Naso- Moderation

V’zot torat hanazir byom m’lot ymei nizro yavi oto el petach ohel moed. V’hikriv et korbano la-donai… l’olah… l’chatat… lishlamim.

And this is the law of the nazir- upon fulfilling the days of his consecration he shall bring it to the ohel moed [tent of meeting]. He shall present his offering to the Lord… for a burnt offering… for a sin offering… [and] for a peace offering.

The nazir is an interesting person in the Jewish world.  He, or she, dedicates himself to God for a period of time (although there are nazirites whose lives are also specifically dedicated). During that time, the devotee abstains from cutting his hair, from the drinking of alcoholic beverages, and contact with a dead body. Upon fulfilling his vow of nazirut, he is to present himself at the entrance to the ohel moed with three sacrifices, the standard burnt offering- olah, the sin offering- chatat, and the peace offering- shlamim.

Within parashat Naso the reasons for these three offerings are not given. The olah seems logical.  It is a standard offering. Having completed his consecration, this standard act would be the logical end, so too with the shlamim. The nazir has spent his designated period of time specially consecrated to God. Having ended that period, one may argue that it makes sense to offer a peace offering to God. Shlamim also has the meaning of completeness. The nazir has completed his time in special consecration and is also making peace with his return to being a complete part of the Israelite people instead of set aside from them.

Why though the chatat, the sin offering? One would think that to consecrate oneself especially to God, to separate himself from the community in order to be closer to God would be an act of praise, a spiritual level others would want to emulate. This is not true. Judaism teaches us that when we die, and are called to stand before the Kadosh Baruch Hu, that we will be called upon to answer for every legitimate pleasure we denied ourselves. The basis for this is set forth in the Torah. The Torah understands that some individuals need a method to be closer to God. That is the nazir. However, this ascetic attitude, ever trying to attain a holier level, is not the ideal of Judaism. When we seek to be closer to God than the general community, whether through a new chumrah, a stringency added onto the law, or denial, we separate ourselves from our community and we must seek to repair this rift.