife has gone astray and broken faith with him

איש איש. לְלַמֶּדְךָ שֶׁמּוֹעֶלֶת בִּשְׁתַּיִם – בְּאִישׁ מִלְחָמָה שֶׁלְּמַעְלָה, וְאִישָׁהּ מִלְּמַטָּה:

איש איש — The double expression איש איש is employed to teach you that she (the faithless wife) deals treacherously in two respects — against Him above Who bears the appelation of איש, as in the text "[the Lord is] a Man of the war” (Exodus 15:3), and against her husband (אישה) here below (Midrash Tanchuma, Vaetchanan 5).

כי תשטה אשתו. שָׁנוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ אֵין הַמְנָאֲפִין נוֹאֲפִין עַד שֶׁתִּכָּנֵס בָּהֶן רוּחַ שְׁטוּת, דִּכְתִיב "כִּי תִשְׂטֶה" וְכָתוּב בּוֹ "נֹאֵף אִשָּׁה חֲסַר לֵב" (משלי ו'); וּפְשׁוּטוֹ שֶׁל מִקְרָא: כי תשטה — תֵּט מִדַּרְכֵי צְנִיעוּת וְתֵחָשֵׁד בְּעֵינָיו, כְּמוֹ "שְׂטֵה מֵעָלָיו וַעֲבֹר" (שם ד'), "אַל יֵשְׂטְ אֶל דְּרָכֶיהָ לִבֶּךָ" (שם ז'):
כי תשטה — Our Rabbis have taught (Midrash Tanchuma, Nasso 5): “Adulterers do never sin until a spirit of madness enters into them”, as it written, of her כי תשטה “if she becomes mad” (taking תִשְׂטֶה in the sense of תִשְׂטֶה, i.e. to become a שׁוֹטֶה, and so, too, of him Scripture writes, (Proverbs 6:32) “Whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding”. — But the plain sense of the verse is that כי תשטה means: if she deviates from the path of modesty and thereby becomes suspect in his eyes. The word is similar to, (Proverbs 4:15) “turn away (שְׂטֵה) from it, and pass by”; (Proverbs 7:25) “Let not your heart turn (יַשְׂטְ) to her ways”.
Worthy of Being Accomodated
וְעָבַ֨ר עָלָ֧יו רֽוּחַ־קִנְאָ֛ה וְקִנֵּ֥א אֶת־אִשְׁתּ֖וֹ וְהִ֣וא נִטְמָ֑אָה אוֹ־עָבַ֨ר עָלָ֤יו רֽוּחַ־קִנְאָה֙ וְקִנֵּ֣א אֶת־אִשְׁתּ֔וֹ וְהִ֖יא לֹ֥א נִטְמָֽאָה׃

but a fit of jealousy comes over him and he is wrought up about the wife who has defiled herself; or if a fit of jealousy comes over one and he is wrought up about his wife although she has not defiled herself—

Etz Chayim Humash Commentary on Numbers 5:14

It would seem that the Sages understood the ordeal of the sotah less as a way of ferreting out adulteresses and more as a way of "proving" to the husband that his suspicions were groundless. A man who might not be satisfed with a court's finding of "not guilty in the absence of proof" would have to accept the judgment of Heaven. Because it is unlikely that the ritual would produce a guilty verdict (unless through the psychosomatic reaction of a truly guilty wife), its purpose may well have been to alleviate the husband's suspicion and restore domestic harmony.

We can understand the promise of verse 28, that if the woman is found innocent, she will be able to "retain seed," as foreseeing that she will be restored to a life of love with her husband. But even if the ordeal and a subsequent pregnancy turn the husband's heart back to his wife, what will it take to restore her trust in him and affection for him?

(כח) וְאִם־לֹ֤א נִטְמְאָה֙ הָֽאִשָּׁ֔ה וּטְהֹרָ֖ה הִ֑וא וְנִקְּתָ֖ה וְנִזְרְעָ֥ה זָֽרַע׃

(28) But if the woman has not defiled herself and is pure, she shall be unharmed and able to retain seed.

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