Taming the Uncharted Wilderness
D’var Torah for Parashat Naso
Rabbi Boaz D. Heilman
Bamidbar—in the wilderness; the title of the fourth book in the Torah is at once both reality and metaphor. The physical setting is the Sinai Wilderness, but the lessons are just as much about navigating the meandering paths Life takes us on.
With the Exodus from Egypt now behind them, the Israelites have begun their journey towards the Promised Land. The Wilderness is uncharted territory, harsh and inhospitable. Located at the crossroads of three continents, the Sinai Peninsula is a desert where nomadic tribes interact—sometimes peacefully, other times not—with caravans of traders. Throughout the ages, it has seen empires clashing for power and control. And in the midst of it all, some 3200 years ago—it was the setting for the wandering tribes of Israel, a nation of nearly 700,000 men, women and children (at least according to the Torah’s account) trying to find its way, seeking to instill a measure of order, purpose and direction into its existence.
In this week’s Torah portion, Naso (“Count,” Numbers 4:21-7:89), Moses continues his task of organizing the Israelites by tribe and clan, assigning duties and obligations. But even as he attempts to bring order into the life of the newborn nation, chaos is always on the sidelines, ready to pounce. The dangers aren’t only on the outside. Human emotions can easily turn into dangerously uncontrollable passions, with chaos the inevitable result.
The Torah teaches that love and faith are sacred sentiments. But when love turns into jealousy and when faith becomes frenzied zeal, any semblance of order immediately disappears.
Naso therefore tries to set rules meant to contain these dangerous passions. It sets limits to religious fervor and ordains rituals that are meant to placate the jealous heart.
Even today we see how dangerous these two passions can be. Domestic violence is often directed against children or the elderly. Yet women account for the largest number of its victims. In Naso Moses sets up rules and rituals pertaining to a sota—a married woman suspected of adultery. Couched in misogyny, fear and superstition, the Ordeal of Bitter Water is horrifying and humiliating. Yet it has a much greater purpose in mind: to save the woman’s life.
The ritual is effective in that it takes matters out of the jealous husband’s hands and turns them over to a hopefully more objective priest. It’s also intentionally designed to prove the woman’s innocence. Yet it is still a vile and horrible ordeal. It also reinforces the continuing subjugation of women, part of a primitive social order that most of the civilized world rejects today, yet which still exists in many places around the world. “Honor killing” is still an accepted practice in much of the Near East, while even in more advanced cultures the incidence of violence against women remains appallingly high. This week’s Torah portion, while unable to root out this evil, at least attempts to control it.
Also in this portion, and serving a similar function, is the case of the Nazirite—a person who takes on extraordinary vows of religious devotion. While faith can lead to acts of goodness, it can also become extreme and dangerous. Throughout history we see how easily religious zeal turns into intolerance. Religious hatred has the power to destroy not only individual lives, but also entire nations. Naso, again in an effort to limit what it cannot eradicate, therefore sets boundaries to such behavior.
Arguably more than other Torah portions, Naso reflects the culture of the time. Yet the mindset and behavior that it describes are still widespread today. Faith and love enrich our lives and give us purpose and direction. But when they adopt extreme forms, they result in conflict and chaos.
As we try to navigate the uncharted wilderness that life sometimes is, this portion offers important cautions and guidelines. Its teaching is just as important today as it was thousands of years ago.
© 2022 by Boaz D. Heilman
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