Parshat Naso continues the themes that were raised in Parshat Bamidbar. the story of the census [in which God instructed Moses to count the people, tribe by tribe, with the tribe of Levi set apart] and a description of the special jobs that the Levites played in the camp. The Levites were responsible for the Mishkan [Tabernacle]; they pitched their tents immediately around it, and they were tasked with taking it down when the people traveled and then putting it back up when they encamped. There were three sub-"families" within the tribe of Levi – Kehat, Gershon, and Merari – and in Bamidbar, we already learned about the specific job of Kehat. So here, in Naso, we learn about Gershon and Merari. Gershon was in charge of carrying the fabrics/coverings of the Mishkan, and Merari was in charge of carrying its structural components
Parshat Naso also discusses the strange law of the sotah, the married woman who is suspected and accused of having committed adultery. For such a case, the Torah outlines a bizarre [and seemingly archaic] ritual. You bring the woman to the Temple and take a scroll of parchment which details this very law and you dissolve it in water — and give it to the woman to drink. If she was guilty, she would die a gruesome death. But if she was innocent, then she would survive the strange encounter. It sounds violent, humiliating, misogynistic. What is the meaning of all of this? If you're curious or confused about the law of the sotah, then listen to Rabbi Fohrman and Rivky's podcast, "What Are the Unique Laws of the Sotah Really About?" You'll never see it in the same way again
Parshat Naso also discusses another strange law. that of the nazir [or "Nazirite"], a person who takes a vow upon himself or herself to abstain from grape juice or wine, from getting haircuts, and from touching a human corpse [clearly some of these things are bigger sacrifices than others. ]. Why would a person choose to become a nazir? Why should a nazir abstain from these specific things? They don't really all seem to fit together. And are we all meant to aspire to take this vow and become a nazir? Rivky Stern explores the law of the nazir in her video
That's it for the "strange laws" of Parshat Naso, but there's still a lot of good stuff left in this parsha. Like Birkat Kohanim, the Priestly Blessings, which God instructs Aaron and his sons to recite in blessing the people. The text of these blessings is very familiar, both because we continue to say these as part of our prayer services today, and also because many people have the custom to use these words to bless their children on Friday nights
Birkat Kohanim [The Priestly Blessing]
May God bless you and keep you
May God shine His countenance [face] upon you and be gracious to you
May God raise up His countenance [face] toward you and grant you peace
[Numbers 6. 24-26]
Yevarechecha Hashem v'yishmerecha
Ya'er Hashem panav eleycha vichuneka
Yisa Hashem panav eleycha v'yasem lecha shalom
If you are wondering why we use the words of this blessing – that was originally designated for the priests – to bless our children, Rabbi Fohrman has a stunning answer. It is the basis of his three-part video series on Parenting
Finally, Parshat Naso ends with a description of the tribal gifts brought upon the inauguration of the Mishkan – a ceremony that we first began reading about in the books of Exodus and Leviticus – and a description of how God would speak to Moses inside the Mishkan [from between the two cherubim – "cherubs"]
Interested in learning more about the upcoming Parshiyot? Check out Aleph Beta’s Parsha pages on Parshat Beha’alotecha, Parshat Shelach & Parshat Korach
Each week, synagogues across the world read a section from the Torah [the five books of Moses]. In Hebrew, this passage is called Parashat HaShavua, which means "portion of the week. " Sometimes it is called the parsha or sidra. The Jewish community follows a schedule of readings based on the Hebrew calendar. Over the course of a year, the entire Torah is read publicly during the synagogue services. Each reading has a name based on one of the important Hebrew words in the first sentence of the passage. There are fifty-four portions in the regular cycle, as listed above
Note. On Jewish holidays, special readings often interrupt the regular cycle
The tables on this page indicate the Torah portion for specific days. Click the name of the portion to view Rabbi Shefa’s midrash and suggested practices from Torah Journeys
These tables indicate the traditional Diaspora date for each portion. On holidays, the cycle is interrupted in favor of a special reading appropriate to the day. Because of the Hebrew lunar-solar calendar, there are some portions that “double up” during the shorter years to fit all the readings into the calendar. Those portions are indicated with an asterisk [*]
Genesis
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5783BereshitGen 1. 1-6. 8Oct 2, ’21Oct 22, ’22NoahGen 6. 9 – 11. 32Oct 9, ’21Oct 29, ’22Lekh-LekhaGen 12. 1 – 17. 27Oct 16, ’21Nov 5, ’22VayeraGen 18. 1 – 22. 24Oct 23, ’21Nov 12, ’22Chayei SarahGen 23. 1 – 25. 18Oct 30, ’21Nov 19, ’22ToldotGen 25. 19 – 28. 9Nov 6, ’21Nov 26, ’22VayetzeGen 28. 10 – 32. 3Nov 13, ’21Dec 2, ’22VayishlachGen 32. 4 – 36. 43Nov 20, ’21Dec 10, ’22VayeshevGen 37. 1 – 40. 23Nov 27, ’21Dec 17, ’22MiketzGen 41. 1 – 44. 17Dec 4, ’21Dec 24, ’22VayigashGen 44. 18 – 47. 27Dec 11, ’21Dec 31, ’22VayechiGen 47. 28 – 50. 26Dec 18, ’21Jan 7, ’23
Exodus
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5783ShemotEx 1. 1 – 6. 1Dec 25, ’21Jan 14, ’23Va-eyraEx 6. 2 – 9. 35Jan 1, ’22Jan 21, ’23BoEx 10. 1 – 13. 16Jan 8, ’22Jan 28, ’23BeshallachEx 13. 17 – 17. 16Jan 15, ’22Feb 4, ’23YitroEx 18. 1 – 20. 23Jan 22, ’22Feb 11, ’23MishpatimEx 21. 1 – 24. 18Jan 29, ’22Feb 18, ’23TerumahEx 25. 1 – 27. 19Feb 5, ’22Feb 25, ’23TetzavehEx 27. 20 – 30. 10Feb 12, ’22Mar 4, ’23Ki TisaEx 30. 11 – 34. 35Feb 19, ’22Mar 11, ’23VayakhelEx 35. 1 – 38. 20Feb 26, ’22Mar 18, ’23*PekudayEx 38. 21 – 40. 38Mar 5, ’22Mar 18, ’23*
Leviticus
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5783VayikraLev 1. 1 – 5. 26Mar 12, ’22Mar 25, ’23TzavLev 6. 1 – 8. 36Mar 19, ’22Apr 1, ’23SheminiLev 9. 1 – 11. 47Mar 26, ’22Apr 15, ’23TazriaLev 12. 1 – 13. 59Apr 2, ’22Apr 22, ’23*MetzoraLev 14. 1 – 15. 33Apr 9, ’22Apr 22, ’23*Acharey MotLev 16. 1 – 18. 30Apr 30, ’22Apr 29, ’23*KedoshimLev 19. 1 – 20. 27May 7, ’22Apr 29, ’23*EmorLev 21. 1 – 24. 23May 14, ’22May 6, ’23BeharLev 25. 1 – 26. 2May 21, ’22May 13, ’23*BechukotaiLev 26. 3 – 27. 34May 28, ’22May 13, ’23*
Numbers
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5783BamidbarNum 1. 1 – 4. 20June 4, ’22May 20, ’23NasoNum 4. 21 – 7. 89June 11, ’22June 3, ’23Beha’alotekhaNum 8. 1 – 12. 16June 18, ’22June 10, ’23Shelach LekhaNum 13. 1 – 15. 41June 25, ’22June 17, ’23KorachNum 16. 1 – 18. 32July 2, ’22June 24, ’23ChukatNum 19. 1 – 22. 1July 9, ’22July 1, ’23*BalakNum 22. 2 – 25. 9July 16, ’22July 1, ’23*PinchasNum 25. 10 – 30. 1July 23, ’22July 8, ’23MattotNum 30. 2 – 32. 42July 30, ’22*July 15, ’23*MasseiNum 33. 1 – 36. 13July 30, ’22*July 15, ’23*
Deuteronomy
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5783D’varimDeu 1. 1 – 3. 22Aug 6, ’22July 22, ’23V’EtchananDeu 3. 23 – 7. 11Aug 13, ’22July 29, ’23EkevDeu 7. 12 – 11. 25Aug 20, ’22Aug 5, ’23Re’ehDeu 11. 26 – 16. 17Aug 27, ’22Aug 12, ’23ShoftimDeu 16. 18 – 21. 9Sep 3, ’22Aug 19, ’23Ki TetzeDeu 21. 10 – 25. 19Sep 10, ’22Aug 26, ’23Ki TavoDeu 26. 1 – 29. 8Sep 17, ’22Sep 2, ’23NitzavimDeu 29. 9 – 30. 20Sep 24, ’22Sep 9, ’23*VayelekhDeu 31. 1 – 31. 30Oct 1, ’22Sep 9, ’23*Ha’azinuDeu 32. 1 – 32. 52Oct 8, ’22Sep 23, ’23Vezot
HaBrakhaDeu 33. 1 – 34. 12
[Simchat Torah]Oct 18, ’22Oct 8, ’23
Hebcal. com provides dates of Torah readings and holidays, as well as candle-lighting times