All the days of his Nazarite vow a razor shall not pass over his head until the completion of the days that he will be a Nazarite for the sake of HASHEM he shall be holy the growth of hair on his head shall grow. All the days of his abstinence for the sake of HASHEM he shall not come near a dead person. To his father or to his mother, to his brother or to his sister-he shall not contaminate himself to them upon their death, for the crown of G-d is upon his head. (Bamidbar 6:5-7)

 For the crown of G-d is upon his head: Why is his hair called a crown? Come and see how many Mitzvos crown Israel. Is not an untamed growth of hair considered disgraceful and decrepit for the person that he does not manage his head?  However since he is growing it for the sake of Heaven, the verse refers to it as a “crown of G-d upon his head!”  (Midrash Rabba)

The Midrash explains nicely why the hair on his head is a crown. Still the original question remains; “Why is only this called by the Torah a “crown of G-d upon his head” and not any other equally worthy Mitzvah?!”

If truth would not be stranger than fiction I would not have believed the following story I heard more than twenty years ago and I would not expect you to believe it either but with that having been said, here it is: A boat load of American students was bobbing about the Kineret Sea in the north of Israel. One of those students, a girl, was somehow dangerously close to the edge and she was suddenly tossed off the boat. There she was flailing in the waters while everyone was screaming instructions to her.

Another small craft happened to be passing by at that moment with some religiously observant students aboard. The young Rabbi in charge saw the distress of the young woman in the water and he immediately leapt into action. He dove into the water without hesitation and pulled her to safety where she then needed to be revived.

After things had quieted down a bit one of the young men from the boatload of Americans approached the young Rabbi and asked him somewhat sarcastically, “I thought you weren’t allowed to touch a woman!” The Rabbi looked at him blankly and asked rhetorically, “Where were you while she was drowning?”

In the meanwhile the young girl who was recovering from the trauma of the episode began to express her gratitude to the Rabbi that had just saved her life. She asked him what she could do to repay his heroism. Although his instinct was to not seek a reward he had a modest request and that was that she should join his family for a Shabbos, to which she gladly agreed. She became a frequent guest at their home and eventually after a period of time she became fully Shomer Shabbos.

In the meanwhile that fellow who had made the wry comment to the Rabbi and who had received the sharp reply started to do some soul searching of his own. He wandered into a Yeshiva in Jerusalem and started to study Torah for the first time in his life. He decided to extend his stay and search further and deeper into the sea of the Talmud.  One Shabbos he was set up to join a young family as a guest for a Friday night meal. There he slightly recognized the host until it dawned on him that it was no other than the Rabbi that jumped into the water to save that girl. The Rabbi had not recognized him because his appearance had changed somewhat. There too at the Shabbos table was the girl that had been rescued. The two of them became reacquainted that evening. A mutual interest was awakened and expressed and in short order they were dating. Well, not long after that, you guessed it, they were married. So as it turned out, the day the Rabbi dove into those choppy waters and rescued that girl he saved the young man too and their future generations.

What a deed he did!? However, seen outside of the context of the mortal danger factor, to the uneducated eye, the young man’s smug comment contained elements of truth. What he did looked a lot like mixed swimming and worse. Isn’t it a violation? No! It must be viewed as a response to an emergency. So too the Nazirite can only be understood properly as someone that’s busy saving a life- his own, by accepting a strong spiritual regimen upon himself. That’s what his hair represents. It is not at all shameful. Rather it’s a “crown of G-d” and an ever growing badge of courage.

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You shall not recognize the gods of others in My presence. Do not make for yourself a carved image (lecha pesal) nor any likeness of that which is in the heavens above or on the earth below… (Shemos 20:3-4)

It’s remarkable that the same two words “pesal lecha” and “lecha pesal”, “carve for yourself” and “for yourself carve” can have such varying results. Those Tablets that Moshe was instructed “carve for yourself” were the 2nd unbroken Tablets that were placed in the Aron with the first broken Tablets and a Sefer Torah written by Moshe all of which resided in the Holy of Holies in the Tabernacle and the Temple in Jerusalem. Nothing could be more elevated in this entire material universe. Somehow the Aron did not even take up any physical space. At the other extreme end of the spiritual spectrum is the expectation to not to carve out an idol. Almost nothing is more despicable in G-d’s world than the likes of a Golden Calf. The same two words “pesal lecha” and “lecha pesal” account for both. What’s the difference in these two types of carvings?  The answer I heard goes like this; “It all depends on where you put the “lecha”- where you put your- self.” If the “self” comes after the doing it can be an action for the Holy of Holies. If it precedes the deed, then if may well be worthy of the title idolatry.

This entire notion is reflected in the difference between the way we express ourselves in English versus the Holy Language of Hebrew. In English when I want to say that I wrote a poem, I say “I wrote a poem!” The first word is “I” at the beginning of the sentence and it’s the tallest letter. When one wishes to say in the Holy Tongue that he wrote something, (in the first person) he says, “Ketavti”. The letter “yud” that indicates “I” is the littlest of the letters and it appears at the very end. The simple attitude of the size and the placement of the “I” can make the biggest difference in the quality of the result, as it is written, “I stand between HASHEM and between you…” (Devarim 5:5) The Baal Shem Tov had taught this verse to mean that it’s the exaggerated sense of the “I” that stands between you and HASHEM.

Nobody is talking about eliminating the “I”. We live in bodies and the sages of the Talmud tell us that the Torah was not given over to ministering angels but rather to flesh and blood humans. How then are we expected to view what we do?

The answer may be illustrated by the following parable of the Ben Ish Chai. This little story caught my attention a while back and I could not quite figure out what it might mean maybe till now: In Spain there lived an outstanding archer. He was the best in Europe. The king himself was also well trained in archery. One day a large entourage of ministers accompanied the king to an open field where a contest had been arranged between the king and the master archer.  They set up a target painted on a cloth stretched between two poles and each agreed to shoot ten shots. The king shot first. Each of his shots went through ten different points of the yellow of the bull’s eye. The king felt quite proud of his performance. Then the famous marksman himself stepped up and let fly his ten arrows.  His first shot missed the center but then each of his next nine arrows went through the same exact hole made by the first arrow. The ministers of the king declared the king the winner but later on when they were alone the king expressed his gratitude to the expert archer for the deference he had shown and he gave him a valuable gift in appreciation.

In this story each individual is like the king. There is a part of us that competes with the HASHEM. It is definitely very good for us to a certain extent because we are greatly improved in our striving to be more G-dly. Even if others applaud our accomplishments like the entourage of the king somehow deep down inside we know the real truth. We have only been allowed to look victorious to feel accomplished and be encouraged. For that same reason I let my six year old son beat me in arm wrestling. He struts about like a strong man after each contest, but in the depth of his heart he knows who he is and how powerful “I” can be.

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And now if you will listen well to My voice and observe My covenant, you will be to Me the most beloved treasure of all the peoples, for Mine is the entire world.  You shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Shemos 19:5-6)

What is the purpose of mentioning, “for Mine is the entire world”? Where does that fit into the discussion?  A great commitment is being demanded of us and a cosmic carrot is dangled before our eyes to induce the first giant step. What is the relevance of stating in that context the to whom the world belongs? What could it possibly mean? There are likely multiple approaches to this verse. Let’s try three that are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

1) It may be comparable to a rich future father-in law promising his would be son- in law a huge reward if he can make his daughter happy. The father-in law reminds the lad of how profoundly wealthy he is. “I own hundreds of hotels and buildings and banks.  Just be good to my daughter!” This notion is supported by the Mechilta’s explanation of the words “You will be to Me”: “What is the meaning of “to Me”? You will be available to Me and busy with Torah and not busy with other things.”  If it’s not already too obvious, the Torah may be likened to the daughter and HASHEM to the father-in law and we the Jewish People are the son-in law to be.  If we are dutiful and loyal to the Torah, then huge rewards are promised because “Mine is the entire world”, all goodness is at My disposal! This statement amplifies the size of the inducement package.

2) It could be that the father-in law in our little parable is quieting the nerves of his future son-law. He knows that in order remain properly focused on the task the son-in law needs to be assured that the material means are guaranteed to be there. Anticipating that the son-law might wonder and worry, “What happens if this industry crashes or that business goes under, how will I be able to remain loyal to the cause of learning and living Torah amidst shifting material conditions?” So the bride’s father assures the boy not to concern himself overmuch because the whole world is his and even if one part of the economy falls other opportunities will become manifest. So confirms the prophet Chaggai, “Mine is the silver and mine is the gold, says HASHEM!”  The Vilna Gaon states in his commentary on Mishlei, “The main point of giving the Torah to Israel is that they should place their trust in HASHEM… Because the main thing is to gain complete trust and that principle envelops all the Mitzvos!” Therefore HASHEM tells us, so to speak, “Trust me! You can afford to dedicate yourself to Torah! The entire universe is completely under My control!” 

3) The verse might also be emphasizing a slightly different point. What does it mean to be “the most beloved treasure”, as promised in the verse? “You will be to Me the most beloved treasure of all the peoples”: The Pesikta Rabba explains, “Just as a treasure is dear to a person more than everything else that he possesses, so is Israel beloved before the Holy One Blessed is He!”  What is HASHEM telling the Jewish People? “Of all My possession you are My dearest and that’s not an insignificant matter because the whole world is Mine!”  This declaration helps us grasp with a profound sense of proportion the esteem boost buried in the word “treasure”.

It was told about the Klausenberger Rebbe ztl. that during the 2nd World War the Nazi’s were once beating him mercilessly and all the while they were taunting him with words, “Tell us Rabbi, do you still think you are the chosen people?” They would laugh with derision and continue the abuse. At one point the Rebbe told them, “If you’ll stop beating me for a moment I’ll give you the answer.” They paused to hear what he had to say. “Yes!” he told them, “If our roles were reversed and I would be in a position of total control over you like you are over me now, would I be doing to you what you are doing to me!?  We are still the chosen people”

To endure as he did one would have to surmise the size of the prize, and the must to trust, and the pleasure of the treasure.

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At first, “And Pharaoh’s heart hardened” (Shemos 8:15) and in the end “And HASHEM hardened the heart of Pharaoh”. Why is that so? That is according to what Reish Lakish says, “He who comes to contaminate is opened up for.”…Once a person desires badness he is tripped up from heaven. (Pesikta Zuta)

Why did HASHEM harden Pharaoh’s heart? Doesn’t that interfere with his free will? Now we know why HASHEM did so. Pharaoh hardened his own heart and therefore HASHEM hardened it for him. By giving up control and abusing his free will he was made to lose control and he was denied free will. It was really all a testimony to Pharaoh’s terminal stubbornness. He was perhaps the biggest denier of HASHEM that ever walked the good earth.

The Kotzker Rebbe ztl. sardonically said that the “free thinkers” of these days believe that they are authentic scoffers, but their actions don’t always support their claim. They are really deceiving themselves and others. Whenever they are visited by the slightest of tragedies or illness they immediately run to pray and petition G-d.  Pharaoh, on the other hand, was a real scoffer. Nine plagues had already landed on the heads of Egypt and each with a clear warning with precise detail as to how it would unfold being fulfilled. Still Pharaoh not only refused to yield but he resisted in believing. The Torah tells us, “And it was at midnight and HASHEM smote every first born in the Land of Egypt from the first born of Pharaoh that sits on the throne until the first born of the captive who was in the dungeon and all the first born animals. And Pharaoh got up that night (from his bed: Rashi) and all his servants and all of Egypt and there was a great outcry throughout all of the Land of Egypt and there was no house in which there was not there a death. He called to Moshe and Aaron  at night and said, “Rise up, go out from among my people, even you, even the Children of Israel; Go and serve HASHEM as you have spoken!””(Shemos 12:29-31) The Kotzker takes note that Pharaoh himself was a first born and he had heard directly all of Moshe’s warnings for the first nine plagues and amazingly the verse testifies “and Pharaoh got up…” that means that he went to sleep as if nothing unusual would be happening that night. This demonstrates that he was a real scoffer. He saw the truth staring him in the face and yet he remained unaffected.

On the flip side the sages tell us, “One who comes to purify gets help!” As opposed to the one who seeks impurity who finds an open door, the one who truly desires holiness gets wind in his sails.  Avraham Avinu after nine increasingly difficult tests is faced with the ultimate. He is asked to bring his son Yitzchok as a burnt offering. It was Yitzchok he waited for till one hundred years of age and in whom he had sewn wisdom for thirty-seven years. There too the Torah tells us, “And Avraham arose in the morning…” (Breishis 22:3) That implies also that he went to sleep the night before the fateful journey. That too is amazing! With increasing clarity and intensity he learned over the course of a lifetime to look truth in the face and embrace it. Therefore he accepted his destiny with perfect calm.

Oddly, from the outside, the Baal Bitachon- the Master of Trusting G-d, and the bum can look hauntingly similar. Both are sleeping peacefully. What’s the real difference? One goes to sleep comforted by truth while the other is sedated, in a fantasy- a bubble, at risk of being awakened by a jolt of -oy gevalt!

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So says HASHEM, “Through this shall you know that I am HASHEM; behold with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the waters that are in the River and they will change to blood. The fish-life that is in the water will die and the River will become foul. Egypt will become weary of trying to drink water from the River. (Shemos 7:17-18)

Pharaoh is getting his first introduction to HASHEM. It’s hard not to notice that the method is a little rugged. Maybe, because Pharaoh is extra hardnosed and living in deep denial and therefore he needs an extra dose of reality. It makes sense to shock him with a plague or ten. However, we understand that the plagues were not meant to convince Pharaoh alone, but the entire Jewish Nation as well.  How and why does this method of muddying the waters of Egypt work so well?

A city council hired an artist to make a statue for the central park. The artist was offered a handsome sum of money for his work. He labored to create a marvelously lifelike image of a horse. It was such a perfect replica that passersby would hardly notice that it was statue. This became a point of contention for the city council that had commissioned the artist and promised him generous recompense for his craft. After all, as politicians, they wanted to gain some reflected glory for their efforts to beautify the park and all was going completely unnoticed. The artist, they complained, had done too good of a job. The horse was too real in appearance and casual observers were incapable telling the difference between it and the real thing. They complained to the artist threatening to halt his payment unless he made some correction. What was he to do? His statue was perfect. What improvement could he possibly make? After a short period of time he arrived at a solution. He went to the park with a hammer and chisel in hand and surgically he stuck at and knocked off the nose of his beautiful statue rendering it seriously and obviously flawed.

Soon small crowds gathered in the park and were seen taking serious notice of the statue. One was heard saying to another, “What a beautiful statue of a horse!” The other one answered, “Too bad the nose is broken!”

The Chovos HaLevavos in his introduction to Shaar HaBechina, the Gate of Investigation, lists three reasons one may naturally fail to recognize the great goodness woven into every detail of creation. The summary of the second reason is that HASHEM makes the world run in a predictable and orderly fashion. It is precisely because the goodness is so reliable and consistent that we are rocked to sleep by the steady rhythm of its delivery. A baby is formed from a single cell and after nine months is a marvelous composite of three trillion cells. The first year of life the weight doubles. By the time the child has achieves full stature there are approximately 60 trillion cells running to perform their individual tasks below the radar of our conscious mind. We might tend to call it nature. Nature really means repeating miracles. When something occurs once in history, like the splitting of the sea, then we call it miraculous. If it happens every day and twice on Sunday as a matinee then few would ever take notice.

That’s the problem. The good is too darn good. How is The Creator to grab the attention of man? Well, it seems that the sometimes the only way interrupt the habit of living habitual and shallow is a subtle shock treatment that arrests the attention of individual or the entire world. When one small group of cells fails to cooperate, G-d forbid, the person finds themselves praying for mercy, while seeking treatments at Sloan Kettering. When a plane fails to reach its destination in one piece then everyone is amazed that anyone emerges whole. When the Nile River, the main economic artery in Egypt clots with blood, even for a week, then we and even Pharaoh have a better chance of knowing that there is a G-d. Too bad it has to be broken first to fix our attention.

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