“If a man or woman makes a Nazirite promise to abstain from wine or grape products….”(Bamidbar 6:2)
A nazir accepts upon himself three prohibitions: not to cut his hair, not to consume grape products, and not to come in contact with the dead. While these seem like relatively minor restrictions, Rav Yehuda Zev Segal notes that there are lofty concepts associated with the nazir. The word nazir itself is derived from the root nezer — crown. What’s the connection?
Furthermore, one of the restrictions a nazir accepts is to avoid contact with the dead. The Baal HaTurim explains that the nazir may merit ruach hakodesh, and otherwise, people may attribute this to forbidden means such as communing with the dead.
Why does the nazir merit a crown and ruach hakodesh?
(Rabbi Ozer Alport, Parsha Potpourri)
Posted prominently on my high school locker was a glossy photo of a basket of red apples and in the middle, one bright green one. The caption: Dare to be different!
I’m both amused and embarrassed to admit this was an important principle of mine as a teen. Why be like everyone else when clearly we’re each unique? No two snowflakes and all… (although I doubt it’s ever been scientifically proven).
I grew up, matured, and realized my shitah didn’t have value as a stand-alone principle, unless it was l’Sheim Shamayim. And boy, that’s much harder to pull off than wearing a pair of fun and funky earrings.
Rav Segal offers an answer from the Ibn Ezra. The pasuk uses the word “yaflei,” from the root “wonder,” to discuss the nazir’s commitments. Most people follow their earthly desires without thought. The idea of a person voluntarily relinquishing physical pleasure runs counter to societal norms, thus it’s a wonder.
Through the nazir’s willingness to defy societal pressures to curb his desires, he earns a spiritual crown, and may even merit ruach hakodesh.
The Darchei Mussar explains why such “minor” actions merit these lofty rewards. While human nature evaluates actions quantitatively — assuming that larger deeds are superior, Heaven judges actions by their qualitative purity. Thus, the nazir’s three “minor” restrictions, if done purely l’Sheim Shamayim, may bring even ruach hakodesh.
My parents raised us not to be afraid to be different if you’re acting for Hashem.
