Rabbi Howard Morrison

Fourteen years ago today, my son Yonah celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. A year later, his best friend, Noam celebrated his Bar Mitzvah. Today, Ethan celebrates his Bar Mitzvah. What do they all share in common? The letter N. Like an old episode of Sesame Street, today's Parsha is brought to you by the letter N.

N - stands for the title of the Parsha, Naso. The root and word of Naso pervade today's Torah reading. On one hand, Naso means to count. We read the conclusion of a census this morning, with the counting of the Levites. As I look at Ethan- Today, you count, and we count on you.

Naso stands for the expression "Nesiat Kapayim - the lifting of the hands," which represents the Priestly Blessing, when the Kohanim would lift their hands and stand as conduits as God blessed the people of Israel.

Naso stands for the word "Nesiim - the chieftains of the twelve tribes of Israel." Over the course of twelve consecutive days, a different chieftain from each tribe of Israel brought the exact same dedication gift to help inaugurate the Mishkan, Tabernacle, the very first institution for Jewish communal worship and celebration.

How was it decided which tribe and chieftain would go first in bringing its gifts? Here comes another letter N, which symbolizes the meaning of today's Torah lesson. If you look carefully, every chieftain but one has his name prefaced by the word Nasi (chieftain) except for one. Nachshon, the chieftain for the tribe of Judah, is never called a Nasi though he is, and he is the first chieftain representing his tribe of Judah in bringing dedication offerings. What made Nachshon stand out above the rest?

The classical commentator, Or HaChaim, explains as follows: "Nachshon was on a spiritually sufficiently high level to have qualified as the first one to bring this offering even if he had not been the chieftain of his tribe. The status of most of the other chieftains was due only to their having been elected as chieftains of their respective tribes. The Torah also wanted us to know that Nachshon did not think of himself in terms of his title, his position, but considered himself as 'one of the people.'"

So, Nachshon was a humble man. Additional commentators suggest that there is another reason for him being placed in the primary spot. It goes back to the day when the nation of Israel stood at the shores of the Red Sea with their Egyptian pursuers beating down behind them. Moses told the people to move forward, but they were paralyzed with fear. The Talmud tells us what followed, " . . . this tribe said: I am not going into the sea first, and that tribe said: I am not going into the sea first. Then in jumped the chieftain of Judah, Nachshon ben Aminadav, and descended into the sea first, accompanied by his entire tribe (Talmud Sotah 37A:3)."

Nachshon was the first one to step into the sea though the water had not yet parted. The Midrash says that he stepped into the water and nothing happened. Then to his knees - still nothing happened. Then to his waist - still nothing happened. Then to his shoulders - Still nothing. All this time, he was still able to breathe. When he continued to the point where his nostrils touched the water, the waters finally parted for at that moment it became apparent to God and all the people that he had faith that God would keep him and the nation alive. And for this, Nachshon was rewarded with the opportunity to be the first to bring his gifts to the Tabernacle. 

We all face situations in our life that seem to have no way out. Sometimes, we must plunge forward with faith that God will sustain us and keep us alive and provide us with a lifeline.

We as Jews have a responsibility to be part of the solution. Our history tells us all too well how easy it is to become the victims of hatred and bigotry. We must speak out against injustice in any form. Over the past year and a half in particular, our world seems more broken than ever, since the conclusion of the Shoah. Each of us must ask ourselves what we can do to help fix what is broken. We need to be humble like Nachshon, and we need to have the courage to move forward, like Nachshon, though the odds against us may be strong.

Given some of the tragedies over the past week, I would like to offer my Nachshon award to a few people:

One is Barbara Steinmetz - She is the 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who was burned alive with 12 others in Boulder Colorado last Sunday. Her life story was revealed in recent days. As a young child, she and her family were on the run. Born in Hungary, her family fled to Italy, France, and Portugal. In 1941, the family found asylum in the Dominican Republic. In 1945, the family was able to immigrate to the U.S. Barbara moved to Colorado in the early 2000's. She has told her story throughout her life. She emulates the will, courage, and bravery of Nachshon.

In addition, in memorium,  I would add Judith Weinstein and Gad Haggai, two Israeli-Americans who were murdered on October 7, but whose bodies were found by the IDF in Gaza this past week. Judith was also a Canadian citizen and a teacher for special needs children. Gad was a retired chef and jazz musician. They were murdered in their early 70's at Kibbutz Nir Oz. They died as martyrs, "Al Kiddush Hashem." I have yet to hear any American or Canadian outcry.

Lastly, the underrated IDF soldiers. It was a special mission by the IDF which found the bodies of Judith and Gad. Our young men and women have been taxed over the last year and a half. Like Nachshon, they have not complained and have taken the risky steps to move forward in unprecedented times. 

Remember, according to the story, if Nachshon had not taken the first courageous step, no one else would have been ready to do so. Yet, when he did - they walked right with him.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Howard Morrison