The juxtaposition of the episode of the Sota woman, the woman suspected of adultery, and the sort of honorary Kohen, the Nazir, struck the rabbis as odd. Why did the Torah put these two together? The answer is that one inspires the other. That is, if someone witnesses the disgrace of the Sota woman, the person will be moved to forbid him or herself from wine for at least 30 days.
The Parasha begins with a funny verb. It doesn’t sound funny; it’s pedestrian enough. But the condition should be, “if you keep my Chukot.” Or “if you do them.” Why does it say, “walk”? Most commentators say that that is why Rashi tells us that this is a reference to learning Torah with great effort and not to doing Mitzvot in...Read more...
Sometimes I get calls or messages just because I’m one of the last 5% of US rabbis up at a certain hour of the night. If a problem arises after 11 pm or midnight on the East Coast, a call to a local rabbi might be considered rude. But on the West Coast, it’s still early. The OU has a Daily Chizuk Call on weekdays at 1 pm EDT. I have spoken twice in the last few...Read more...
The Parasha begins with an odd repetition of two forms of the verb “Amira” (speaking). Rashi says that the doubling is to “warn the big about the small” (L’hazhir Gedolim Al HaK’tanim). That is usually translated as, “to warn the adults about the children,” and it means that adult Kohanim are commanded to convey to their children the special obligations that...Read more...
