Like so many around the world,
we have been watching the news come out of Orlando following the terrorist
massacre that left 50 dead and 50 injured. Despite the pressure of final exams
and the need to study, our children have had the news on at every opportunity,
hearing the names of dead, seeing their pictures, hearing about their lives.
Watching our children’s reaction has been very interesting. All of them were
saddened at the tragedy. While they are all familiar with the idea of Muslim
terrorism and radical Islam, they still have a hard time understanding how a
religion endorses murder. Intellectually they understand that this a twisted
perversion of Islam. All of our kids struggled with the idea that the terrorist
was able to arm himself so easily. However our 14 year old, with tears in her
eyes, looked up at me and said how embarrassed she was to be American because
lawmakers are too scared to act responsibly and make it more difficult for
people on the “Watch List” to obtain a weapon. Imagine how cowardly certain
Senate and Congressional legislators must be that they are more concerned about
protecting the 2nd amendment right of some unbalanced soul desiring
to shoot up a nightclub with assault rifles at the expense of the public
safety. I am sorry but if your name is or has been on the FBI watch list then
losing the 2nd Amendment right is the price to be paid. I completely
empathized with my daughter as I wish these hypocrites could stop telling us to
pray for the victims and have enough chutzpah to stand up to the NRA and be
counted for something meaningful.
This Shabbat we read from Parsha
Naso. The Parsha’s 176 psukim make it among the longest single parshiot in the
entire Torah. Its length is also
reflected in the wide variety of topics covered including: the census for the tribe of Levi, the
Priestly tribe, the responsibilities for the maintenance and operation of the
Mishkan, the purification of the camp,
the treatment of the wayward wife (the Sotah), the vow of the Nazir ( a
vow that limits the behavior of the individual as a means of elevating oneself
to a higher level of holiness for only a limited time), the identical tribal offerings made by each
leader in order on twelve successive days that celebrated the fact that the
Mishkan was “open for business”. Inserted in these seemingly disparate rules
and narratives is the priestly benediction. A quick glance at the different
components of Parsha Naso suggests that each is connected to each other because
of the idea of Naso – “lift up”. Indeed each component discussed issues of how
we can raise ourselves up in holiness, either through our own actions or the
actions of the other.
The word Naso, had been
prevalent throughout last week’s Parsha, Bemidbar, and continues to be
prevalent in this week’s Parsha, Naso. The word Naso, Nun, Samech, Alef, means lift, raise or carry. Yet we have
seen the word appear as an expression: Naso et Rosh B’nai Gershon. Last week we
saw it use as Naso et Rosh Kol Adat B’nai
Yisroel. Literally, the expression means “raise the heads of the Children
of …. Later on in the Parsha a form of Naso is used during the Priestly
Benediction: Yisa Adoshem Panach Eilecha
V’Yasem Lecha Shalom – May the Lord
Lift up his countenance to you and grant you peace. So how does Naso, which
literally means raise, lift or carry, also be construed as a method of
counting? We are all familiar with the expression “Stand and be Counted”. The “counting”
is for a higher more noble purpose. It is an expression that instill courage as
well as a deep sense of believing in a cause.
Naso et Rosh suggest the same
type of counting. The head is elevated as in elevated for a holy sacred
purpose. Last week the sacred purpose was to serve God in the army that would
protect B’nai Yisroel and the Mishkan. The sacred purpose was to serve God by
working in the Mishkan. Parsha Naso continues in that same vein. The
elevating/counting is for a distinct sacred purpose. Even God’s lifting of his
countenance has a specific purpose, to allow us to bask in God’s light and
goodness. If B’nai Yisroel hadn’t engaged in behavior that elevated itself and
its collective soul, then God doesn’t elevate his countenance.
Eventually, our daughter calmed
down but she remained angry and embarrassed. She was angry because she
understood the obvious and people in power, people who make laws haven’t acted
courageously. They have failed to stand up and be counted. They did not lift
their heads. Rather, they look down,
they hang their heads, knowing that their inaction is a result of their being
owned by the gun lobby. Like all embarrassed people, they hang their heads in
shame rather than lifting their heads to be counted for something good.
Sometimes it takes a teenager to cut through all the muck, to see things
clearly. Perhaps the role of youth is to remind us adults when we are being hypocritical
when we fail to raise up our heads for a sacred purpose, when we fail to stand
up and be counted for a higher more sacred service than just ourselves.
Peace,
Rav
Yitz
No comments:
Post a Comment