Pent. Num 4:21-7:89
This week’s Torah portion, Naso, meaning “lift up,” begins by God telling Moses to take a census of the Levites. The Hebrew literally translates as, “raise the heads of the Levities.” The Levites’ job is to carry the Tabernacle through the wilderness; a job that physically weighs them down. But here they are told to “rise up.” Anne Ebersman, in The Torah: A Women’s Commentary explains, “From this we learn that the things that we carry-the things that weigh us down-actually raise us up. These are our most precious gifts.”
On Sunday night and Monday, we celebrate Shavuot, the holiday in which we reenact and remember the receiving the Torah. In our community, it is a custom at B’nai Mitzvah services to pass the Torah down from one generation to the next. When we make our way down the line and finally place the Torah in the still growing hands of the B’nai Mitzvah, they can physically feel the huge weight that is being handed to them. But, as they accept the Torah, they also feel its emotional weight, the large responsibility that comes from receiving and accepting the teachings of the Torah.
When the Israelites received the Torah, they enthusiastically responded, “We will do and we will hear!” They promised to follow the laws and teachings of the Torah before they completely understood the depth of their responsibility. The experience at Mount Sinai is often compared to a wedding ceremony in which God stands under the chuppah with the Israelites. Joel Ziff in Mirror in Time: A Psycho-Spiritual Journey through the Jewish Year explains, “God and Israel make an eternal commitment to one another. God gives the Torah, and the Israelites pledge to adhere to its precepts. A wedding represents the beginning of a relationship. Although vows are made, the young couple must still struggle to translate those vows into reality, overcoming differences and difficulties.” This is also true of the commitment made at Sinai.
On Shavuot, we once again feel the weight and responsibility of receiving and accepting the Torah as ours. We are reminded of the commitment we made to God at Sinai. At times, the laws and customs we enthusiastically committed to on that sacred occasion can seem overwhelming and burdensome, but as we learn in this week’s parasha, “the things that weigh us down-actually raise us up.” The Torah is our most precious gift. As Ziff explains, the Torah “transforms our understanding,...[helps] us clarify a vision of our future, and...[motivates] us to make a commitment to manifest that vision.” We carry the teachings of the Torah with us each and every day, a responsibility and honor that truly raises us up to be the best individuals we can be.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,
Rabbi Alissa Forrest
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