What Personal Lessons Can We Glean from the Princes’ Identical Gifts?

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Parashat Naso

What Personal Lessons Can We Glean from the Princes’ Identical Gifts? 

In a World Filled with People Does Hashem Appreciate Each of Us Individually? 

I have often wondered how a mother of ten and a grandmother of more than fifty can appreciate all her children and grandchildren. How could she ever remember all their birthdays? How would she be able to show them all that each one has a special place in her heart? Some people may ask the same question of G-d. Since his world is filled with millions of people why would He care about little me? The truth is that our hearts expand with the birth of each child, and so does our capacity to love. How much more so, does Hashem care about us, being the source of love, Hashem’s infinite love embraces each of us individually. He is not only aware of all our actions, but He also knows our thoughts and intentions, our hardships, and our strivings. “I, Hashem, search the heart, test the kidneys, to give every one according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds” (Yirmeyahu 17:10). Each of us is important to Hashem, no matter how many other people exist in His world. If you think G-d is a punishing judgmental G-d who is out to get you, just take a minute to focus on all the blessings in your life, and even when you look back to your past hardships you may discover, how you became a better person as the result of having gone through them. “Hashem your G-d is in your midst, a Mighty One Who will save. He will rejoice over you with joy. He will be silent in His love. He will jubilate over you with song” (Tzefaniah 3:17). We all need to feel important and appreciated. That’s a basic human need. Sadly, in our time and age, many of us lack this basic need, and mental illness has been on the rise for a while. Generation Z born between 1997 – 2012 colloquially known as Zoomers are well acquainted with the Internet and social media from a young age. A 2022 survey of Gen Z young adults (ages 19 through 24) found that 42% are diagnosed with a mental health condition. Perhaps this is due to the lack of appreciation being reduced to a number by digital technology. Alyssa Mancao, a therapist in Los Angeles with a Gen Z client base notes that having grown up with the internet causes a lot of Gen Z to compare themselves with others. Her clients talk about comparing everything from their physical appearances to their career paths with their peers and influencers online. “There are a lot of feelings of inadequacy, and what I'm seeing is a lot of comparison,” she said. Parashat Naso literally means lifting. Its reassuring message is that each of us has value in our own right, we are so much more than just a digit. 

Upholding the Dignity and Value of Each Individual Person Created in the Image of G-d 

In the holocaust, the Jews were reduced to a number. The prisoner numbers have become a synonym for dehumanization that struck the deportees of the concentration camp. These numbers were to serve efficient ‘management’ of camps, performed by the SS teams. In contrast, Parashat Naso, which likewise is about counting the Jewish people, demonstrates the Torah way of imbuing each person counted with dignity:

 ספר במדבר פרק ד פסוק ב נָשֹׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי קְהָת מִתּוֹךְ בְּנֵי לֵוִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם:

“Make a count (נָשֹׂא/naso) of the sons of Kehat from among the children of Levi by their families, according to their fathers' houses” (Bamidbar 4:2). 

The word Naso is a verb with a range of meanings, including to lift, to carry, and to forgive. Together with the word רֹאשׁ/rosh – ‘head’ it is used to apply to counting. The Torah is not short of other verbs meaning to count, such as limnot, lispor, lifkod, and lachshov. Why, then, did Parashat Naso not simply use a regular word for ‘counting” instead of “lift the head”? The choice of “lifting the head” teaches us one of the most central beliefs of Judaism. Since we are created in the image of G-d, every one of us has infinite value. We are each unique. None of us is interchangeable with anyone else. Discovering G-d, singular and alone, our ancestors discovered the human individual, singular and alone (Inspired by Rabbi Yonathan Zacks, Lifting Heads, Naso, 5778).

Do we Need to be Better than Others to be Valued?

Parashat Naso is the longest Parasha in the Torah. Chapter Seven in the Book of Bamidbar consists of 89 pesukim/verses which list the beautiful gifts brought by the princes of the twelve tribes, one tribe per day. The description of their gifts is repeated twelve times because the princes of each tribe brought exactly the same gifts to the Mishkan. The way of the Torah is to avoid writing any word needlessly. Just one extra letter may teach us many significant legal principles Yet, regarding the offerings of the Princes, the Torah apparently, needlessly goes ahead and repeats the exact same thing again and again. Wouldn’t it have been simpler to say Nachshon ben Aminadav offered such and such, and so too each of the princes of the remaining eleven tribes?  In our competitive Western World, people often want to show how great they are, usually at the expense of someone else. The later princes could have added something more extraordinary to their gifts to make them stand out. That’s not the Torah way. We don’t lift ourselves up by stepping on others! What was a perfect gift for the first prince was just as perfect for the twelfth one. A Chassidic rabbi with many children was once asked in an interview how many children he had. He replied, “One!” Incredulous, the questioner persisted, and the rabbi clarified: “I was correct when I told you that I only have “one.”  I have one Shemuel, one Leah, one Sarah.….” How often do we hear of conflicts when parents, teachers, and bosses play favorites? That’s not the Torah way. We don’t lift up some while putting down others! (Based on By Rabbi Doniel Z. Kramer, Ph.D., Parashat Naso: Like Gifts to the Divine, Every Human Being Has Value).

Lifting Ourselves in Appreciation for Our Personal Relationship with the Divine 

Rav Shlomo Breuer explains that the Torah repeats the description of the offerings twelve times to teach us that each Prince actually brought a different offering. This is because what a person gives is not as important as how he gives it. Two people can donate $1000 to B’erot but for one person it’s a drop in his bucket whereas for another person it’s a major contribution. When we look beyond the surface, we will learn to appreciate each person for her effort and intent. Hashem devoted so many repeated Torah verses to describe the same gift to show us how much he values each of them. He didn’t belittle any gift with “the same old” attitude. Each gift and gift giver deserved full appreciation because each prince put his own special stamp on his gift, making it unique and personal. The repetition of identical gifts thus teaches us to appreciate the gifts we receive even if we have already gotten the same, valuing the intention even more than the actual gift. The offering of the princes was as beloved before Hashem as the song sung by the Jewish People at the Reed Sea.” The song at the sea says “This [zeh] is my G-d and I will glorify Him” (Shemot 15:2), and here it is written, “This [zeh] is the offering of Nacḥshon ben Aminadav” (Bamidbar 7:17). The offering of the princes was as beloved before Hashem as the two Tablets of the Covenant. Regarding the two Tablets, it is written, “From this side and from that side [m’zeh u-m’zeh] they were inscribed” (Shemot 32:15); (Midrash Vayikra Rabbah 8:3). The word זֶה/zeh – ‘this’ always refers to a personal experience. It signifies seeing something concrete enough to point at it with a finger (see Rashi Shemot 12:2). At the Song of the Sea each Israelite experienced a personal relationship with Hashem expressed by “This is my [personal] G-d…” Likewise, at the giving of the Torah, each Jew felt that Hashem spoke directly to him. This too applies to the princes’ gift to the Mishkan, although identical, each tribe gave his own personal gift as an expression of his unique relationship with G-d.(Inspired by Rav Frand, Lessons Learned from Gifts of the Nesiim). We always read Parashat Naso the Shabbat following Shavuot representing the peak and the highest Jewish experience – hearing the words of the Torah given directly by Hashem.  How thankful we must feel for our special relationship with Hashem. Tapping into this gratefulness helps us feel dignified and valued. It empowers us to proudly “lift up our heads” in thankfulness for our unique connection with the Divine. We can feel valued as the “chosen people” – chosen to sanctify our lives through the acceptance and observance of the Torah. 

          

Gratitude Focus for the Week of Parashat Naso – 

Some Tips for Lifting Ourselves Up Without Stepping on Others 

Many of us have the habit of comparing ourselves to others. This is a major source of unhappiness and low self-esteem, stemming from our society’s focus on competitiveness. Constant comparing yourself to others is unhealthy and can harm your self-esteem. Measuring yourself against others can make you over-anxious and can lead to discouragement. Learning to stop comparing yourself involves improving your self-esteem and confidence in your own unique value.  

• Develop Awareness – We often make social comparisons without realizing we’re doing it. It’s a natural act, done without consciousness. The solution is to become conscious – and bring these thoughts to the forefront of your consciousness by being on the lookout for them. If you focus on these thoughts for a few days, it will soon be hard not to notice, and it keeps getting easier with practice.

• Stop Yourself – Once you realize you’re making these comparisons, give yourself a pause. Don’t criticize yourself or feel bad – acknowledge the thought, and gently change focus.

• Don’t knock Others Down – Sometimes we criticize others just to make ourselves look or feel better. Taking someone else down for your benefit is destructive. It forms an enemy when you could be making a friend. In the end, that hurts you as well. Instead, try to support others in their success.

• Count Your Blessings – Focus on what you do have, on what you are already blessed with. Think about how blessed you are to have what you have. Appreciate the people in your life who care about you, and even just being alive!

• Strengthen Your Emunah that Hashem Truly Loves You for Being You – Hashem created you because He needs you in His world.  He created you for a purpose and has a particular job for you in His world. Although the world is filled with people, no one is exactly like you. No one has exactly your soul-print with the qualities and talents that distinguish you. You are the only one who can serve Hashem in your personal way.

Exploring the Gifts of Creation

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Parashat Bereishit
Exploring the Gifts of Creation

Why I Choose the Theme of Gratitude from the Torah

I’m grateful for a new beginning on so many levels. After riding on the waves of Sukkot we are landing on a fresh new start of the regular year routine. I treasure the renewed excitement of starting the school year with new students. On a personal level, my husband and I are regrouping and finding new ways of filling the gap left by our second and youngest son who recently flew out of the nest. Ahh a new beginning – offering new possibilities. How motivating to gaze at a blank new screen contemplating my new blog title, “Gratitude from the Torah.” I hope and pray that Hashem will enlighten me to find inspiring points of gratitude to share from each weekly Torah portion. I decided on this theme because we live in a time of entitlement. We – who grow up spoiled with material overflow – are raised to believe that we deserve everything we desire, even the slightest. When we don’t get what we want we become frustrated, upset, and depressed. I personally know women who broke up families not for any legitimate reason such as an abusive husband. One such woman chose to become a single mother of three for no other reason than she found her husband to be boring! We make our lives miserable with our high expectations and demands. We can live much more fulfilled lives when we learn to lower our expectations and realize how everything is a gift. We aren’t the center of the world and others aren’t created to serve us and fulfill our every whim. Rather, it’s the other way around, we are created to serve Hashem and His world. Instead of focusing on getting our own needs met, we can train ourselves to pay attention to how to best serve others. By focusing on the goodness Hashem perpetually bestows upon us, we will become more fulfilled and have more to share with the world.  

Valuing the Gift of Light
Let’s begin with the beginning:

ספר בראשית פרק א פסוק א בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ: (ב) וְהָאָרֶץ הָיְתָה תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ וְחשֶׁךְ עַל פְּנֵי תְהוֹם וְרוּחַ אֱלֹהִים מְרַחֶפֶת עַל פְּנֵי הַמָּיִם: (ג) וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים יְהִי אוֹר וַיְהִי אוֹר:

“In the beginning of G-d’s creation of the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was desolate and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the spirit of G-d was hovering over the face of the water. And G-d said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.’ Then G-d saw the light that it was good, and G-d separated between the light and between the darkness (Bereishit 1:1-4).

When we open our eyes in the morning the light will be noticeable if we are endowed with the gift of sight. Yet for those who are blind, everything remains in the dark. Let us keep this in mind when we bless Hashem daily for “opening the eyes of the blind” in the morning prayers. Before the six days of creation, the world – actually, there wasn’t yet a world – but whatever existed was a dark, murky mess. Then Hashem began to make order in the mess by speaking everything into being step by step. This teaches us that the primordial, ‘natural’ state is void of light. Hashem created the first light of the world to share His goodness with us (Ramchal, Derech Hashem). Thus, we can never take any light for granted whether physical or metaphorical. Any illumination – whether strong and clear or in the form of the light at the end of the tunnel – is G-d’s first gift of creation to us.

What is so Special about Being Created in the Divine Image?

Everything in creation led up to the creation of humanity and is for our sake. [G-d created the world] for the sake of the Torah, which is called “the beginning of His way,” (Mishlei 8:22) and for the sake of Israel, who are called “the first of His grain.” (Yirmeyahu 2:3); (Rashi, Bereishit 1:1). Hashem waited till the end to create us human beings, because He had to first ensure that all our needs would be met. The water, trees, grasses and flowers, the sun, moon and stars, the birds and the fish, and all of the animals were created first to ensure the perfect environment and ecosystem suitable for human life.  

ספר בראשית פרק א פסוק כו וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים נַעֲשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצַלְמֵנוּ כִּדְמוּתֵנוּ וְיִרְדּוּ בִדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבַבְּהֵמָה וּבְכָל הָאָרֶץ וּבְכָל הָרֶמֶשׂ הָרֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ: ) כז( וַיִּבְרָא אֱלֹהִים אֶת הָאָדָם בְּצַלְמוֹ בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא אֹתוֹ זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בָּרָא אֹתָם:

“Then G-d said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness, and they shall rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the heaven and over the animals and over all the earth and over all the creeping things that creep upon the earth.’ And G-d created man in His image; in the image of G-d He created him; male and female He created them” (Bereishit 1:26-27).

The first thing Hashem granted us is the gift of creation – the gift of life, yet not just any life like the animals who are also alive, but with the gift of being created in the image of G-d. What does it mean to be created in the image of G-d? First of all, it means that in a certain sense, we resemble Him, for we are the only ones in creation imbued with a divine soul. We can emulate G-d to impart goodness to others. Therefore, we are special and treasured by Him. and it follows that if we respect G-d, we must value ourselves as well. In order to be able to appreciate others we must first learn to appreciate ourselves. Just as Hashem supervises and benefits His creations, so is our mission in life to benefit others. We are all seeking to know for what purpose we are placed on the planet. Instead of focusing on how to get our own needs met – which will never lead to happiness – let us notice who needs us, and what we can do for them. This is the personal mission of our life for which we are created.  

Fruitful Blessings of Increase

ספר בראשית פרק א פסוק כח וַיְבָרֶךְ אֹתָם אֱלֹהִים וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם אֱלֹהִים פְּרוּ וּרְבוּ וּמִלְאוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ וְכִבְשֻׁהָ וּרְדוּ בִּדְגַת הַיָּם וּבְעוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּבְכָל חַיָּה הָרֹמֶשֶׂת עַל הָאָרֶץ: (כט) וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים הִנֵּה נָתַתִּי לָכֶם אֶת כָּל עֵשֶׂב זֹרֵעַ זֶרַע אֲשֶׁר עַל פְּנֵי כָל הָאָרֶץ וְאֶת כָּל הָעֵץ אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ פְרִי עֵץ זֹרֵעַ זָרַע לָכֶם יִהְיֶה לְאָכְלָה: (ל) וּלְכָל חַיַּת הָאָרֶץ וּלְכָל עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם וּלְכֹל רוֹמֵשׂ עַל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה אֶת כָּל יֶרֶק עֵשֶׂב לְאָכְלָה וַיְהִי כֵן:

“Then G-d blessed them, and G-d said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the sky and over all the beasts that tread upon the earth.’ And G-d said, ‘Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing herb, which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; it will be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and to all the fowl of the heavens, and to everything that moves upon the earth, in which there is a living spirit, every green herb to eat,’ and it was so” (Bereishit 1:28-30).

No sooner were we created than Hashem blessed us profusely and granted us permission to use the abundance of His creation for our personal needs. First impressions are important and whenever a word is used for the first time in the Bible it sets a precedence. The very first blessing in the Torah is for humanity to be fruitful and multiply. The essence of a blessing is to increase. The more we notice the blessings of our lives and express gratitude for them, the more our blessings will increase. The first interaction Hashem had with us was to bless us. Similarly, rather than being critical of others, we can bless them and thereby increase their goodness.

Expressing Our Appreciation in Words

ספר בראשית פרק א פסוק לא וַיַּרְא אֱלֹהִים אֶת כָּל אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה וְהִנֵּה טוֹב מְאֹד וַיְהִי עֶרֶב וַיְהִי בֹקֶר יוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי:

“Then G-d saw all that He had made, and behold it was very good, and it was evening, and it was morning, the sixth day” (Bereishit 1:31).

Throughout the story of how G-d created the universe, we read seven different times some variation of, “And G-d saw that it was good.” Why is this repeated so often? Of course, G-d knows that His creations were good, He created them! This repetition is to teach us gratitude.

The continual focus on G-d’s creation being “good” in Bereishit also teaches us gratitude for the natural order and even for our ability to emulate our Creator by creating, sharing, and blessing. While it is depressing to always look for happiness, constantly reflecting on what we are grateful for will generate perpetual joy. G-d was not just thinking that His creations were good, He expressed it loud and clear. We can learn from this to express words of gratitude and declare our thankfulness to anyone and everyone. We mustn’t underestimate the power of words, after all, G-d created the entire universe through speech.

    

Gratitude Focus for the Week of Parashat Bereishit

• Light – For which points of light in your life can you be grateful? 

Notice the light in your life, even if it is only dim or fading. Treasure the glimpses of light when you sense Hashem’s presence and supervision and cherish the rays of the sun when they warm and energize you.

• Being Created in the Image of G-d – For what part of your existence are you especially thankful?

Meditate on the wonderous creation of humanity and your own creation. Recite the blessing after using the bathroom mindfully paying attention to the meaning of the words. What does this blessing thank G-d for? How does this relate to having been created in G-d’s image? What else does G-d provide us with? Think about how reciting a blessing is like saying thank you to someone you know. Marvel over the privilege of being created in the Image of G-d with a divine soul and the divine potential to impart goodness to others.

• Blessings of Fruitfulness – Search for the fruits of your life whether you are gifted with physical or spiritual children, or perhaps a brainchild or more.

Any new invention, idea, insight, or way of doing something can be called a fruit. Thank yourself and Hashem for empowering you with your particular fruitfulness.

• “It is not good for the human Being to be alone” (Bereishit 2:20) – For which people in your life are you grateful and what do you especially appreciate about them?

Notice the good points in others and make a habit of expressing them often. There are some things that are beneficial to repeat over and over again.