Parashat Nasso 5785

by Rabbi Margie Cella

Parashat Nasso is the longest parashah of the year. It begins with Moses and Aaron taking a census of the tribe of the Levites according to their clans. Each was assigned a very specific job in the care and transport of the tabernacle.

From here we move on to the strange and troubling sotah ritual, in which a woman whose husband suspects her of committing adultery is made to drink water mixed with dirt from the floor of the tabernacle to determine her guilt of innocence.

A total of 88 of the parashah’s 176 verses are devoted to listing the gifts brought by the chieftains of the twelve tribes at the dedication of the tabernacle. They all bring the same exact gifts, and the entire list is repeated twelve times, demonstrating that the contributions of all the tribes were valued equally—none was either more or less important than any of the others.

Tucked in between all of this are six verses instructing the priests to bless the people with the words of the birkat kohanim:

God bless you, and protect you!

God deal kindly and graciously with you!

God bestow favor upon you and grant you peace!

From biblical times until today, the kohanim continue to bless our congregations with this same simple yet meaningful formula, and parents use these words to bless their children every Shabbat. Jewish communities worldwide are united in the observance of this beautiful tradition. 

Am Yisrael Chai! All people of Israel Live!