#2 - NAZIR -

Rashi:

Question: Why is the mitzvah of Nazir right next to Sotah?

Answer: Sotah was about committing adultery. Wine gets you drunk, which leads to adultery and thus to Sotah. This follows the idea that any man who brings in his wife for Sotah is probably also guilty. Therefore, once you see Sotah, you're going to be scared of having wine, so the Torah created a system for you to avoid it. Nazir is a safeguard against Sotah.

Rashi:

Question: What's the benefit of being a Nazir?

Answer: | Abstinance → spirituality

| Avoid wine → Rehabilitation

Nazir is like a mini Kohen Gadol except for their hair, essentially. (NB: past test question)

When the Nazir term is over, bring 2 Korbanot:

Question: Why does he bring a Korban for Sin? What was the sin?

Ambiguity: Is Hashem blessing the Kohanim or is Hashem blessing everyone through the Kohanim as a conduit?

This is a threefold Bracha (ברכה משולשת) - See italics number next to Hebrew for word count per Bracha

Question: Why do we do Birkat Kohanim at the end of Amidah?

Answer: We spend the Amidah praying/talking to Hashem, and at the end, Hashem responds to us through the Kohanim?

Overarching Question: How do we have a relationship with Hashem in a world of טבע without Hashem's obvious presence on a silver plate of connection/spirituality of a Tipheret lifestyle? How do we find spirituality in Tevah?

Answer: These three mitzvot give us practical ways to fulfill the 3 relationships needed for religion:

Ramban: Chovav is Yitro's converted name. When Moshe announced their voyage to Canaan, Yitro/Chovav was worried that, as a convert, he wouldn't receive an inheritance. Moshe quickly assuages his concern.

Chizkuni: Moshe is having a leadership struggle here, since the cost of Yitro implementing the Judiciary system was Moshe being distanced from the people. At this point in time, Moshe believes that Bnei Yisrael will enter the land immediately, but knows that he will not go. Therefore, he needs Yitro to come as a backup leader to take them in. Moshe couldn't tell Yitro the truth, though, else Yitro would be afraid and not agree to come in the first place.

Rav Soloveitchik: This story illustrates Moshe's confidence in Hashem that they will enter the Holy Land together, as this is the pre-doubt period. This shows that B''Y was not predestined to wander for 40 years. It doesn't talk about what happens next because it's not important. The conversation is but a convenient method to teach us things. This story teaches us an important lesson on how to treat converts.

We’re about to go into Canaan, we just had Vayehi Binsoah Ha’Aron, everything is perfect, and this is the first domino to this generation not entering the land.

The episode of כמתאוננים is more about spiritual unease rather than a concrete complaint. B''Y were fully provided for in the desert, but they desired a desire—they craved the feeling of lack. Their rejection of the מן symbolizes a rejection of Tipheret and Hashem's care, paralleling Adam and Chava's refusal of Hashem's food in Gan Eden. This marked a spiritual downfall that foreshadowed the Meraglim and doomed a generation to die in the wilderness.

They are mourning אונן their lack of independence and want to transition into Tevah before they enter the Land, which is why it's now specifically.

They are misinterpreting the idea of Tevah, since we're still supposed to be with Hashem, even though it's more hidden.

They are like teenagers squabbling with their parents in the weeks before they go to college, because they're scared of being independent. This overcompensation of bravado/faux-independence is a Reaction Formation defense mechanism.

Question: Why does it say כמתאוננים, like they were complaining?

Answer: They actually just wanted an excuse to leave ה׳. → In the first Puranoot, they weren't just inevitably forced to leave Har Sinai, but B’Y ran out of Har Sinai before ה׳ could assign more mitzvot, fleeing from before Hashem.

Ibn Ezra:

In the word מתאוננים, we see the word און, Avon, which means to SIN. This is the Torah’s way of saying B’’Y sinned.

Ramban:

Ibn Ezra is wrong because the Torah has never shied away from relating the specifics of a sin before. Rather, B''Y was worried about the way they were going (typo, maybe growing) and their path through the desert. They were afraid.

Kushya on Ramban: If the reason Hashem didn't get mad at B''Y's complaints in Shemot was that they were valid needs, why would he get mad at them here for a seemingly valid complaint?

Bechor Shor:

Root of כמתאוננים is אונן, a mourner. B''Y are like mourners because their spirit is dead, since they're expecting to lose the War of Canaan and die then. They are mourners preparing to die in the upcoming war, and this demonstrates a lack of faith in Hashem.

Sforno:

B''Y didn't have any real reason to complain but merely wanted to test Hashem to see if He's still paying attention to them.

The אספסוף/riffraff does not mean עירוב רב in this case. Rather, the whole midrash about מן tasting like anything you want only applies to Tzadikim, who tasted it like meat. For anyone else who had it didn’t taste so good.

The Tzadikim (non-אספסוף) joined in on the complaining because they weren't just looking for the taste/sustenenance of meat, but rather wanted the full meat experience. This is an example of hedonistic gluttony toward the desire to eat true meat.

Rashi:

One could say that the Egyptians had a lot of extra gfiltah fish and gave them that, BUT, that doesn't make sense. If the Mitzrim made them get their own straw, kal va'chomer, they won't give them free food.

RATHER, it means they want food that is free from doing the mitzvot upon which their food is contingent.

Bechor Shor:

In Egypt, the Nile makes the land very fertile, so it's easy to get fish, veggies, water, etc., without Hashem's help. Now, they resent being forced to rely on Hashem.

Mitzraim had advanced irrigation while Canaan was very dry, and you needed to pray to Hashem for rain. In Mitzraim, Hashem was not necessary to survive.

Ibn Ezra: חנם really means זול/cheap. That is, everything was cheap in Mitzraim.

Mitzraim was a place of surplus and abundance. All you needed to do to get food was dig a hole, and fish would fill it. Everything was naturally free.

This is a hedonistic perspective.

Nechama Leibowitz:

Their memories of the suffering in Mitzraim are suppressed. They have selective memories because they just want to find something to complain about. Even though it may not be wholly better, they are ignoring the bad of Mitzraim to make it seem better than the desert.

In Shemot, B''Y had the ulterior goal to become עם קדוש, and all of their complaints were needs-based in order to help the become the Chosen Nation.

Now, in Bamidbar, they have lost sight of this religious goal and no longer want to be the Chosen Ones. They wanted to separate from Hashem, and their random, wants-based complaints reflect that.

The complaints themselves are not the problem, but rather that they are hedonistic and are solely focussed on material wants, as opposed to Shemot where they largely cared about their needs for survival.

Here, Moshe reaches his last straw. He finally cracks under the strain and seeks to quit his job. He complains about being a nursing father, an אומן, to the people. He'd rather die. The question is, why now?

Question: Why isn't Moshe defending the people during the sin of Kivrot Ha-Ta'avah, as opposed to Chet Ha-Egel?

Answer: Because of the distinction between Paganism and Idol Worship.

God commands Moses to send one leader from each of the twelve tribes of Israel to scout out the land of Canaan, which He is giving to the Israelites. Moses follows God's command and selects twelve respected leaders, listing their names and tribal affiliations. Among them is Hosea son of Nun, whom Moses renames Joshua (Yehoshua). Moses sends them from the wilderness of Paran and instructs them to observe:

The spies were sent as a reconnaissance mission because the people asked for spies, and Hashem acquiesced because it was a good beginning to transitioning to the Tevah lifestyle by sending human scouts before conquering Eretz Yisrael.

NB: Chiastic Structure -

The middle part, A(C), is the most important part of a Chiasm, showing how Moshe wanted them to focus on the land, but the Meraglim rather focused on the people. → Their report focused on how the Canaanites were spread from the desert to the mountains.

After forty days of scouting the land of Canaan, the twelve spies return and report to Moses, Aaron, and the Israelite community at Kadesh. They present fruit from the land and confirm that it is indeed fertile, “flowing with milk and honey.”

However, ten of the spies express fear, describing the inhabitants as powerful and the cities as heavily fortified. They mention the presence of giants (Anakites, descendants of the Nephilim) and list various hostile peoples in different regions of the land.

Caleb alone encourages the people to have faith and take possession of the land, insisting they can succeed. But the others reject this, claiming the land is dangerous and “devours its inhabitants.” They describe themselves as mere grasshoppers in comparison to the giant-like people they saw, spreading fear and discouragement among the Israelites.

The Meraglim committed the sin of being insecure, which leads us to greater sins like putting ourselves down and doubting Hashem.

Ramban #1:

B''Y’s private reactions - the spies spread scuttlebutt and fear quickly in the evening and created a mass panic that everyone had internalized by morning. (ותרגנו באהליכם).

Key Sin: Lashon HaRa + private internal despair/lack of trust in ה׳ even before unanimous rebellion/vote)

The Meraglim started out telling the truth with the facts, but then they negated all of that with the keyword, אפס, and then they emphasized their negative/despairing opinion. However means they disregard the above and now focus on what they're saying.

Key Sin: They prioritized their own negative opinion over the good truth of the Land, and this is really bad, because we see from their language אפס that their opinion is more important than the truth.

Ramban was right about אפס being the sin, but he adds that by saying אפס, the Meraglim stopped being messengers/reporters as they were supposed to be, but rather advisors who were now giving recommendations above their pay grade. (Parable - person sent to a store to check it out and instead of just describing it, he gives an opinion about the expensive price. No one asked you! Just do your job!)

Key sin: Overtstepping their authority by providing their unasked-for opinion, introduced by the word אפס.

When the spies reported that they’re stronger מימינו, it could either mean “we’re not strong enough” OR “Hashem is not strong enough.” → Both are true, because they are doubting both themselves and the strength of Hashem.

The sin of the חרבן B’M was also ignoring God’s command and siding with Mitzraim over Bavel. This seems to be the same sin as here, where we choose Mitzraim over fighting עמי הארץ. → Now they are saying we want a new leader to take us back to Mitzraim as opposed to dying in the attempt to conquer Canaan from the too-powerful nations that are already there.

1) adultery

2) Murder

3) Avodah Zarah

Yehoshua sends two men—identified by the Midrash as Pinchas and Caleb—on a covert spy mission into the land of Canaan. Unlike the twelve prominent leaders sent by Moshe, these two spies are anonymous and in disguise. Still, they are quickly recognized and captured. [Kal va'Chomer: if even two low-profile agents are discovered, how much more so would twelve tribal princes have been exposed had they truly been on a military mission?]

The two spies are hidden by Rachav the prostitute (whom Midrash says would later marry Yehoshua), who strikes a deal with them: in exchange for her protection, she asks them to spare her family when the Israelites invade. They agree, telling her to tie a red cord in her window as a sign that her household should be spared.

When the spies return to Yehoshua, their report is filled with confidence and optimism, to pump up the people: “We’ve got this!”

This is a direct contrast to the spies in Bamidbar, who came back spreading fear and doubt. The comparison highlights that not all spies—or meraglim—are bad; it depends on the mission and mindset.

Yehoshua’s mission was clearly not about gathering military intelligence—it was about pumping up the trepidatious people. If Moshe’s spies had done the same—focused on faith and encouragement rather than fear—the people might not have been doomed to wander the wilderness for 40 years.

Even when pursued by the soldiers of Jericho, Yehoshua’s spies returned full of faith in Hashem and ready to take the land. In contrast, Moshe’s spies—who faced no real danger—returned demoralized, already convinced of failure.

Upon hearing the Meraglim's negative report, B''Y wept and rebelled. They express regret for leaving Egypt and accuse Hashem of bringing them to die in the wilderness. They plan to return to Mitzraim.

Moshe and Aharon fall on their faces while Yehoshua and Caleb tear their clothes and plead with B''Y to trust Hashem and enter the Land.

B''Y attempts to stone them for treason. Hashem's "glory" erupts from Ohel Moed, and Hashem is angry with B''Y for their lack of faith and plans to destroy them. Moshe intercedes, invoking the Thirteen Middot, and convinces Hashem to pardon B''Y with one caveat: except Caleb for his loyalty, no one from the current generation will enter the Land, only their children. Here, they are cursed to wander the desert for 40 years.

Question: Why is Moshe’s defense a good argument?

Answer: It’s the same one he used at Har Sinai for Chet HaEgel. See Q below, too.

Question: Why is Hashem doing a חילול ה׳ such a bad thing?

Answer: The whole point of the Jewish people is to publicise Hashem through one people, so if Hashem destroys them, he’s harming his own goals.

Hashem ends up listening to Moshe, though not without some major consequences:

B''Y is heartbroken now that they can't go to Canaan and invade the Land anyway, this time without Hashem's help at all, perhaps as a way of Teshuva. They are crushed into oblivion by Amalek and the Canaanites.

Even though they can't enter the Land, they can still have a meaningful life after sinning by being teachers to their children and passing the laws down. This is why the Halachot of Korbanot upon entering Eretz Yisrael are given here, so B''Y can teach their kids.

Rav teaches that On ben Pelet was saved by his wife. She told him that whether Moshe or Korach wins, he’ll remain just a follower, so there’s no benefit to joining the rebellion. He replied that he had already sworn allegiance and couldn’t back out. She reassured him, gave him wine to make him drunk, laid him inside their tent, and then sat at the entrance with her hair uncovered, knowing the other men, out of modesty, wouldn’t approach. As a result, On slept through the rebellion and was not swallowed up with the others.

In contrast, Korach’s wife incited him to rebel further. She said Moshe made himself king, gave the high priesthood to his brother Aharon, and leadership roles to Aharon’s sons. She mocked the fact that Levites had to give a portion of their tithe to the kohanim and accused Moshe of humiliating them by shaving their heads and treating them like refuse. When Korach objected that Moshe also shaved, she replied that Moshe only did so to lower himself publicly to undermine others. She also mocked the commandment of techelet (blue thread), calling it arbitrary and made up. Her words stirred Korach’s pride and jealousy, helping drive him toward rebellion and destruction.

The sages conclude: “The wisdom of women builds her house” refers to On’s wife, who saved him; “but folly tears it down with her hands” refers to Korach’s wife, who brought about his downfall.

B''Y arrives at Kadesh in Midbar Tzin, where Miriam dies. B''Y complains that they have no water and they quarrel with Moshe about it, saying they would rather have remained in Egypt than suffer this thirst.

Hashem commanded Moshe to speak to the rock to bring forth water, but instead Moshe berated B''Y (called them rebels) and hit the rock twice to draw out water.

Hashem punishes Moshe and Aharon for not sanctifying him before B''Y, decreeing that they will not lead B''Y into the Promised Land.

This event is afterwards referred to as מי מריבה, the Waters of Quarrelling.

Question: Why once Miriam died was there no water?

Answer: Each of the Big Three siblings had their own "thing" and water was Miriam's.

1) Miriam: בער מרים - water

2) Aharon: ענני הכבוד - cloud

3) Moshe: מן - food

When Moshe relayed the people's complaint for water to Hashem, it is the first time Hashem had spoken to Moshe after 38 years of radio silence following the Korach Rebellion.

MOSHE:

Three Approaches:

AHARON:

Aharon failed in his main role as Moshe's communicator and didn't soften his brother's words, allowing Moshe to call the people rebels. The two of them misrepresented Hashem's words in the eyes of B''Y.

Hashem should have cut Moshe and Aharon some slack because they were still mourning for their sister, and the nation was not, and was insensitive, as seen by their complaints.

Aharon was silent in this story because silence is his go-to coping mechanism for grief, as seen when his sons die.

Moshe's coping method was anger.

Moshe sends a polite, beseeching message to the King of Edom, asking for permission to pass peacefully through his land. Edom refuses, threatening war. Even when B''Y replies that they'll stick to the road and pay for any water consumed, Edom vehemently refuses, coming out to greet them with a massive army.

Aharon dies after a procession from Kadesh to Har HaHar, on the border of Edom.

The War with Edom alludes to when Yaakove meets Esav in Beresheit, where Esav "kisses" him. The Midrash claims is was a bite to the neck. This bite foreshadows our story here in Bamidbar, where Edom threatens war with B''Y.

Yaakov was therefore "stiff-necked" to Esav's "kiss" and refused to travel with Esav, as he saw how their descendants would be enemies.

SIGNIFICANCE OF AHARON'S DEATH AFTER EDOM:

ויקרא אל משה וידבר ה אילו באוהל מועד לאמר?

Q: Why is there a totalogy/repetition of Hashem “calling out to Moshe” and then “speaking to him”?

A: Gemara Yomah - Torah is teaching us Derech Eretz and how to be polite. You have to have manners and politely address someone by name before you speak to them. Just as Hashem created Derech Eretz and morals in Sefer Vayikra, as we trust him with logical manners and politeness, so too we have to trust that Hashem knows what the right thing to do is, and Korbanot (which seem like brutal animal sacrifices) also have to be trusted to be moral.

Q: At the end of Maggid, we have 10 Makkot then Dayenu, then Rabban Gamliel’s Pesach Matzah Maror, and then right after that, we say 2 paragraphs of Hallel right at the end of the Maggid. Why do we split up Hallel for after Maggid and also after Birkat Hamazon. Just choose one place and say it together!

A: It’s a matter of זכירה (remembering every day) and סיפור (tell the story as if you lived it). The first two paragraphs of Hallel talk about בצאת ישראל and after we feel as though we were just taken out of Mitzraim and we can’t wait so we just have to burst into praise.

The Aliyah for the Parsha ends on this line of the Land being so good, and good because an Aliyah has to end on a good note, and this is teh first good note in a while