Lesson of a Receding Hairline- Parshat Naso 2021/ 5781

 

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land

from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

 "Your friend in Karmiel"

May 21^st 2021 -Volume 11 Issue 32 10^th Sivan 5781

 

Parshat Naso

Lesson of a Receding Hairline

It's a sensitive issue for most men my age. We look in the mirror after our showers and we watch that once healthy full hairline retreat slowly... Inch by inch...just like the French at the slightest confrontation. I don't want to see more of my forehead, Thank you very much. I am happier knowing about what's in my mind, not what's no longer on it. It's too bad that hair doesn't weigh that much, my diet plan might be going a little stronger. Well at least I might save on shampoo products soon.

 The Torah also seems to have some interesting thoughts and laws regarding hair care. We are prohibited to shave the sides of our hair. Maimonides explains this was an idolatrous practice back, one of the few that seems to have remained even today with some of the bizzare haircuts I see people walking around with-generally at these "Pride" parades, although the way they look is really not much to be proud of. We are told we can't use razors to shave with (electric shavers are generally fine). The Levi and the Metzora would have to have their heads shaved as part of their service. In this week's Torah portion though, we are told about two of the most fascinating individuals that the Torah focuses its hair laws on.

 The first law mentioned in the Torah portion is that of a woman whom witnesses reported that she had secluded with a man whom she had previously been warned not to be alone with and was thus under suspicion of having committed adultery. The Torah commands that she be brought to the Kohen where she would undergo a process of Divine discovery. The Kohen would uncover her hair publicly (it is from here we derive the law that married Jewish woman customarily would, and should, cover their hair), and then he would have her drink from the Sota water (non-carbonated J). This was special water that had the name of Hashem dissolved in it, to discern whether she was faithful or not. (PS- it wouldn't work if her husband was ever unfaithful).

 The second hair-law-person in the parsha is the Nazirite. He is someone who has undertaken a vow, like the great Samson and the prophet Samuel, to lead an ascetic lifestyle either for a period of time or for life. This person would be prohibited from wine and grape products, from coming in contact with the dead and last but certainly most visible was that was the prohibition to cut their hair. Even more fascinating when his Nazirite term is over he is obligated to shave off of his hair. Hashem also seems to be pretty obsessed with hair. What is it all about?

 There is an interesting Medrash, that goes back to the Garden of Eden when Eve, the first woman, was created. The Zohar tells us that when Hashem personally braided her hair before bringing her to Adam. I bet you didn't know that Hashem doubled as a Hairdresser? After the sin, when they were thrown out of the garden, the Medrash tells us her hair was disheveled and it was from that time that the concept of married Jewish women covering their hair began. That's pretty cool, isn't it?

 Our sages explain that hair is meant to represent the physical extension of our power of imagination; that which grows out of our mind. When Eve was first given the role and power to draw out the imagination of man, to be his partner in fulfilling his dreams and to braid together the inspiration of his passions bringing it to glorious fulfillment in the service of the Almighty, her hair was perfectly and Divinely braided. Yet when she caused Man to sin, she lost that perfect crown. Her hair and the illusions of the grandeur that she would get from eating the forbidden fruit, itself became a force that tempted man's imagination rather than restraining and channeling it. Forever thereafter the hair would have to be covered and restrained, to hold that power intact from the temptations of all men, besides one's own husband.

 With this understanding we can explain the lesson of the Sota woman and the Nazir. The woman who behaved in an illicit way with another man serves as a demonstration to all of the Jewish people of what happens when one's fantasy and imagination runs amok. That special crown of the beauty of the perfectly covered hair, which speaks to the modesty of Jewish women in restraining their passion to be used exclusively with her partner in life, is lost on this woman. The results of that loss reflects itself in the ultimate shame that is experienced.

 Similarly, the Nazir, we are told, is an individual who feels that he is too tempted by his passions and his looks. He feels he cannot express his natural human self-control of living within in this world and elevating it. He wants to take a vow of asceticism and separation. His hair is left to grow unnaturally long and untamed because he has spiritually put the brakes on his passion by his vows and his long hair testifies to imagination run wild. It's not the proper way to be. We are meant to channel our physical drives and desires. We are meant to comb and control our hair, those outgrowths of our imagination; to be that Divine image that God created; no holier and not wilder. The Nazir, when his vow is over, shaves his hair to symbolize that he now re-enters the natural path of growth of his live and his drives. The wild temptations are now subdued.

 Hashem has given us with hair, an incredible barometer of our lives. When we are born we are mostly bald; no major dreams or passions. Change my diaper. Feed me, That's it. As we get older our hair grows. We groom our passions, we direct them, we cut and trim them and they grow properly. Divinely. Yet as we age our hair becomes one of the first symbols of the loss of all those dreams. They turn gray, then white, and then sadly, one-by-one they begin to fall out. At a certain age we don't dream any more. We have either accomplished or we haven't. Although in Judaism we know it's never too late to start, our hair reminds us that unless we act quickly our time is running out. Those strands get thinner and fewer the older we get and no shampoo in the world can bring it back. Hair today-gone tomorrow. So the next time you look in the mirror think of the message of the hair from days gone by and comb those stalwart remaining strands and promise them a better future.

 Have an uplifting bracha-filled Shabbos,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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 RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

" Az men git dem tayvl a hor, vil er di gantse bord." – If you give the devil a hair, he'll want the whole beard

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

29) The UN vote on the “Partition Plan” took place on:

A) November 29th

B) 4th of Iyar

C) 5th of Iyar

D) May 15th

 RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

 https://youtu.be/OZYrMFE0jms    – Baruch Levine's latest- V'Sein Chelkainu, beautiful

https://youtu.be/S36CIWBjmAE   – Ari Goldwag's latest song from his new album Ashira La' Hashem

 https://youtu.be/5XnaguT2fmo  - Armed- The story of Lubavitcher Rebbi's Teffilin campaign, fascinating

 https://youtu.be/e7fFqeofXfU -  Song that Children in Kindergarden in Israel learn about going into bomb shelters!

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbHXW5GsO8E   -My favorite new Chanan Ben Ari song of the month and maybe of the year- this week with a incomprehensible bizzare Lego video. Who cares? It's still a great song…

 

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S PARSHA/ ERETZ YISRAEL CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Blessed  – Parshat Naso- Rav Shteiman didn't like going to America. He didn't like leaving Israel at all. Truth is, I don't like it much and don't think most people that love Eretz Yisrael like going to "shmutz la'aretz". We waited 2000 years to finally be able to get back here and leave here, why would you ever want to live. But Rav Shteiman had a different objection about leaving. He didn't want to miss out on the daily Kohanim blessing that the custom in Eretz Yisrael is to still have every day. In fact even when he was in Chutz La'Aretz, interestingly enough even when he was there he would be strict about davening in a sefardic minyan that do recite the blessing even in the Diaspora. The story is even told that once when he couldn't get to a Minyan he gathered a minyan outside of the shul he davened at and had them do a special birkat Kohanim for him!

 The truth it is a real difficulty and unique custom that we find that there is no "Duchening" ( the Yiddish word for Kohen blessing), in Chutz La'aretz today. Almost all of the major halachic authorities deal with this dilemma. For it seems to be clear from the Talmud and from the law that there is no difference between Israel and the Diaspora in regards to this basic biblical mitzva. I can't think of any other mitzva that one is obligated to do in Chutz La'aretz that the custom just became that we don't do it anymore there. Sure there are plenty of mitzvos that only apply to Eretz Yisrael, like the Shemitta year, the tithes and agricultural mitzvos. But mitzvos that don't have to do with the land, such as eating matza, sitting in a Sukka, making Kiddush on Shabbos and wearing Teffilin are kept in Chutz La'Aretz just as they are kept here. Duchening is just like that. Yes, it's true they do duchen on holidays, but the mitzva is to do it daily just as it is done here. So what's going on?

 There are many different suggestions that run the gamut from the Kohanim in Chutz La'artetz not being as meyuchas- not having the same lineage certainty to them, there are others that suggest that it was too cold to go to the Mikva beforehand outside of Eretz Yisrael and thus they literally threw out the Kohein with the Mikva water to paraphrase the baby bathwater metaphor. The Chasam Sofer suggests that the reason it was stopped because since life is so challenging in Chutz La'Aretz and people are so busy with work, their minds wander during the service. Being that the Kohanim blessing is not a prayer but rather like a service that was done in the Mikdash then one who's mind is in another place during the service is called pigul and it is thus invalid. Similarly, the ReMa writes that it is too difficult to be b'simcha- rejoiceful during the weekday when everyone thinks about the trials and tribulations of earning living under the nations of the world. Only on Yom Tov can one reach the elevated level to truly feel happy. PS to feel as happy as a Jew that lives in Eretz Yisrael feels every day. And thus he says the minhag became to stop reciting it.

 All of the above reasons that are given seem to be according to those that write them, halachic justifications for a practice that seemed to have taken hold.  In Torah language we call it a limud zechus- finding some type of merit or benefit of the doubt for those not keeping the law. In fact, the Gaon of Vilna and the Baal Ha'Tanya both seemed to try to reestablish the custom mitzva to duchen outside of Eretz Yisrael and it seems from heaven they were both stopped, by mysterious clearly Divine circumstances that prevented them from doing so.

 If this is about a limud zechus than perhaps one more can be added to the above list. The blessing of the Kohanim is only given in Eretz Yisrael (at least for the Ashkenazim) to remind the Jews in the Diaspora that despite the feeling that the lives that they have there are blessed… they really aren't. Hashem's blessing is only here. As well perhaps to remind those of us that live in Eretz Yisrael that leaving and god forbid moving outside of Eretz Yisrael for whatever reason is in fact giving up this daily blessing. People will travel all over the world to get the blessing of this Rabbi or that miracle worker. They travel to foreign countries to daven at some grave of a great tzadik. But there is no better place to come to where we can receive the daily blessing of V'Ani Avarachem- that Hashem tells us that He will bless us with. He will watch over us, He will shine His countenance upon us. He will show us grace and He will grant us peace. It's worth coming and living in Eretz Yisrael just to receive that each day!

 RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Avshalom's Revenge- 865 BC – After Tamar's horrific abuse at the hand of her brother/half-brother (see last week for the question about their exact relationship), she heads on over to her brother Avshalom's house. He's not a happy a camper. Particularly jarring to him is Dovid's silence and lack of response, so he swears revenge and waits two years until things die down. Revenge is a dish best eaten cold.

 And it was the time of the shearing of the sheep, the Navi tells us. The law is that the first wool that is shorn is given to the Kohen. Avshalom was living in Baal Chatzor at the time. The mountain of Baal Chatzor is the highest in the Binyamin and Shomron region standing at about 3000 feet. It's just North East of the Jewish settlement of Ofra. It's here that fascinatingly enough the Dead Sea scrolls found in Kumran some suggest Avraham stood with Lot and looked out over to the Midbar and chose to move there to Sodom (although it seems unlikely geographically). 

In honor of the ceremony Avshalom convinced Dovid to send all of his brothers to join him for this festive ceremony. Dovid although a bit hesitant, was fooled by Avshalom's insistence and felt safe that perhaps with all of the brothers there would be no danger. Once again, we see that Dovid's weak spot was his inability to see the bad in his children. Once Avshalom had them all there, he ordered his men to kill Amnon after he was a bit shikkered up at the party, and they did. The other brothers fled horrified and terrified that they would be next. This is pretty much, as I said, a crazy situation getting worse and worse. Dovid had gotten fake news that all of his sons were killed and obviously was distraught. Yet, that bad friend of Amnon who had gotten this whole thing started relayed that it was only Amnon that was killed and that Dovid should have mercy on Avshalom.

 This part of the story ends with Avshalom fleeing to his non-Jewish Zaidy, the father of his mother who was the King of Geshur, on the other side of the Kinneret in the Golan. He remains there for three years. In all of that time Dovid never stopped mourning Avshalom and the continued fall-out that all stemmed from his sin of taking Batsheva.

 RABBI SCHWARTZ’S TERRIBLE BALD JOKES  OF THE WEEK

 One day little Rivkah Stern was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother has several strands of white hair sticking out. She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Mommy, why are some of your hairs white?"

Her mother replied, "Well, every time that you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."

Little Rivkah thought about this revelation for a while and then said, "Mommy, what in the world did you do to Bubbie to make ALL of her hairs are white!?"

 What do you call a barber that only works on bald people? An air stylist.

 Bald Dating is a dating app for bald people that's completely free...You don't have toupee.

 What do you call lice that lives in a bald man’s head? Homeless

 A young boy had just gotten his driving permit. He asked his father, who was a rabbi, if they could discuss his use of the family car. His father took him into his study and said, "I'll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study your Talmud a little, get your hair cut, and then we'll talk about it."

After about a month, the boy came back and again asked his father if they could discuss his use of the car. They again went into the father's study where the father said, "Son, I've been very proud of you. You have brought your grades up, you've studied the Talmud diligently, but you didn't get your hair cut."

The young man waited a moment and then replied, "But father, in my studies I've learned that Samson, who was loved by God and a leader of the Jewish people, also had long hair. Can't I follow in the footsteps of the great Samson?"

The rabbi replied, "Sure you can follow in Samson's footsteps, because he walked everywhere he went."

 Hear the one about the bald guy getting bumped to business class after passengers made fun of him? Talk about the advantages of a reseating airline.

 There was an old man who lived by a forest. As he grew older and older, he started losing his hair, until one day, on his deathbed, he was completely bald. That day, he called his children to a meeting...

He said, "Look at my hair. It used to be so magnificent, but it's completely gone now. My hair can't be saved. But look outside at the forest. It's such a lovely forest with so many trees, but sooner or later they'll all be cut down and this forest will look as bald as my hair."

"What I want you to do..." the man continued. "Is, every time a tree is cut down or dies, plant a new one in my memory. Tell your descendants to do the same. It shall be our family's duty to keep this forest strong."
So they did.
Each time the forest lost a tree, the children replanted one, and so did their children, and their children after them. And for centuries, the forest remained as lush and pretty as it once was, all because of one man and his re-seeding heirline!!! OYY I can't…

My friend went completely bald years ago, but he still carries a comb with him. He just can’t part with it.

Yitzhak and Melvyn live in a retirement home. One day, as they are sitting on a bench under a tree, Yitzhak turns to Melvyn and says, "Melvyn, I'm 85 years old and I'm full of aches and pains. You're about my age. How do you feel?" 
Melvyn replies, "I feel just like a new-born baby." 
"Really? Like a baby?" 
"Yes," replies Melvyn, "no hair, no teeth and I can hardly walk."

 Moishe Goldberg had a hairdresser at the same intersection for years. It was called “Moishe’s Hair Salon.” But out of nowhere, a new hair salon opened up for business right across the street from Moishe. The new hair dresser was called “Chris’s Hair Salon.”

Chris put up a big bold sign that read: "WE GIVE TEN DOLLAR HAIR CUTS!"

Not to be outdone, Moishe put up his own sign: "WE FIX TEN DOLLAR HAIR CUTS!"

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Answer is A- This one is also pretty easy except that the date is perhaps more familiar to those here in Israel as Kaf Tet B'November. In my tour guide course it was pointed out to us that there was significance to the naming of that date with the Hebrew English mix. It was the statement of the blend between the ancient Hebrew number of kaf tet which is of course the gematria 29. While November is the secular date. The mindset was to take the secular significance of the date and Hebraize it. The other dates 5^th of Iyar is Israeli independence Day when Israel announced its independence a few months after the British mandate ended and the UN vote took place. May 15^th was the secular date and is known as Nakba date by the Arabs when they mourn the establishment of the State. Generally they celebrate by protesting and killing Jews in years like this one. Well if their hatred is as a repeated reminder of how important having our Jewish state is and to thank and daven to Hashem that he continue to bring the redemption, protecting us and destroying our enemies. Thus the score and streak continue at 22 for Rabbi Schwartz and 7 for the Ministry of Tourism on this exam.