Edited by B. Silberstein
This week’s Parsha, Naso, (read today in Israel and this coming Shabbat in the Diaspora) contains the laws that pertain to the institution of Nezirut. The Nazir is someone who has taken a vow of abstention. The minimum duration of the standard period of Nezirut is 30 days. However, it may extend for whatever duration the Nazir specifies in the vow.
The main object from which a Nazir must refrain is wine, and even any component of the grape. Additionally, he cannot cut his hair, but must let it grow out. He is also precluded from defiling himself by coming in contact with a corpse. This prohibition applies even with respect to the seven close relatives for whom one must mourn, including one’s spouse, parents, siblings, and children.
At the conclusion of the Nazirite period, he must bring certain sacrifices and completely shave off all of his hair.
The Nazir and the Kohen Gadol
In this respect the Nazir’s status is like that of the Kohen Gadol (Chief Priest). The only exception to this restriction for both the Kohen Gadol and the Nazir is that of the corpse referred to as the Meit Mitzvah, which literally means ‘a deceased person who has no one to tend to his burial.’ What circumstances render someone a Meit Mitzvah?
In general, the law is that for the seven close relatives whom we are obligated to mourn for, we are also responsible for arranging a proper burial. Since most people are survived by family members, they are not in a situation of need regarding their interment. However, sometimes a person outlives all his next of kin. When he dies, there is no mourner who has an obligation to arrange his funeral. He thus becomes a Meit Mitzvah.
This phenomenon can also occur in another way. Chazal (the Rabbis) teach that “one who converts is like a newborn baby." (Yevamot 22b) They mean to say that all of his former familial relationships are dissolved. Thus, upon conversion, he is regarded as having no Halachic relatives.
Yet, by getting married and having children he obtains relatives once again. In such a situation his spouse and offspring would then, upon his death, be required to bury and mourn for him. However, should the convert fail to get married and procreate, he would die without next of kin and become a Meit Mitzvah.
In this case the Halacha is that the first Jew to chance upon his body would have to see to his proper burial, even if that person is the Kohen Gadol or a Nazir.
The True Meaning of Kedusha
These laws contain a great teaching about Judaic values and philosophy. All Jews are bound by the commandment, “Thou shalt be Holy." (VaYikra 19:2) The Torah recognizes that there are different degrees of personal sanctity. The highest levels are those of the Kohen Gadol and the Nazir.
The Chief Priest alone may enter the Kodesh HaKodashim (Holy of Holies) in the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple). There he performs the unique service that secures atonement for Am Yisrael (Nation of Israel) on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. He cannot become ritually impure through contact with his deceased close relatives, because the verse states, “And from the Sanctuary he may not depart," (VaYikra 21:12) which the Chazal interpret to mean that he may not abandon his state of holiness.
The same concept applies to the Nazir. The verse states, “All the days of his Nezirut he is holy unto Hashem." (BaMidbar 6:8) We shouldn’t think that a person obtains an elevated stature by simply abstaining from pleasure. It is not a Mitzvah to deprive oneself of any enjoyment that this world offers. The Rambam in Hilchot Deiot 3:1 states that living an ascetic existence is prohibited and that this is the religious approach of idolaters.
However, he warns, we are not to embrace excess and become wholly absorbed in sensual pleasures. Rather, we should seek the “middle way," gratifying our needs in a controlled and intelligent manner to maintain health in body and soul. Therefore, under ordinary circumstances, Judaism does not believe that a person should renounce enjoyment of wine. To the contrary, the verse states that “wine rejoices the heart of man." (Tehilim 104:15) Because of this, we recite Kiddush over wine on Shabbat and Yom Tov (the Holidays), and drink wine for enjoyment on the Chagim (festivals) when we are commanded to “rejoice in your Festivals." (Devarim 16:14)
The Nazir renounces wine for a prescribed period of time because he has decided to embark on a profound spiritual transformation. He is abandoning a lifestyle based on the pursuit of pleasure and transitioning into one dedicated to the elevation of the soul through wisdom and good deeds. He is putting all his energy into intense introspection, study, and striving for closeness to the Creator.
When the Nazir discovers his Creator and devotes all of his energy to living according to His Will, he attains the highest state of Kedushah (holiness). He is, indeed, on a par with the Kohen Gadol, and neither may defile themselves by coming in contact with a corpse, regardless of the closeness of the relationship. Except for the Meit Mitzvah, who might very well be on the lowest rung of the social ladder.
The Image of G-d in Man
This is because Judaism attaches great significance to the concern for human dignity, especially in the matter of a respectful burial. Judaism introduced to the world the doctrine that man possesses intrinsic dignity because he was created in the Image of G-d, as the Torah states in Bereishit 1:27:
“And G-d created man in His Image, in the Image of G-d created He him, male and female created He them."
We honor the divine soul and, by extension, the One who implanted it in the human body, by respecting the living as well as the deceased.
Holiness and Moral Responsibility
This is a vital lesson regarding Judaism’s concept of holiness. Even when a person is immersed in his personal desire to reach a higher level in his relationship with Hashem, he can’t close his eyes to the world around him.
He must still be concerned about his fellow man. He must relinquish his state of ritual purity to perform what the Rabbis refer to as the Chesed Shel Emet (compassion of truth).
A Nazir must attend personally to the interring a total stranger, even one who does not occupy a significant place in society. The Kohen Gadol must disqualify himself from performing the holiest and most vital Service in the Temple to prevent any disrespect to the soul of a fellow Jew whose only need is for a proper burial.
If we are commanded to be so solicitous to the requirements of a corpse that experiences no pain or shame, how much more so should we be sensitive to and generous with the wants of a living being whom we have chanced upon and who needs our help. Recognizing the dignity of man because he is imbued with the divine soul is the most exalted form of honoring Hashem.
May we merit to attain it.