I Am Your Amen
- Leann Shamash
- Jun 5
- 4 min read
#nazir #sotah #parshatnasso #seferbamidbar #bamidbar #hair #longhair #vows #vowsandpromises #wine #nowine #willpower #deprivation
This week we tackle the longest parsha in Torah, Parshat Nasso. So much is covered in this parsha, but for today we will focus on the Nazir. When you think of a Nazir, you might conjure up images of Samson, with his flowing hair and great strength, perhaps the best known Nazir. For those of you who aren’t familiar with what a Nazir is, a Nazir or N'zira gives up wine and grape products, contact with the dead and most importantly, he or she is forbidden to cut their hair during their period of N’zirut, which is a the very minimum, thirty days. At the completion of their period of N’zirut, participants are commanded to shave their hair and make a sacrifice, including burning the hair which they had cut.
When thinking about the big lessons of Nazir, I am left wondering what prompted someone to become a Nazir? Was it a desire to cleave to God, an ancient way to improve oneself, and as I recall hearing, perhaps a way to cut back on bad habits or perhaps this is the person who wishes to stand out in the crowd? To be different?
It is interesting to imagine an ancient street with people walking around in various garbs and getting a glimpse of a few N'zirim and N'zirot walking down a street. Some are bald, some are bushy and some in between. How different did they appear to others? How did others react to them? Did they feel part of an exclusive club or were they monastic; carefully keeping their distance from others?
As I learned, the rabbis were mixed as to whether becoming a Nazir is a positive thing to do or problematic. Accepting N'zirut was voluntary but it was not encouraged. Once becoming a Nazir, though, it could take longer than expected to finish a term of N'zirut.
For some N’zirim their period of abstaining might go without a hitch, but for some, a period of N’zirut might be extended for months or longer!
The Book of Bamidbar, and Parshat Nasso in particular, can baffle us, but it does give us the chance to picture a marketplace and try to get under the hair and into the head of a Nazir.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom and may we hear better news soon.
Leann
I Am Your Amen
I am your amen, my older brother,
the Nazir.
I am the one who watches you as you parade down the street.
on market days.
From your squared shoulders,
I perceive your pride.
You walk tall.
My eyes are focused on you
as I follow you
day by day.
I am your witness
while your hair follows you as you walk,
springing outward like
a dog's tail.
Sometimes unruly as the eastern wind blows it,
or straight as the stalks of drying barley.
It weighs you down,
as words weigh us down.
I see you trying control it.
Your hands constantly
bothering
the hair by your ears,
which sprouts forth as if by design.
You stand unconsciously
twisting it between your fingers;
trying to tame it,
but it will not be tamed,
as some actions cannot be tamed.
Big brother,
I am the amen to your N'zirut.
This is what you longed for.
To be different from the rest.
What is in your heart?
Who will you be when you finish this test?
Will you be better,
stronger,
a man made holy by actions and words?
Or will you return to yourself, my brother?
I loved you as you were.
I am your amen, my brother,
the Nazir.
I stand with you as you refuse grapes.
I am there with you at gatherings
when you turn away from wine.
Making yourself different from others.
How they look at you.
How you avoid their gaze,
as though you do not see their stares.
Do they wish they could be like you,
as I do, older brother?
I am the amen, to your Nezirut, my brother.
I am the witness to your deprivation.
From you I am learning self control.
Perhaps someday, I, too,
will be as you;
to vow a vow
and grow my hair.
With pride I say amen
as your beard grows unruly.
Other posts from Words Have Wings on Parshat Nasso or issues presented in Parshat Nasso:
To the Gershonites and Merarites
The Crown
Postcards
Reflections on Masechet Sotah
Poem for Masechet Nazir -- To Be or Not to Be
HaShem spoke to Moses, saying:
Speak to the Israelites and say to them: If any men or women explicitly utter a nazirite’s vow, to set themselves apart for יהוה, they shall abstain from wine and any other intoxicant; they shall not drink vinegar of wine or of any other intoxicant, neither shall they drink anything in which grapes have been steeped, nor eat grapes fresh or dried.
Throughout their term as nazirite, they may not eat anything that is obtained from the grapevine, even seeds or skin.
Throughout the term of their vow as nazirite, no razor shall touch their head; it shall remain consecrated until the completion of their term as nazirite of יהוה, the hair of their head being left to grow untrimmed.
דַּבֵּר֙ אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אִ֣ישׁ אֽוֹ־אִשָּׁ֗ה כִּ֤י יַפְלִא֙ לִנְדֹּר֙ נֶ֣דֶר נָזִ֔יר לְהַזִּ֖יר לַֽיהֹוָֽה׃
מִיַּ֤יִן וְשֵׁכָר֙ יַזִּ֔יר חֹ֥מֶץ יַ֛יִן וְחֹ֥מֶץ שֵׁכָ֖ר לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֑ה וְכל־מִשְׁרַ֤ת עֲנָבִים֙ לֹ֣א יִשְׁתֶּ֔ה וַעֲנָבִ֛ים לַחִ֥ים וִיבֵשִׁ֖ים לֹ֥א יֹאכֵֽל׃
כֹּ֖ל יְמֵ֣י נִזְר֑וֹ מִכֹּל֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יֵעָשֶׂ֜ה מִגֶּ֣פֶן הַיַּ֗יִן מֵחַרְצַנִּ֛ים וְעַד־זָ֖ג לֹ֥א יֹאכֵֽל׃
כּל־יְמֵי֙ נֶ֣דֶר נִזְר֔וֹ תַּ֖עַר לֹא־יַעֲבֹ֣ר עַל־רֹאשׁ֑וֹ עַד־מְלֹ֨את הַיָּמִ֜ם אֲשֶׁר־יַזִּ֤יר לַיהֹוָה֙ קָדֹ֣שׁ יִהְיֶ֔ה גַּדֵּ֥ל פֶּ֖רַע שְׂעַ֥ר רֹאשֽׁוֹ׃
Numbers 6:1-5
שְׂעַ֥ר רֹאשֽׁוֹ
very enjoyable.