Nasa

Wayward Women and Other Matters, Numbers 4:21 -7:89

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YouTube Clip Preventing Adultery (Numbers2)

Duration ca. 26 minutes

The Bible gave us a procedure to significantly discourage adultery. Scripture places great value on marital peace. These and other matters are discussed in the Book of Numbers.

The Levitical Families

We saw previously (Numbers 3:16-17) the families of the Tribe of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Kohath included the families of Amram, Izehar, Hebron, and Uzziel. From Amram came Moses and Aharon (Aaron). The Priests were descendants of Aharon. The task of Kothath concerning the Tabernacle was explained (Numbers 4:1-20).

Our portion continues describing the tasks of Gershon and Merari. The Levites were to work between the ages of thirty and fifty. According to tradition they began a kind of apprenticeship at the age of 20.

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Lepers to be Quarantined. AIDS and Homos are dangerous!

Lepers were to be physically separated from the rest of Israel. We are not sure whether the disease now known as Leprosy (Hansen's Disease) was that mentioned in the Bible.
Nevertheless the principle remains. Contagious diseases should be contained and eliminated.
Today we have AIDS. AIDS spears. It is a horrible disease that destroys and kills innocent people. People with AIDS should be separated from others. AIDS is spread by use of infected needles by drug addicts and by promiscuous sex especially homosexuality. They who carry AIDS should be kept apart. Promiscuous sex should be discouraged. Homosexuality should be condemned and strictly forbidden.
See:
Homosexuals are More Dangerous than Murderers.

Numbers 5:
1 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. 3 You shall put out both male and female; you shall put them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camps in the midst of which I dwell. 4 And the children of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moses, so the children of Israel did.
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Confession and Restitution. Do not rob the Bank!

Someone who cheated the Temple Treasury of funds had to repay what they had taken and add another 25% (called a fifth but actually quarter, as explained in the small print!)

If you have done something wrong you should be sorry for it, confess it to yourself and in prayer to God, and if it involves having taken something from another that did not belong to you then if possible restitution should be made.
This may not always be easy and each case will be different.
If you robbed another person of money you should try to find a way to give it back and maybe even add something.
If you robbed a bank then keep it to yourself and pray to the Almighty for guidance.
You do not have to punish yourself or allow yourself to be punished. Each case will have its own guidelines.

Numbers 5:
5 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 6 Speak to the children of Israel: When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit in unfaithfulness against the LORD, and that person is guilty, 7 then he shall confess the sin which he has committed. He shall make restitution for his trespass in full, plus one-fifth of it, and give it to the one he has wronged. 8 But if the man has no relative to whom restitution may be made for the wrong, the restitution for the wrong must go to the LORD for the priest, in addition to the ram of the atonement with which atonement is made for him. 9 Every offering of all the holy things of the children of Israel, which they bring to the priest, shall be his. 10 And every man's holy things shall be his; whatever any man gives the priest shall be his.
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Unfaithful Wives to be Made an Example of. The Sotah Test.

A whole procedure existed for a person saw his wife secluding herself with another male and became jealous of her. The man could then bring the lady to the Temp0le. She would be given a special glass of water mixed with holy dust to drink. If she was guilty her stomach would explode and she would die in great agony and embarrassment on the spot. if she was innocent nothing would happen. If she was innocent she would be blessed and conceive children.
Believe it or not these things happened. The process worked under the right conditions. It would only need one or two cases for all Israel to know about it. This would be enough to make many otherwise wayward women more proper in their conduct. Adultery is not to be encouraged. It needs to be condemned. Adultery is bad for society and pernicious to
the individual. Men who take the women of other men lack self-respect and damage others.

The woman in question was known as a Sotah. "Sotah" from the root STH connotes pervert, depart from the straight way, stay aside. It is related to the word "ShTuT" from the root "ShTH" meaning foolishness, or stupidity. The Sages saw a connection. They said that one does not depart from the straight path unless a spirit of stupidity had first overtaken him.

Numbers 5:
11 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 12 Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: If any man's wife goes astray and behaves unfaithfully toward him, 13 and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and it is concealed that she has defiled herself, and there was no witness against her, nor was she caught, 14 if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, who has defiled herself; or if the spirit of jealousy comes upon him and he becomes jealous of his wife, although she has not defiled herself; 15 then the man shall bring his wife to the priest. He shall bring the offering required for her, one-tenth of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil on it and put no frankincense on it, because it is a grain offering of jealousy, an offering for remembering, for bringing iniquity to remembrance.
16 And the priest shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD. 17 The priest shall take holy water in an earthen vessel, and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water. 18 Then the priest shall stand the woman before the LORD, uncover the woman's head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his hand the bitter water that brings a curse. 19 And the priest shall put her under oath, and say to the woman, If no man has lain with you, and if you have not gone astray to uncleanness while under your husband's authority, be free from this bitter water that brings a curse. 20 But if you have gone astray while under your husband's authority, and if you have defiled yourself and some man other than your husband has lain with you; 21 then the priest shall put the woman under the oath of the curse, and he shall say to the woman, the LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD makes your thigh rot and your belly swell; 22 and may this water that causes the curse go into your stomach, and make your belly swell and your thigh rot.
Then the woman shall say, Amen, so be it.
23 Then the priest shall write these curses in a book, and he shall scrape them off into the bitter water. 24 And he shall make the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and the water that brings the curse shall enter her to become bitter. 25 Then the priest shall take the grain offering of jealousy from the woman's hand, shall wave the offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar; 26 and the priest shall take a handful of the offering, as its memorial portion, burn it on the altar, and afterward make the woman drink the water. 27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall be, if she has defiled herself and behaved unfaithfully toward her husband, that the water that brings a curse will enter her and become bitter, and her belly will swell, her thigh will rot, and the woman will become a curse among her people. 28 But if the woman has not defiled herself, and is clean, then she shall be free and may conceive children.
29 This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, while under her husband's authority, goes astray and defiles herself, 30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes upon a man, and he becomes jealous of his wife; then he shall stand the woman before the LORD, and the priest shall execute all this law upon her. 31 Then the man shall be free from iniquity, but that woman shall bear her guilt.
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Teetotallers and Going on the Wagon
The Nazirite would take an oath not to cut his hair and not to drink wine for a period, usually 30 days or several sets of 30 days (Numbers 6:1-21).
According to tradition someone who saw a woman who had undergone the Sotah Test for adultery should take the oath of a nazirite. Often adultery is caused by drunkenness or in our times by drugs, pills, or simply carelessness.
The Bible is not in favor of total prohibition of alcohol. The Nazirite Institution does however shows us that anyone with a drinking or behavioral problem should consider going on the wagon for a period.
I once spoke to a great Rabbi. He was in charge of an important institution for children in need. He had to raise money overseas quite often and give talks at Dinners etc. This was very difficult for him so he began taking a glass or two of whiskey before his speeches. Eventually this became a problem so he took an oath not to drink for 12 months.
This is similar to the Nazirite path.
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The Priestly Blessing

The Priests (Cohens) were to give a special blessing.

Numbers 6:
22 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:
24 The LORD bless you and keep you;
25 The LORD make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
26 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
27 So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.

The Priestly Blessing is still carried out in the Synagogues in Israel.
On Festivals (such as Pesach) thousands of Cohens (Hereditary Priests) come from all over Israel to the Western Wall bless the whole people.
See:
Israel Views: Priestly Blessing, Pesach 2013
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The Gifts of the Princes.
Most of the rest of this portion (Numbers 7:1-88) deals with the offerings made by each Prince of the Tribes of Israel.
Every offering was the same as the other. Nevertheless they are each listed separately. This shows us that even when we do something that is exactly the same as that done by everybody else our own particular individual input has importance.
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Conjugal Harmony is the Secret of Divine Inspiration!
Numbers 7:
89 Now when Moses went into the tabernacle of meeting to speak with Him, he heard the voice of One speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the Testimony, from between the two cherubim; thus He spoke to him.

The two cherubim, as explained by different Commentators such as Yitschak Hyutman, represented the harmony that should exist between a man and his wife. It was from this point that God spoke to Moses.

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The Birth of Samson the Savior from Dan

In the Synagogue after the Weekly Portion a section from the Prophets is also read. This section usually has some association with one or other of the subjects raised in the Weekly Portion. This week (Parshat Nasa) chapter 13 of Judges is read. This deals with the birth of Samson the Savior of Israel from the Tribe of Dan. Samson had the status of a kind of Nazirite from his time of birth. He could not drink wine nor eat grapes and he could not shave his hair. This parallels the Nazirite Rulings contained in our portion.

Wayward Women and Other Matters, Numbers 4:21 -7:89

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Duration ca. 26 minutes

The two cherubim, as explained by different Commentators such as Yitschak Hyutman, represented the harmony that should exist between a man and his wife. It was from this point that God spoke to Moses.

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