Perashat Naso 5776

Perashat Naso 5776

One of the main topics of Perashat Naso is the sacrifices brought by the heads of each tribe in honor of the inauguration of the Mishkan.  The Torah tells us that every day, for a twelve-day period at the beginning of the month of Nisan, the prince, or nasi, of each tribe brought an identical korban, sacrifice, as an offering to Hashem.

Regarding the first nasi, the Torah states, “The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nahshon ben Aminadav, of the tribe of Yehudah. His offering was...”  [Bamidbar 7:12]  Regarding the second nasi, who was from the tribe of Yisakhar, the Torah states, “On the second day, Netanel ben Su’ar, the Nasi of Yisakhar offered...” [Bamidbar 7:18]

Rabbi Y. Kalatsky notes that there are a number of observations regarding these two verses. First, the Torah uses the title of Nasi for each prince prior to his name, except in the case of  Nahshon ben Aminadav, the nasi of Yehudah. Furthermore, regarding Nahshon, the Torah repeats the term “korbano - his offering”; this repetition seems superfluous. Secondly, regarding the next nasi listed, Netanel ben Su’ar, from the tribe of Yisakhar, the Torah uses the title Nasi after his name rather than before it, as with all the other princes. What can account for these differences? 

In order to better understand this, we first need to comprehend the two types of offering that a person brings.  Ribbi Hayyim ben Attar, the Ohr HaHayyim HaKadosh explains that there are two types of korban that a person presents - the physical offering that is brought by the individual, as well as the korban ha-ne’elam, the concealed offering. The concealed offering reflects the merits and the good deeds of the person who is bringing the offering. When one brings an offering, he is not only presenting the physical offering itself, but he is also presenting his own personal spiritual uniqueness based on his actions. We see, therefore, that an offering is considered something quite unique because it is enhanced by the spirituality of the individual who is presenting it.  

Our tradition teaches us that the tribe of Yehudah was the most prestigious of all the tribes, representing royalty, leadership and Torah.  Nahshon, therefore, was the most unique among all the nesi’im, the princes of the tribes, not only because of his own spiritual accomplishments, but also for his traits of leadership and Torah which naturally accompanied him as the leader of the tribe of Yehudah.  The Torah identifies the leader of each tribe as its nasi in order for us to take note of that person. Nahshon did not require a special introduction because of the particular uniqueness of his station as the prince of Yehudah.  Therefore, when Nahshon brought his physical korban, it was complemented by his spiritual accomplishments and merits, the korban ha-ne’elam, his concealed korban. This is why the Torah repeats the term, “korbano - his offering” - in order to allude to Nahshon’s own unique spirituality. 

The tribe of Yisakhar was also considered to be one of the most prestigious tribes, representing Torah study and scholarship at the highest level. However, since Netanel ben Su’ar did not attain the same level as Nahshon ben Aminadav, the Torah chooses to introduce him first by name, and only afterwards identifies his status as nasi.  This was done in order to indicate that although he also possessed a spiritual uniqueness of his own, his title is considered secondary to whom he was as a person. 

Why does the Torah repeat the offerings for each of the twelve nesi’im if they were all physically identical?  The noted Torah commentator, Ramban, explains that each of these gift-offerings was infused with the unique character, as well as the missvot, the good deeds of the prince who presented them. Each offering, then, had its own spiritual make-up, reflecting that characteristic of the individual tribe. So for example, the offering of the tribe of Yehudah signified malkhut, majesty; that of Yisakhar, Torah; of Levi, abodah, service, etc.  We learn, therefore, that although in the physical sense the offerings were identical, they were worlds apart because of the unique spiritual dimension that accompanied each one, from the leader of that tribe.  

The same is true today, especially of our tefillot, prayers, which nowadays, take the place of the korbanot.  When one approaches Hashem through tefillah, He takes into account the korban ha-ne’elam, the concealed korban, which is the individual’s personal and unique spiritual standing.  Only G-d knows the true level of one’s korban ha-ne’elam, of one’s deeds and merits that accompany their ‘avodah she-ba’lev, their heartfelt prayers.  Similarly, in our performance of the missvot, each Jew who performs a missva - even if it is the same physical missva - infuses that missva with his own uniqueness and spiritual structure - so that the result is that there are no two Jews who ever perform the same exact missva!  

It is our hope and prayer that each one of our unique and individual spiritual standings will accompany our prayers and the performance of our missvot so that we may continue to grow in the ways of the Torah and serve Hashem with a spirituality that will be considered truly all our own!