Reply To: Short & Sweet

Naso: A Changed Person

After detailing the Korban that a Nazir is to bring at the end of his period of Nazzirus, the Torah writes: ואחר ישתה הנזיר יין, “afterwards the Nazir may drink wine.”

The אבני נזר points out that this terminology seems somewhat surprising. This man is no longer a Nazir; that is precisely why he is now allowed to drink wine! If so, why does the Torah refer to him as a Nazir?

The אבני נזר explains that if this person has approached his period of Nazzirus correctly, it will continue to define him after the Halachic period of Nazzirus has ended.

When a Nazir holds himself back from wine and from physical beautification, he changes who he is and what is important to him. Even when he once again partakes in normal day to day life, he does so with a different perspective. These things are no longer what defines him – his time as a Nazir is what defines him.

The same is true of all of the Mitzvos. The Mitzvos are not just a set of motions that we are to go through – they are intended to plant within us a new perspective on life, to change who we are. If we approach the Mitzvos as such, they will continue to define us even when we are engaged in the mundane aspects of life.

לע״נ דוד חיים בן ישראל דוב הכהן
לע״נ ר׳ חיים דוב בן ר׳ בןציון שלום