NUM50 (Continued from [[GEN427]] Genesis 3:19 sweat BOROJMV 255). Our French sages picked the three biblical verses that make up the Temple priestly benediction: May Adonai bless and guard you; may Adonai glow with concern for you and be gracious to you; may Adonai pay special attention to you and grant you peace" [this and following two verses]. So we begin not with laws directing what we should do for God, or for others in God's name, but with a sense of what God may do for us! Yes, we all can use as much divine help as we can get! Though we are right to expect much of ourselves, our efforts alone can't provide for everything. A quiet sense of our partnership with God empowers even as it humbles.

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NUM51 We should greet every man with a pleasant facial expression. Bearing in mind that we are required to emulate God, what is the practical application of this verse? Shamai said: "Greet every man with a pleasant expression of countenance" (Pirke Avos 1:15). There are three parts to this statement: 1) Countenance: The minimum you should do is turn your face toward your fellowman. You should not greet anyone with the side of your face. When your fellow man (or your father or your wife) enters the room, you should not display your profile, but should turn your full countenance toward him. 2) Expression: it is not enough to confront people within expressionless countenance which has no more character than the bottom of a pan. You must face your fellow man with a countenance which denotes interest. 3) Pleasant. In addition to the above, one's countenance should also be pleasant. Since God deals with man measure for measure (Sotah 8b), God makes His Face shine upon those whose face is shining to their fellow man. (Rabbi Avigdor Miller in Sing, You Righteous, pp. 291-2). ... Rabbi Masaya, the son of Chorosh, said, "Take the initiative in greeting any man you meet" (Pirke Avos 4:20). There are various reasons why a person might hesitate to greet others before he is greeted. One is conceit. There are people who feel that to maintain their dignity they must wait until the other person greets them first. Others are afraid to be the first to greet someone because of a sense of insecurity. They are afraid that they will receive only an icy stare in return for their token of friendship. Whatever the reason, such behavior is wrong. You should always take the initiative to greet others. The Talmud (Brochos 17a) relates that no one ever greeted Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai first, not even a heathen in the marketplace. This rule is especially important if you meet someone who bears you entity or is simply not on the best of terms with you. By greeting such a person pleasantly, you might be able to break down the barriers of misunderstanding and bitterness which separate you. There is nothing as potent as a smile in melting icy walls of hate. (Ethics of Sinai, vol. 2, pp. 141-2). ... If someone greets you, you are obligated to return the greeting. Failure to do so is tantamount to stealing. (Brochos 6b).

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NUM52 Let Him be gracious unto you in [the granting of] your requests, as it is written (Exodus 33:19): "And I shall be gracious to whom I shall be gracious." Another view: "And be gracious unto you"-- let him grant you grace in the eyes of men, as it is written (Genesis 39:21): "And He granted him grace in the eyes of the overseer of the prison" (Sifrei)

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NUM53 "to shine" -- This refers to the light of Torah, as it is written (Proverbs 6:23):"For a mitzvah is a lamp, and the Torah, light" (Sifrei)

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NUM54 See [[NUM55]] Numbers 6:27 bless BOROJMV 237-8

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NUM55 Shalom--what a beautiful word. We use it when we greet one another, as if to say, "Come in peace." It always carries Sabbath overtones, for our doubly meaningful greeting on the day of rest is "Shabbat Shalom." We use it when we leave one another, as if to say, "Go in peace until we meet again." But this is not a simplistic, passive statement. The root sh-l-m conveys the meanings "complete," "whole," or even "perfect." So to say "shalom" is to breathe the air of Jewish hope and human aspiration, wishing that the day will come soon when we are all fulfilled. No wonder, then, that loving peace, as the Psalmist puts it, or living to create peace, as the rabbis glorify it, is a climactic Jewish ideal, the outcome of worthy living, the chief virtue of Jewish character. The talmudic sages share this view and give shalom important mention in Jewish observance. Insisting that the whole purpose of the Torah is to create peace, they have directed that each time we complete our Torah reading, we return this precious scroll to the ark and chant: "Its ways are ways of pleasantness, and all its paths are shalom" (Proverbs 3:17). We learn from those who compiled our traditional liturgy: "What was their reason for calling the morning petition for peace, sim shalom? Because it is written, 'So the priests shall put My name upon the children of Israel, and then I shall bless them' [this verse]. And the truest blessing of the Holy One is peace'" (Meg. 18a). The rabbis also made the prayer for peace the climax of our daily services, as a request for peace concludes the threefold priestly benediction: "May Adonai lift up His countenance to you and give shalom" [Numbers 6:26). Today many worship services end with a petition from Psalms, affirming this paramount virtue in our tradition: "The Lord will give strength unto His people; the Lord will bless His people with peace" (Ps. 29:11).

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NUM56 Perhaps the greatest display of the negation of competition in the Torah is not obvious from the text itself and is only brought to light by piecing together the remarks of the commentaries. The competition to donate the materials needed for building the Tabernacle (especially after the sin of the Golden Calf) had been very spirited. The people all rushed to donate. Rashi explains that the Nesi'im, the leaders of each tribe, intentionally waited until the people would finish bringing their donations, thinking that they would "top" the people by donating whatever that was missing (Rashi commentary on Numbers 12:3). However, the masses brought so much and so quickly that Moses had to actually tell them to stop, and the Nesi'im were left with nothing to bring (Exodus 36:5-7). Thus, Moses told them that each tribal leader would bring his own set of sacrifices during the twelve days of the dedication of the Tabernacle. The competition between the tribal leaders was on! The first Nasi, prince, to bring a sacrifice on the first day, the eminent Nachson, was a proven leader within the leadership tribe of Judah, and he brought a silver dish and silver bowl, both filled with fine flour and oil, a spoon made of gold full of incense, a bull, ram, and lamb as burnt offerings, a kid goat as a sin offering, and two oxen, five goats and five lambs as peace offerings (Numbers 7:12-17). This was quite a display and quite an offering. Now everyone was waiting for the next day's offering to see what the next leader would bring in his natural effort to try to top what Nachson had contributed. Who was to be second in line after Nachson? The Midrash, after citing the initial story about how the Nesi'im missed out in the original donations (the basis of Rashi's commentary), explains that there was great competition between the Nesi'im to be second, and Netanel was chosen by God to bring his sacrifice on the second day because he was a great Torah scholar, as the entire tribe of Yissachar was known as Torah scholars (Midrash, Tanchuma, Naso 14). Another Midrash affirms that Netanel was not only smart in Torah learning, but altogether very intelligent (Midrash, Beraishit Rabbah 72:5). This is very important to know because of Netanel's decision of what to bring. In fact, one commentary states that Netanel gave advice to all the other tribes about what was the proper sacrifice to bring (Ba'al HaTurim commentary on Numbers 7:18). What precisely did Netanel do and what did he bring as his sacrifice? Instead of joining the competition of what today has become known as the "Bar Mitzvah syndrome" mentality, where Jews often try to outdo each other in how special, unique, and expensive their Simcha (celebration) will be, Netanel, with his Torah and innate wisdom, decided to bring the identical sacrifices brought by Nachson, down to the last detail (Numbers 7:18-19). This way, he set the tone for the Nesi'im that followed during the next ten days. After two identical sacrifices one day after the next, each Nasi then fell in line and also brought the exact same sacrifice as the leaders from the first two days. Thus, Netanel created a situation in which the potential competition between these leaders was eliminated. Netanel's special "sacrifice" and advice are alluded to in Rashi. Rashi says that the verse says "he sacrificed" twice-only by his offering-in order to teach us that not only was he more deserving than the others because of his vast Torah scholarship, but also because he gave special advice to all the princes of each tribe to bring the sacrifices specifically in this manner (the same has he did, imitating the first offering of Nachson) (Rashi commentary on Numbers 7:19). These twelve sacrifices, brought in a non-competitive spirit, taught the entire Jewish people that there need not be the normal competition between tribes, and that everyone could work together without the need to be the "best" and outdo the other tribes. In fact, when these leaders brought all the sacrifices to the Tabernacle, the Torah records that the sacrifices were brought altogether, not in twelve separate wagons, but together in six wagons with two sacrifices in each wagon [this verse].

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NUM57 See [[NUM56]] Numbers 7:3 cart AMJV 76-7

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NUM58 See [[NUM56]] Numbers 7:3 cart AMJV 76-7

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NUM59 See [[NUM56]] Numbers 7:3 cart AMJV 76-7

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