(כט) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֗ה לְ֠חֹבָב בֶּן־רְעוּאֵ֣ל הַמִּדְיָנִי֮ חֹתֵ֣ן מֹשֶׁה֒ נֹסְעִ֣ים ׀ אֲנַ֗חְנוּ אֶל־הַמָּקוֹם֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה אֹת֖וֹ אֶתֵּ֣ן לָכֶ֑ם לְכָ֤ה אִתָּ֙נוּ֙ וְהֵטַ֣בְנוּ לָ֔ךְ כִּֽי־יְהוָ֥ה דִּבֶּר־ט֖וֹב עַל־יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ל) וַיֹּ֥אמֶר אֵלָ֖יו לֹ֣א אֵלֵ֑ךְ כִּ֧י אִם־אֶל־אַרְצִ֛י וְאֶל־מוֹלַדְתִּ֖י אֵלֵֽךְ׃ (לא) וַיֹּ֕אמֶר אַל־נָ֖א תַּעֲזֹ֣ב אֹתָ֑נוּ כִּ֣י ׀ עַל־כֵּ֣ן יָדַ֗עְתָּ חֲנֹתֵ֙נוּ֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר וְהָיִ֥יתָ לָּ֖נוּ לְעֵינָֽיִם׃ (לב) וְהָיָ֖ה כִּי־תֵלֵ֣ךְ עִמָּ֑נוּ וְהָיָ֣ה ׀ הַטּ֣וֹב הַה֗וּא אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֵיטִ֧יב יְהוָ֛ה עִמָּ֖נוּ וְהֵטַ֥בְנוּ לָֽךְ׃
(א) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (ב) דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אִ֣ישׁ אֽוֹ־אִשָּׁ֗ה כִּ֤י יַפְלִא֙ לִנְדֹּר֙ נֶ֣דֶר נָזִ֔יר לְהַזִּ֖יר לַֽיהוָֽה׃ (ג) מִיַּ֤יִן וְשֵׁכָר֙ יַזִּ֔יר חֹ֥מֶץ יַ֛יִן וְחֹ֥מֶץ שֵׁכָ֖ר לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֑ה וְכָל־מִשְׁרַ֤ת עֲנָבִים֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וַעֲנָבִ֛ים לַחִ֥ים וִיבֵשִׁ֖ים לֹ֥א יֹאכֵֽל׃ (ד) כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֣י נִזְר֑וֹ מִכֹּל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֵעָשֶׂ֜ה מִגֶּ֣פֶן הַיַּ֗יִן מֵחַרְצַנִּ֛ים וְעַד־זָ֖ג לֹ֥א יֹאכֵֽל׃ (ה) כָּל־יְמֵי֙ נֶ֣דֶר נִזְר֔וֹ תַּ֖עַר לֹא־יַעֲבֹ֣ר עַל־רֹאשׁ֑וֹ עַד־מְלֹ֨את הַיָּמִ֜ם אֲשֶׁר־יַזִּ֤יר לַיהוָה֙ קָדֹ֣שׁ יִהְיֶ֔ה גַּדֵּ֥ל פֶּ֖רַע שְׂעַ֥ר רֹאשֽׁוֹ׃ (ו) כָּל־יְמֵ֥י הַזִּיר֖וֹ לַיהוָ֑ה עַל־נֶ֥פֶשׁ מֵ֖ת לֹ֥א יָבֹֽא׃ (ז) לְאָבִ֣יו וּלְאִמּ֗וֹ לְאָחִיו֙ וּלְאַ֣חֹת֔וֹ לֹא־יִטַּמָּ֥א לָהֶ֖ם בְּמֹתָ֑ם כִּ֛י נֵ֥זֶר אֱלֹהָ֖יו עַל־רֹאשֽׁוֹ׃ (ח) כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֣י נִזְר֑וֹ קָדֹ֥שׁ ה֖וּא לַֽיהוָֽה׃ (ט) וְכִֽי־יָמ֨וּת מֵ֤ת עָלָיו֙ בְּפֶ֣תַע פִּתְאֹ֔ם וְטִמֵּ֖א רֹ֣אשׁ נִזְר֑וֹ וְגִלַּ֤ח רֹאשׁוֹ֙ בְּי֣וֹם טָהֳרָת֔וֹ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֖י יְגַלְּחֶֽנּוּ׃ (י) וּבַיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁמִינִ֗י יָבִא֙ שְׁתֵּ֣י תֹרִ֔ים א֥וֹ שְׁנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יוֹנָ֑ה אֶל־הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֶל־פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃ (יא) וְעָשָׂ֣ה הַכֹּהֵ֗ן אֶחָ֤ד לְחַטָּאת֙ וְאֶחָ֣ד לְעֹלָ֔ה וְכִפֶּ֣ר עָלָ֔יו מֵאֲשֶׁ֥ר חָטָ֖א עַל־הַנָּ֑פֶשׁ וְקִדַּ֥שׁ אֶת־רֹאשׁ֖וֹ בַּיּ֥וֹם הַהֽוּא׃ (יב) וְהִזִּ֤יר לַֽיהוָה֙ אֶת־יְמֵ֣י נִזְר֔וֹ וְהֵבִ֛יא כֶּ֥בֶשׂ בֶּן־שְׁנָת֖וֹ לְאָשָׁ֑ם וְהַיָּמִ֤ים הָרִאשֹׁנִים֙ יִפְּל֔וּ כִּ֥י טָמֵ֖א נִזְרֽוֹ׃ (יג) וְזֹ֥את תּוֹרַ֖ת הַנָּזִ֑יר בְּי֗וֹם מְלֹאת֙ יְמֵ֣י נִזְר֔וֹ יָבִ֣יא אֹת֔וֹ אֶל־פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃ (יד) וְהִקְרִ֣יב אֶת־קָרְבָּנ֣וֹ לַיהוָ֡ה כֶּבֶשׂ֩ בֶּן־שְׁנָת֨וֹ תָמִ֤ים אֶחָד֙ לְעֹלָ֔ה וְכַבְשָׂ֨ה אַחַ֧ת בַּת־שְׁנָתָ֛הּ תְּמִימָ֖ה לְחַטָּ֑את וְאַֽיִל־אֶחָ֥ד תָּמִ֖ים לִשְׁלָמִֽים׃ (טו) וְסַ֣ל מַצּ֗וֹת סֹ֤לֶת חַלֹּת֙ בְּלוּלֹ֣ת בַּשֶּׁ֔מֶן וּרְקִיקֵ֥י מַצּ֖וֹת מְשֻׁחִ֣ים בַּשָּׁ֑מֶן וּמִנְחָתָ֖ם וְנִסְכֵּיהֶֽם׃ (טז) וְהִקְרִ֥יב הַכֹּהֵ֖ן לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָ֑ה וְעָשָׂ֥ה אֶת־חַטָּאת֖וֹ וְאֶת־עֹלָתֽוֹ׃ (יז) וְאֶת־הָאַ֜יִל יַעֲשֶׂ֨ה זֶ֤בַח שְׁלָמִים֙ לַֽיהוָ֔ה עַ֖ל סַ֣ל הַמַּצּ֑וֹת וְעָשָׂה֙ הַכֹּהֵ֔ן אֶת־מִנְחָת֖וֹ וְאֶת־נִסְכּֽוֹ׃ (יח) וְגִלַּ֣ח הַנָּזִ֗יר פֶּ֛תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד אֶת־רֹ֣אשׁ נִזְר֑וֹ וְלָקַ֗ח אֶת־שְׂעַר֙ רֹ֣אשׁ נִזְר֔וֹ וְנָתַן֙ עַל־הָאֵ֔שׁ אֲשֶׁר־תַּ֖חַת זֶ֥בַח הַשְּׁלָמִֽים׃ (יט) וְלָקַ֨ח הַכֹּהֵ֜ן אֶת־הַזְּרֹ֣עַ בְּשֵׁלָה֮ מִן־הָאַיִל֒ וְֽחַלַּ֨ת מַצָּ֤ה אַחַת֙ מִן־הַסַּ֔ל וּרְקִ֥יק מַצָּ֖ה אֶחָ֑ד וְנָתַן֙ עַל־כַּפֵּ֣י הַנָּזִ֔יר אַחַ֖ר הִֽתְגַּלְּח֥וֹ אֶת־נִזְרֽוֹ׃ (כ) וְהֵנִיף֩ אוֹתָ֨ם הַכֹּהֵ֥ן ׀ תְּנוּפָה֮ לִפְנֵ֣י יְהוָה֒ קֹ֤דֶשׁ הוּא֙ לַכֹּהֵ֔ן עַ֚ל חֲזֵ֣ה הַתְּנוּפָ֔ה וְעַ֖ל שׁ֣וֹק הַתְּרוּמָ֑ה וְאַחַ֛ר יִשְׁתֶּ֥ה הַנָּזִ֖יר יָֽיִן׃ (כא) זֹ֣את תּוֹרַ֣ת הַנָּזִיר֮ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדֹּר֒ קָרְבָּנ֤וֹ לַֽיהוָה֙ עַל־נִזְר֔וֹ מִלְּבַ֖ד אֲשֶׁר־תַּשִּׂ֣יג יָד֑וֹ כְּפִ֤י נִדְרוֹ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדֹּ֔ר כֵּ֣ן יַעֲשֶׂ֔ה עַ֖ל תּוֹרַ֥ת נִזְרֽוֹ׃ (פ)
רמבם שמונה פרקים ד: ט
(ט) וזאת התורה התמימה המשלמת אותנו כמו שהעיד עליה יודעה, תורת י"י תמימה משיבת נפש, עדות י"י נאמנה מחכימת פתי, לא זכרה דבר מזה, ואמנם כוונה להיות האדם טבעי הולך בדרך האמצעיה, יאכל מה שיש לו לאכול בשויי, וישתה מה שיש לו לשתות בשווי, ויבעול מה שמותר לו לבעול בשווי, וישכון המדינות ביושר ואמונה לא שישכון במדברות ובהרים, ולא שילבש השער והצמר ולא שיענה גופו, והזהירה מזה לפי מה שבא בקבלה אמר בנזיר וכפר עליו מאשר חטא על הנפש, ואמרו ז"ל וכי על איזה נפש חטא זה, על שמנע עצמו מן היין, והלא הדברים קל וחומר אם מי שציער עצמו מן היין צריך כפרה, המצער עצמו מכל דבר על אחת כמה וכמה....
(9) The perfect Law which leads us to perfection as one who knew it well testifies by the words, (Psalms 19:8) "The Law of the Lord is perfect restoring the soul; the testimonies of the Lord are faithful making wise the simple" recommends none of these things (such as self-torture, flight from society etc.). On the contrary, it aims at man's following the path of moderation, in accordance with the dictates of nature, eating, drinking, enjoying legitimate sexual intercourse, all in moderation, and living among people in honesty and uprightness, but not dwelling in the wilderness or in the mountains, or clothing oneself in garments of hair and wool, or afflicting the body. The Law even warns us against these practices, if we interpret it according to what tradition tells us is the meaning of the passage concerning the Nazarite, (Numbers 6:11) "And he (the priest) shall make an atonement for him because he hath sinned against the soul." The Rabbis ask, "Against what soul has he sinned? Against his own soul, because he has deprived himself of wine. Is this not then a conclusion a minori ad majus? If one who deprives himself merely of wine must bring an atonement, how much more incumbent is it upon one who denies himself every enjoyment."
(א) וַיְהִ֤י הָעָם֙ כְּמִתְאֹ֣נְנִ֔ים רַ֖ע בְּאׇזְנֵ֣י יְהֹוָ֑ה וַיִּשְׁמַ֤ע יְהֹוָה֙ וַיִּ֣חַר אַפּ֔וֹ וַתִּבְעַר־בָּם֙ אֵ֣שׁ יְהֹוָ֔ה וַתֹּ֖אכַלבִּקְצֵ֥ה הַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃
(ד) וְהָֽאסַפְסֻף֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר בְּקִרְבּ֔וֹ הִתְאַוּ֖וּ תַּאֲוָ֑ה וַיָּשֻׁ֣בוּ וַיִּבְכּ֗וּ גַּ֚ם בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מִ֥י יַאֲכִלֵ֖נוּ בָּשָֽׂר׃
חזקוני-
ותקרבנה בנות צלפחד בן חפר – ע"י שראו שנמנו הזכרים שבמשפחות חפר ולא נמנה עמהם צלפחד שהיה בנו.
Because they saw that the men of the family of Hefer were counted, but the daughters of Tzlafchad were not.
רמבן -
וטעם והיתה לבני ישראל לחקת משפט – שיהיה המשפט הזה לדורות לא בנחלת הארץ עתה בלבד וטעם כאשר צוה ה' את משה כמו כאשר צויתיך אבל בא כדרך זאת חקת התורה אשר צוה ה' (לעיל י"ט:ב') וכן רבים.
This mitzvah is a mitzvah l'dorot, not just for now, regarding the portions of the land.
Following the women's request, Moshe goes to Hashem, and Hashem says that these girls will merit land. (similar sequence to pesach sheini) . Next, in passuk 11, Hashem establishes this as a precedent for future issue of people who lack family members.
RanBan comments on this passuk and comments that not only is this a rule about the distribution of the land, it is a mitzvah l'dorot. --> This would show that G-d looks out for peopel who feel like outsiders, as it does not just apply to this single case.
רלב"ג תועלות-
התועלת התשיעי הוא להודיע שיעור יושר התורה, שרצתה שגם התושב אם הרג ישראל בשגגה יהיה פטור ממיתה, אך יהיה גולה אל עיר מקלט, כמו הענין בישראל.
This Ralbag explains the reasons for the commandment of an "Arei Miklat" . He says that the reason is to show the extent of the straightness / honesty / integrity of the Torah. --> If one makes a mistake and becomes an outsider, (which can happen - hence the reason why this is discussed) Hashem looks outs for him
רש"י-
תוך בני ישראל – שיהו ישראל שוכרין אותם לשירות שלי, על ידי הבכורות זכיתי בהן ולקחתים תמורתם לפי שהיתה העבודה בבכורות וכשחטאו בעגל נפסלו, והלוים שלא עבדו עבודה זרה נבחרו תחתיהם. [עד שלא הוקם המשכן נתנו העבודה בבכורות דהוא גדל אחי וחשוב שבבית.]א
The leviim merited the appointment to replace the bechorim, because the bechorim invalidated themselves due to the commitment of the sin of Chait HaEgel. As a result, the bechorim became outsiders, and the Leviim become insiders
One of the themes that Sefer Bamidbar is that there are many different ways to approach a problem, and this is transpired through the insiders and outsiders of the story. All of the above stories of how either people became insiders, how people became outsiders, how people felt slighted, or people who thought they were insiders but weren't show this theme. The reason that this is a significant theme is because this was the reason for the 40 years of travel that Bnei Yisrael had to endure. The main theme of Sefer Bamidbar is the idea of generation 1 vs. generation 2 and that is reflected through several things, such as the name the rabbis dubbed the book, and also through the insiders and outsiders of the story. By comparing all of these stories, it can be seen that there is no single category of insiders or outsiders that are strictly good or bad, but rather in each specific example, there is both bad sin stories and good positive outcomes. This fits with the theme in Bamidbar because the reason Bnei Yisrael sin over and over again is because the way they approach a problem is sometimes extremely inappropriate, which is deserving of a punishment. For example, the story of Korach, which is about a relative of Moshe gathering a group of people to turn against Moshe and challenge his leadership, ended up by people getting swallowed up by the ground consumed by a fire. This story is the result of someone thinking that they should be an insider, (insider and outsider theme), when in reality they should have realized that the position they were in was the correct place for them. And even if Korach did not feel like his position was a fair fit for him, the way he approached this problem was aggressive and very accusative. Juxtaposing this story with another example of an insider and outsider issue is the law of Pesach Sheni. When Hashem had commanded Bnei Yisrael to bring a Korban Pesach, there was a group of people who felt slighted because they were impure and therefore, would not be able to bring the Korban Pesach. They approached Moshe and simply asked, “what should we do?” This ended up resulting in a new law, called Pesach Sheni, which allowed them to bring a Korban a month later. If you look at both of these stories and analyze them, you can see that the approach of Korach was aggressive and had a rebellious attitude, while the story of Pesach Sheni was a group of people wanting to do mitzvot and just wanted to know what they should do. Looking at the results of the story, it is obvious that taking such an aggressive approach is clearly not the way to do something, but when you take the approach of, I want to do something good, or I want something to change, and you take a less forceful but still questioning attitude, you get a positive result. While this is only one story, if you look at all of the juxtapositions between the insiders and outsiders, you can see that this theme transpires throughout the story, and the way one approaches a situation will determine the outcome.
Why is this theme relevant specifically to the Jews in the midbar?
This theme is directly relevant to the Jews in Sefer Bamidbar because they are about to enter the land of Israel, and in order to be ready to do so, they must know how to properly conduct themselves and react when issues arise. During all of the sin stories, the Jews react in aggressive and rebellious ways, which is the reason that they are in the desert. However, the next generation takes the lessons of the mistakes of their parents and realize that they can no longer act in this way, but must properly approach a situation. Just a specific example is that in the story of Miriam speaking lashon hara, she speaks negatively about Moshe's “Kushiz”. If you take the approach that this Khushi was in fact really a Kushi, she is therefore an outsider who became an insider. Miriami was clearly not so accepting of her, and look where she ended up. She got Tzara'at and had to leave the camp for a period of time. However, when it talks about the laws of converts in Bamidbar, the torah clearly does not say that we shouldn't accept them. In fact, just the opposite. We should accept converts and treat them like one of us. So clearly, the torah is showing that we should accept converts, and this flows well with the theme of Bamidbar which is that there is a story of an outsider becoming an insider, and it is all up to us of how we will accept that person and what we do will determine the rest.
What essential question does this theme address?
The question that it addresses is why didn't bnei Yisrael just go straight into Israel?? What was the reason for this wait?? This question addresses the theme of Bnai Yisrael preparing to enter Eretz Yisrael. Unfortunately, they needed to fail, sin, and wipe out a generation (generation #1) to do so. This is because Generation 1 did not know how to properly approach different situations when they were placed into them.
What lessons can we apply from Sefer Bamidbar to modern times?
After this investigation, we can learn that the lesson is to always question and have difficulty with things, however we cannot approach the difficulty and questions with aggressiveness and rebelliousness. We need to go into these hard situations with an open mind, a curious mind, a mind that wants to really find an answer to the issue. We need to take a positive and curious approach if we want our questions and issues to be addressed. This applies in all areas of life, whether someone is having an issue with a friend, sibling, parent, teacher, boss, colleague, and the list goes on but the point is, when approaching a problem, make sure you are doing it the correct way.
This article shows that while you should speak up to your boss and are allowed to show him that you have an issue, you have to be relaxed and open minded to the response.