PARSHAT NASO
[the "nssiim"]
Did you ever notice the last pasuk in Parshat Naso? Probably
not, but if you did - it most certainly would have bothered you!
We'll begin this week's shiur by explaining why that pasuk
'should have bothered you'. Then we will suggest a solution that
will help us understand both the structure of Parshat Naso and
the importance of national unity.
INTRODUCTION
Rarely does anyone pay attention to the second half of
Parshat Naso (that describes of dedication offerings brought by
the twelve NSSIIM); and for a very simple reason. In those last
eighty some psukim (see 7:12-83), the Torah repeats TWELVE times
the identical details of the korban of each "nasi"! Then, 'to
top it off', in the final five psukim (see 7:84-88) the Torah
tallies them for us as well.
But let's say we understood the necessity for that lengthy
repetition. The final pasuk of this Parsha remains totally
baffling. Let's explain why.
AN ALMOST PERFECT FINALE
At the conclusion of the Torah's tally of all of the
offerings brought during those twelve days we find a 'perfect'
summary pasuk:
"... this was the dedication offering for the MIZBAYACH on
the day that it was consecrated." (see 7:88)
Clearly, 7:88 could (and should) be the final pasuk of this
unit. To verify this, note how 7:88 'closes' 7:84 as well as 7:1!
[It is recommended that you take a look in your Chumash to see
this for yourself!]
But to our surprise, after this summary is complete, the
TORAH 'adds on' an additional pasuk that appears to be totally
unrelated. Let's take a look:
"And when Moshe would come into the OHEL MOED to speak to
Him, he would hear God's voice speak to him from above the
KAPORET above the ARON between the two keruvim, and then He
would speak to him." (see 7:89, the end of Parshat Naso)
The information in this pasuk may be important, but what does
'how God spoke to Moshe from the Ohel Moed' have to do with the
korbanot of the nsiim that were just offered?
NOTHING NEW
To complicate matters, not only does this pasuk appear to be
'out of place', it also appears to be superfluous for it doesn't
contain any information that we didn't know beforehand. Let's
explain why.
In regard to the description of HOW God speaks to Moshe from
above the KAPORET etc., this very same detail was already
recorded in Parshat Terumah in God's commandment to Moshe
concerning how to build the Mishkan:
"and in the ARON put the EYDUT... And I will meet you there
and speak to you from above the KAPORET between the two
KERUVIM that are on the ARON HA'EYDUT..." (Shmot 25:21-22)
Furthermore, the first pasuk of Sefer Vayikra already
informed us that God had already spoken to Moshe Rabeinu from the
Ohel Moed (see Vayikra 1:1).
Therefore, not only is 7:89 'out of place', it also appears
to be superfluous.
To uncover the importance of this 'add on' pasuk, we must
consider the other events that took place of the same day that
the nsiim first brought their korbanot, i.e. on the day of the
dedication of the Mishkan.
YOM HA'SHMINI
Recall that Chumash describes the story of the Mishkan's
dedication in three different locations:
* Parshat Pekudei describes its assembly (Shmot chapter 40);
* Parshat Shmini describes the special korbanot (Vayikra 9).
* Parshat Naso describes the korbanot of the nsiim (chapter 7)
It is beyond the scope of this shiur to explain why three
different aspects of the events of the took place on the same day
are recorded in three different seforim. However, we will note
that first two accounts both conclude with a description of how
God's SHCHINA returned to the Mishkan (and hence to Am Yisrael)
on that special day. [Verify this by reviewing Shmot 40:34-38
and Vayikra 9:5-6,24.]
We will now show how the final pasuk of Parshat Naso may
serve a similar purpose; and for a very important thematic
reason! Let's explain.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SHCHINA IN THE CAMP
Recall that at Ma'amad Har Sinai, God's brought down His
SHCHINA and allowed it to dwell within the camp (see Shmot 19:9-
19). However, due to the events of chet ha'egel [the sin of the
Golden Calf /see Shmot chapter 32], God decided that Bnei Yisrael
were no longer worthy of being privy to His Presence. Therefore,
He punished them by taking away His SHCHINA from their midst (see
Shmot 33:1-4).
As a consequence of this punishment, God instructed Moshe to
re-locate his own tent from within the camp of Bnei Yisrael to
OUTSIDE the camp. Note how this point is emphasized in the
Torah's description of these events.
"And Moshe took the tent, and set it up OUTSIDE the camp,
FAR AWAY from the camp, and called it the OHEL MOED, then
anyone who would seek God would need to go to the tent
OUTSIDE the camp (see Shmot 33:7).
Hence, the location of Moshe's tent OUTSIDE the camp, and the
fact that God would now only speak to him at this location,
reflected Bnei Yisrael's 'rejected' status. Note as well that
Moshe's tent outside the camp is now named the OHEL MOED - the
tent of meeting (between God and Moshe) - a name that will later
be used to describe the Mishkan itself!
With this background, we can better appreciate the thematic
importance of the opening statement in God's commandment for Bnei
Yisrael to build the Mishkan:
"And you shall build for Me a MIKDASH, so that I can dwell
in THEIR MIDST..." (see Shmot 25:8)
[In regard to whether this commandment was given before
[Ramban] or after [Rashi] chet ha'egel - see TSC shiur
on Parshat Terumah.]
The location of the Mishkan at the center of the camp, and
God speaking to Moshe from its innermost sanctuary (see Shmot
25:21-22) would certainly symbolize that Bnei Yisrael have
returned to their pre-"chet ha'egel" status of Ma'amad Har Sinai.
Recall as well that even though Moshe had descended with the
Second Luchot and God's thirteen attributes of Mercy on Yom
Kippur, the SHCHINA did not immediately return to the camp.
Indeed Bnei Yisrael were forgiven for chet ha'egel, but in order
for the SHCHINA to return, Bnei Yisrael must first build the
Mishkan. Therefore, for the entire time period between Moshe's
descent on Yom Kippur until the Mishkan's dedication in Rosh
Chodesh Nisan, any conversation between God and Moshe took place
in the OHEL MOED located OUTSIDE the camp.
[See Ibn Ezra, Ramban, and Chizkuni on 33:7!]
Hence, until the Mishkan was assembled, the existence of
Moshe's special OHEL MOED outside the camp served as constant
reminder to Bnei Yisrael that were still not worthy enough for
God's SHCHINA to dwell in their midst.
THE BIG DAY!
With this background, it becomes clear that the highlight of
YOM HA'SHMINI for Bnei Yisrael would be the return of God's
SHCHINA to the camp, a sign of their divine pardon, as well as
a sign that they could now continue on their journey to Eretz
Canaan.
Therefore, the FIRST time that God will speak to Moshe from
the Mishkan (in contrast to his OHEL MOED outside the camp) will
certainly be a major event in the eyes of the nation - it will
indicate that the Mishkan has achieved its goal!
Let's return now to our opening question regarding the
importance of the last pasuk in Parshat Naso:
"And when Moshe would come into the OHEL MOED to speak to
Him, he would hear God's voice speak to him from above the
KAPORET above the ARON between the two keruvim, and then He
would speak to him." (see 7:89)
With this background, this finale pasuk is no longer just an
'add on' pasuk. Rather, this description of how God spoke to
Moshe from the KAPORET in the OHEL MOED (see 7:89) - becomes the
HIGHLIGHT of the entire chapter, for it is a key event in the
Mishkan dedication. . The fact that God now speaks to Moshe from
the Mishkan is a sign that the SHCHINA has indeed returned.
Note how this completes our parallel to the other two
descriptions of the dedication ceremony in Chumash:
* In Sefer Shmot, the Torah describes the return of the
SHCHINA (i.e the KAVOD and ANAN /see 40:34) at the
conclusion of MOSHE RABEINU's assembly of the Mishkan.
[B'zchut Moshe]
* In Sefer Vayikra, the Torah describes the return of the
SHCHINA by fire consuming the korbanot offered by Aharon on
the Mizbayach (i.e. AISH /see 9:24).
[B'zchut Aharon]
* In Sefer Bamidbar, the Torah describes the return of the
SHCHINA by the DIBUR returning to Moshe within the camp.
[B'zchut ha'NSIIM!]
But why are these korbanot of the NSIIM so thematically
important? How do they facilitate the return of God's SHCHINA?
To answer this question, we must return to our analysis of
Sefer Bamidbar.
A SHOW OF UNITY
Recall how the first ten chapters of Sefer Bamidbar describe
Bnei Yisrael's preparation for their journey from Har Sinai to
Eretz Canaan. During this journey it was the job of the Leviim
to carry the Mishkan. The tribes would surround the Mishkan and
travel with the Mishkan at their center in royal fashion (see
Bamidbar 10:11-24).
On the day of the Mishkan's dedication, the leaders of the
twelve tribes - i.e the NSIIM - all joined together to present
the Leviim with a present of six wagons to help them carry the
Mishkan during their journey (see 7:1-9). At that same, each one
of these twelve NSIIM also presented Moshe Rabeinu with a special
korban for the dedication of the Mishkan (see 7:10).
Instead of each NASI trying to outdo the other [ever hear of
such a thing?], each NASI offered the exact same korban, and they
all presented their korbanot to Moshe Rabeinu on that day.
However, even though all the nssiim presented Moshe with
their korbanot on that same day, God instructed Moshe to set
aside a special day for each NASI (see 7:11!). Then the Torah
continues by informing us of how each NASI brought his korban
over the next twelve days. This show of unity was so important,
that the Torah finds it necessary to detail each and every
korban, even though they were identical!
But note carefully how the summary psukim in 7:84-88 return
to the very first day, when the Mishkan was first dedicated:
"This was the dedication of the MIZBAYACH, on THE DAY that
it was anointed, by the NSIIM of Israel... (7:84)
This explains why the Torah summarizes all of the korbanot
together. The Torah is not teaching us addition (or
multiplication), rather it is emphasizing once again how ALL of
these korbanot were presented to Moshe by ALL of the NSIIM on the
very first day! These psukim return us to the very first day of
the Mishkan's dedication and conclude with the highlight of that
day in 7:89 - that God spoke once again to Moshe from the OHEL
MOED within the camp of Bnei Yisrael!
One could suggest that it was this show of unity that made
Bnei Yisrael worthy once again of the SHCHINA. As we know, unity
of Am Yisrael, a nation whose destiny is to represent God before
other nations, is a prerequisite for the dwelling of God's
SHCHINA in our midst. [See also Rashi on Shmot 19:2 "va'yichan"
everyone as one person with one heart...", describing how Bnei
Yisrael first encamped at Har Sinai.]
It is this nature of a collective effort, where everyone must
be alike and work together towards a common goal, yet at the same
time keep his own identity and shine as an individual, that makes
room for God to 'join along' as well!
For more articles by Rav Menachem Leibtag, visit his web site, www.tanach.org
