Parshat Naso: Lift Me Up
There is a theme in this week’s Torah reading that is related to the name of the parsha, Naso. Three times this word or a derivative of it are mentioned, the root being the Hebrew letters, Nun, Sin and Aleph – נ ש א.
At the outset of the parsha we have the continuation of the census that Moshe was told to take of the Israelites. He is counting the members of each family of the Levite tribe. The use of the word Naso נשא for “counting” literally means to lift or raise up. So when Moshe is told to count the Levites, it seems to be more than just figuring out a number.
The next usage of Naso נשא is in the section of the Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessing that is said even today when Kohanim bless the congregation. In the climax and final statement of this three-fold blessing, the Kohen wishes that God should lift His face to each of us and grant us Peace. The word used for God directing His face towards us is again from the same root as Naso, Yisah – ישא.
And finally in the second half of the parsha we read of how the prince of each tribe brought their dedication offering to the Tabernacle on behalf of his respective tribe. The Hebrew word for prince is נשיא Nasi, again from the same root as Naso נשא.
The theme seems to be a clear one of Lifting and Raising Up. In the case of Moshe, he is being told to not just count the Levites but to figuratively raise them up as well. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, whenever a census is taken, there is always the danger that one is merely a number and lost in a crowd. Not so when Moshe does the counting. Each person is elevated. Their individuality is to be respected and their uniqueness regarded. The fact that someone so great as Moshe is counting each and every one of them gave them that feeling.
Next, the Kohanim – special people in their own right among the nation – are praying that God lifts His face to each person. The Kohen is making us aware that an Infinite God has no problem in giving special attention to each and every one of us. For God to lift His face, so to speak, and focus on us as if we are His whole universe is very doable for God. This knowledge of self-worth gives a person an inner peace and this is what the blessing is all about when it says, יִשָּׂא ה’ פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם “May God lift His face to you and grant you Peace.” When we are aware of God’s attention to us, of His warmth and love for us, then we will gain a sense of Peace in our lives.
And finally we speak of the Nasi – the Prince of each tribe. Most of us don’t live in a monarchy and we have lost an awareness of what a Prince or King or Queen can add to the soul of a nation. A few years ago, Gerald Baker of The Wall Street Journal, wrote of the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, and eloquently told us what we are missing by not having a King or Queen:
The Queen’s jubilee, marking the longest reign of any monarch in English history, reminds us of the importance of unifying institutions and symbols for a badly fractured country in perilous times. In an age of hyperpartisan political conflict, national cohesion requires at least something that commands national legitimacy, a shared object of reverence, an institution in which the people can place their trust.
For four days the country found something that just about everyone could unite around. This is no trivial thing. It is a rare reminder that this remains, despite temptations to the contrary, a nation. A nation can’t survive on politics alone, because politics will ultimately eat itself. There must be something above political dispute that is merely to be admired as symbolic and representative of the agreed-on greatness of the nation itself.
This is what great people like a Prince or a Queen or any great leader are able to accomplish and add to their nation. They become a flag and symbol for all to rally around. They remind us of our national aspirations and the basic goodness of our people and of our land. Whatever divisions and differences might be among its subjects, the Nasi gives the nation the opportunity to look above and beyond. They lift us up. They raise us.
Lifting and Raising others. This is what Moshe was doing when he counted the Levites. This is what the Kohanim do when they bless us. And this is what any person can do as well. One who so chooses to be above the fray, to not get lost in the pettiness, but to be a Nasi – a Prince among men – and thereby show others that they can be the same. We all must strive to go higher and higher, and thereby raise those around us and lift them higher as well.
You know you’re so special
Yes you are
You know you’re His superstar
Superstar
No matter near or far
He’s beside you
He’s behind you
Take me Higher
Please take me Higher
-Nissim Black
