NUM36 A nazir shall not drink wine or any intoxicating liquid. See [[NUM38]] Numbers 6:5 hair CHINUCH 233-234

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NUM38 A nazir shall let his hair [and beard] grow. Introduction: Were our minds not in a physical body that lusts and desires sin, there is no doubt that each of us would use his intelligence exclusively in the service of his Maker. Each human being would stand before the Holy One, always ready to fulfill His Will, like one of the angels. In truth, however, our minds reside in a mundane physical body. Hashem made each of us to be a partnership of mind and matter. Accordingly, so that each person can fittingly afford honor to his Maker, it is suiting and necessary that his mind shall have the ability to know the Creator and recognize Him. Still, since our minds must dwell in a physical body, they must sometimes divert their attention from service of the Creator and tend to the needs of the mind’s dwelling place--the body—for unless man concerns himself with the needs of his body he will not survive. Clearly, however, whenever possible, one should minimize the time that the mind spends on the need of its “house,” so that it is free to apply itself to serving Hashem. Such is the best way, as long as one does not completely ignore his body and let it go to ruin, which would be sinful, for the King of kings created man to be a soul and body--a partnership of mind and matter. This concept lies at the basis of the holiness and greatness of the nazir. He sets his body to the side and tries to break its lusts and desires, by means that will not bring complete ruined to the body. For example, he lets his hair grow and abstains from wine and other products of the grapevine. In this way he subdues his lust and evil inclination, without causing the body to crumble. He diverts his mind to almost total devotion to service of its Maker, and thereby, the Holy One’s sanctity comes to rest upon him. Also, to help him subdue his evil inclination, the Torah commands that when he completes his term as a nazir, he must shave off all the hair on his head. Not a trace of hair can remain, so that his evil inclination will not return to plague him as before. Without question, when a man lets his hair grow wild, and also when he shaves his entire head, he loses the appearance of a normal human being, so in both situations he is better able to subdue his evil inclination.

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NUM39 A nazir is forbidden to enter a tent or other structure that contains a corpse. Key concepts: We noted above (See [[NUM10]] Numbers 5:2 impure CHINUCH 227-8) why holy places must be kept free of spiritual impurity. Similarly, a nazir, having special holiness, must keep away from the spiritual impurity present in a structure that contains a corpse. As to why a corpse is spiritually impure, (See [[LEV867]] Leviticus 21:1 impurity CHINUCH 167-8).

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NUM40 A nazir shall not let himself become spiritually impure even in the event of the death of his closest relatives. The reason for this mitzvah: Although a Kohen (not a Kohen Gadol) is obligated to become spiritually impure when either of his parents die, such is forbidden to a nazir. The difference is that the Kohen’s sanctity is from birth, and it comes to him automatically, without his consent or expressed desire. Except for the fact that he is privileged to serve Hashem in the Beis HaMikdash, he is just like all other Jews. We find him at home rejoicing with his loved ones, including his relatives, whom he invites to all happy occasions. Therefore, when one of his relative dies, his heart is aggrieved. Accordingly, the Torah allows him to become spiritually impure in order to mourn his close relatives, for all the ways of the Torah are pleasant. By contrast, a person chooses to be a nazir, and having done so, he is holy to Hashem for the whole time. During his days as a nazir, he keeps himself above the mundane desires of the physical world. He does not participate in parties, friendly gatherings or family celebrations. By abstaining from wine he shows that his heart is set on afflicting himself, refining his soul and trying to attain deeper understanding of Hashem, all of which requires separation from the mundane aspects of everyday living. Having set his sights on the needs of his soul, and having resolved to set aside the desires of his body, he will not seek the company of his friends, family or relatives. He will find pleasure only in things spiritual, for his soul desirous holiness. Due to his high level of disassociation from his fellow man and his high level of sanctity, if one of his relatives dies--even his mother or father—the Torah does not allow him to become spiritually impure. [In this respect he is similar to the High Priest (Kohen Gadol)--see [[LEV876]] Leviticus 21:11 corpse CHINUCH 172]. After his time of being a nazir, is over, he again becomes like all other Jews and the danger arises that he might start chasing after his physical desires. On the other hand, having once been a nazir to Hashem, there is hope that he will sanctify himself and live out the rest of his days in purity.

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NUM49 The Kohanim shall bless the people every day. Out of His infinite goodness, Hashem wants His nation to be blessed every day by His servants in the Beis HaMikdash, the Kohanim, whose every thought is about fear of Hashem and devoted service of Him. In their merit, the blessing will imprint itself upon His nation, and all of their efforts will be blessed. Because of His goodness, He commands us to request that His blessing come to us through words uttered by the Kohanim, for all this brings merit to our souls, and thereby we become more worthy to receive of His good.

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NUM62 Those who must bring the Pesach Sheni offering on the fourteenth of Iyar eat it on the night of the fifteenth with matzah and maror. See above, Parashas Bo, about the Pesach offering. As to the mitzvah of eating the Pesach offering with maror, several vegetables fall into the category of maror, but one enhances the mitzvah by using חסה (chasah), lettuce, because the term חסה very much resembles the word חס (chas), which means “pity.” By eating חסה (chasah) together with matzah and the meat of the Pesach, one is reminded how Hashem had pity on us when He redeemed us from the cruel Egyptians. Our hearts are awakened to reflect upon the many miracles that were done for us then, and we will speak of them at length and give praise and thanks for them.

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NUM63 The mitzvah of the Pesach [second--AJL] Sheni offering on the fourteenth of Iyar. Key concepts: The mitzvah of the Pesach offering serves as strong, clear testimony that the world has a Creator and did not always exist. Rather, it was brought into being by the Almighty on the date that is known according to the Jewish calculation. The Pesach offering testifies to the world's origins because when the Almighty took our nation out of Egypt, He showed us great miracles and wonders and altered the laws of nature before many nations of the world. Everyone saw that Hashem watches over even the physical realm of Creation and as absolute rule over all of it. From then on, all believed that the Almighty created the world ex nihilo, “something out of nothing,” in contradiction to all “natural” laws, just as at the time of the Exodus. He performed many wonders that violated the laws of nature. He split the sea for the entire Jewish nation to cross through it on a dry seabed. He then returned the waters to their normal state and drowned the pursuing Egyptians. Afterwards, for forty years as our forefathers traveled in the barren desert, He sustained them--an entire nation--with bread from Heaven. Since the fact that the world has a Creator is the foundation of our religion and our Torah, the Almighty wants every member of our nation to be able to perform the esteemed mitzvah of the Pesach offering. No one should lose out due to being far away from Jerusalem at the time of the mitzvah, or because of other circumstances that were beyond his control. Since the Pesach offering is such a pillar of our faith, if someone converts to Judaism between the first Pesach and the second, or a boy reaches the age of Bar Mitzvah during that time, the Torah obligates him to bring the Pesach offering on the fourteenth of Iyar.

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NUM64 See [[EXOD168]] Exodus 12:46 break CHINUCH 15-16, for the same law applies to the Pesach offering eaten on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan.

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NUM65 See [[EXOD149]] Exodus 12:10 leave CHINUCH 11-12, for the same law applies to the Pesach offering eaten on the night of the fifteenth of Nisan.

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NUM67 Sound trumpets when offerings are brought in the Beis HaMikdash and during wartime. When an offering is brought, the person must concentrate his thoughts on the offering and keep his mind free of thoughts that would disqualify the offering. Similarly, his intent must be to bring the offering solely for the sake of Heaven--in order to fulfill a Divine command. In times of distress, too, when we cry out to Hashem for help, begging Him to have mercy on us and save us, our minds must be clear of all unwanted thought so that our pleas for help are sincere and focused. Accordingly, Hashem commands us to blow trumpets at these times, for man is a physical being and by nature, unless he is stirred, he is close to being asleep. As is known, nothing has greater power than musical instruments to stir emotions and awaken the heart. This is especially so regarding the trumpet, the loudest musical instrument of all. During an enemy attack, when we hear a trumpet blast our hearts are stirred to turn to Hashem and forget all other concerns. So, too, when we hear a trumpet blast when an offering is brought, it helps us to forget all mundane matters and focus all of our attention upon the mitzvah at hand.

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