Nazir Sotah Connection
Adapted from Rabbi Braun’s sermon in 5768
The Roman Coliseum was built to seat over 50,000 people and has nearly 80 entrances to facilitate easy entry and exit of the crowds. In addition to being impressed with that architectural feat- it should also impress upon us the fact that when building the structure there was a clear recognition that the crowd was an integral part of the experience. There is a trial by fire as it were- man versus beast and that contest without the crowd is meaningless. This morning I want to ask the following question- what is the impact of the spectacle on the crowd. In terms of the coliseum one would argue that it was not very good- the lust for death and blood becomes contagious and riles people up. The assumption is that people want to witness this type of event, it draws them and I would imagine that not only does it draw them but it affects them as well. The more you are exposed to something the more it impacts you.
Although that type of sport is antithetical to Judaism, the idea the crowd is affected by what it experiences is certainly a Jewish and universal idea. !
Imagine for a moment that you had just witnessed the Sotah ceremony – The public humiliation, the erasure of God’s sanctified name, and the drinking of the Sotah waters; Our version of the trial by fire.
What would your reaction be? Would it be simple fascination and have no effect? Would it have a profound impact in either a positive or negative manner?
That very issue is implicit in Rashi’s posing the famous question: why does the Torah juxtapose the laws of Sotah and the laws of Nazir? What does one have to do with the other?
Rashi provides the equally famous answer of the Midrash: A person who sees the Sotah in her state of downfall should vow to abstain from wine because wine is the cause of much sin.
To fully appreciate the message of the Midrash we must ask two other contextual questions?
First we must ask, why are the parshiyot of the Nazir and the Sotah placed together with issues pertaining to the consecration of the Leviim? Chapters 3-4 of the book of Bamidar (which we read last week) discuss the selection of the Leviim and their functions, chapters 7-8 (this mornings reading) deal with the dedication of the Mishkan and the sanctification of the Kohanim and Leviim for their service. Why, in the middle of this process, do the Sotah (chapter 5) and Nazir (chapter 6) suddenly appear?
Secondly we must ask, why are these sections included in the book of Bamidbar at all? Shouldn’t their rightful place be in the book of Vayikra along with all of the other kohen related activities? To strengthen that question we might add that when we begin reading the book of Bamidbar you encounter the census and the arrangement of the camp. The levi’im are then sanctified and later tribes offer their sacrifices to dedicate the temple. In Beha’alotcha (next week) the Jews are given their marching instructions. The flow is clear; the people and camp are being prepared and sanctified for their journey into the land of Israel.
If that is the case then we really must wonder “what do Sotah and Nazir and the connection between them have to do with the preparation of the camp? And why are they put right in between the sections of dealing with the Leviim?
The only possible explanation is that those 2 parshiyot contain a message that is vital for the sanctity of the camp. One possible way to answer all of those questions is as follows:
Let me begin by rephrasing Rashi’s question- now I would ask “what is a person supposed to do when in the CAMP when he or she encounters the Sotah, the person who is unfaithful and is not behaving in accordance with the level of sanctity one would like to see in God’s camp and community?
First and foremost and this is implicit in the answer is that you must recognize that there is something in your community and society that is irreligious and unholy. Then you must take positive action to protect and insulate yourself from that activity- you must withdraw from it. You need to elevate yourself spiritually to be able to combat those negative spiritual influences.
This is a very profound and significant message. The Torah is aware that the camp that is being sanctified in the desert will not always conduct itself as it should. There will be times when the parts of the Jewish society or parts of the general society in which the Jews live will be a negative influence on their spiritual conduct. So the Torah tells us that part of the task of belonging to the camp is to be able to recognize when the Sotah is lurking and to be able to protect oneself from it and strengthen one’s self spiritually. So, one might argue, this message is fundamentally important to the establishment of the camp.
It is critical to note that nether the Torah nor the Midrash suggest leaving the camp. In the camp we stay but given that there is where we must be we best be careful.
The Midrash also contains the answer to the second question “why in between the sections of the Leviim?”
The Midrash does not say that that one who sees the Sotah is thus mandated to become a Nazir, rather it says one who sees the Sotah should themselves volunteer to abstain from wine. You have to choose to do it. You can’t rely on the priests or Levi’im nor can you claim they are to be holy while I need not be. Every person is commanded to be holy and every person is responsible for their actions and character. And every person can achieve great heights; one does not have to be a priest or Levi to attain those heights.
That message is 3800 years old and it is as relevant as ever. Obscenity, violence and sexuality are so commonplace that we don’t even realize that the Sotah is in our midst. First we have to recognize it. Then of course we have to act to counter its influence. We have to reconnect and recommit ourselves to our Torah and our tradition while separating ourselves from that which causes leads to the immorality symbolized by the Sotah.
