Parshas Naso 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
איש או אשה כי יפלא לנדר נדר נזיר להזיר לה' ... (ו-ב)
MASHAL: When exiting Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, one can see a large line of ten-passenger taxis and vans lined up waiting outside the airport. The taxi driver waits until he has ten passengers, and then goes on his way, some to Bnei Brak, some to Yerushalayim, and so on.
A fascinating story is told over by R’ Elimelech Biderman shlita of a yungerman who came outside to the taxis. He found a taxi that already had eight people inside, and now they were waiting for a tenth man to come. After a few minutes, a tenth person came but it was a woman and the only place for her to sit was next to this yungerman. Although according to strict halacha it was permissible to sit next to her, for the sake of kedushah, holiness, he politely declined the ride, removed his suitcase from the van and waited for the next taxi. It took forty-five minutes before the next taxi filled up and set out towards Yerushalayim.
Even then, a traffic jam slowed them down considerably.
But what amazed the yungerman, were the images he saw as they passed through the traffic jam. Apparently, there was a car accident that involved a minibus - the exact minibus taxi that the yungerman had refused to take! Hashem has a special protection service for those who build barriers for themselves as they strive for greater spiritual heights.
NIMSHAL: Harav Gedalia Schorr zt”l would comment, that the principle we encounter in the parsha of Nazir is common throughout almost every area of Torah: harchakos, making a protective fence around the mitzvos. The idea is, “Keep away from transgression,” meaning make a ‘buffer zone’ because without it there is a good chance that even a well-meaning Jew will end up stumbling in a Torah prohibition.