Parashat HaShavua - Naso
Time and again, the Torah teaches us the importance of leadership that is collaborative and supportive of others, both through examples and counterexamples. This week in Parashat Naso, the Torah goes to the trouble of telling us how, one after the other, day after day, each leader of Bnei Yisrael brought the same offering as all the others. God actually commands that “One leader per day, one leader per day, will present their offerings for the dedication of the altar / נָשִׂ֨יא אֶחָ֜ד לַיּ֗וֹם נָשִׂ֤יא אֶחָד֙ לַיּ֔וֹם יַקְרִ֙יבוּ֙ אֶת־קׇרְבָּנָ֔ם לַחֲנֻכַּ֖ת הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ.” (Nu. 7:11) And then, after we read each one, we get a summary: “This was the dedication of the altar on the day it was anointed by the leaders of Israel / זֹ֣את ׀ חֲנֻכַּ֣ת הַמִּזְבֵּ֗חַ בְּיוֹם֙ הִמָּשַׁ֣ח אֹת֔וֹ מֵאֵ֖ת נְשִׂיאֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל.” (Nu. 7:84) Why?
According to the Ramban (Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman, 1194-1270), all the leaders “originally intended to offer everything on the same day / היו חושבים להקריב הכל בו ביום…והשם ,צוה ׳נשיא אחד ליום יקריבו׳" until God instructed ‘one leader per day will present their offering.” (Nu. 7:3) Ramban continues to explain how God was balancing the goals of honoring them individually and collectively:
“All the leaders brought their offering on the same day because they all agreed to it simultaneously…but God wanted to mention them all by name and the details of their offerings, and to mention the day of each one… Afterwards, God referred to them all again collectively to teach that they were all equal before God. As the Rabbis taught in Sifrei, ‘the Torah is telling us that just as they had the same opinion about what to bring, so too did they deserve the same amount of credit.’”
הנשיאים כולם ביום אחד הביאו הקרבן הזה שהסכימו עליו יחד…, אבל רצה להזכירם בשמם ובפרט קרבניהם ולהזכיר יומו של כל אחד… ואחרי כן חזר וכללם להגיד שהיו שקולים לפניו. וכך אמרו שם בספרי: ׳מגיד הכתוב, שכשם ששוו כולם בעצה אחת, כך שוו כולם בזכות.׳״
The Ramban then deepens this notion of leaders working together with an additional midrash that illustrates how, even though all the leaders made the same offering, “there was a special reason for the offering of each and every tribe and for the amount of the offerings / בכל שבט ושבט טעם מיוחד לקרבנו, ובשיעורי הקרבן.” Incredible! The different leaders coordinated their efforts, respecting each other and being respected by one another, with the understanding that they were doing so for different reasons.
This is an important and sophisticated notion regarding leadership, working together with one another, and even more generally getting along with each other. Having different opinions is healthy and inevitable, and even a single individual can have mixed motives for what they do. Ultimately, the question is, can people with different ideas communicate, reach some sort of agreement, and cooperate?
A stark contrast can be drawn between this week’s offerings and the tragic story of Nadav and Avihu: “The sons of Aharon – Nadav and Avihu – each took his fire pan, put fire in it, and placed incense on it; and they offered strange fire before the Lord, which had not been commanded to them. Fire came forth from the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord / וַיִּקְח֣וּ בְנֵֽי־אַ֠הֲרֹ֠ן נָדָ֨ב וַאֲבִיה֜וּא אִ֣ישׁ מַחְתָּת֗וֹ וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ בָהֵן֙ אֵ֔שׁ וַיָּשִׂ֥ימוּ עָלֶ֖יהָ קְטֹ֑רֶת וַיַּקְרִ֜יבוּ לִפְנֵ֤י יְהֹוָה֙ אֵ֣שׁ זָרָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֧ר לֹ֦א צִוָּ֖ה אֹתָֽם׃ וַתֵּ֥צֵא אֵ֛שׁ מִלִּפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָ֖ה וַתֹּ֣אכַל אוֹתָ֑ם וַיָּמֻ֖תוּ לִפְנֵ֥י יְהֹוָֽה׃.” (Lev. 10:1–2) According to VaYikra Rabbah (2:8), one of the reasons for their harsh punishment was that before bringing their offering “they didn’t consult with one another, as it says, ‘each took his fire pan/אִ֣ישׁ מַחְתָּת֗וֹ,’ each took action individually without consulting with one another / וְעַל שֶׁלֹּא נָטְלוּ עֵצָה זֶה מִזֶּה, וְעַל שֶׁלֹּא נָטְלוּ עֵצָה זֶה מִזֶּה, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר (ויקרא י, א): ׳אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ,׳ אִישׁ מֵעַצְמוֹ עָשׂוּ שֶׁלֹּא נָטְלוּ עֵצָה זֶה מִזֶּה.”
May we, and our leaders, learn the lessons of mutual consideration and cooperation from the positive examples of our tribal leaders in this week’s parsha, and from the cautionary tale of Nadav and Avihu, as this is our path to achieving the greatest possible respect for one another individually, and success for all of us collectively.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Jack Nahmod
Middle School Judaic Studies Head
Rabbinic Advisor
