05/29/2026
Torah Insights on Parashat Naso 5786
By Rabbi Rami Pavolotzky
Be Original, Be Yourself!
This week we read parashat Naso, the longest Torah section. Not surprisingly, this parasha also includes the longest chapter in the Torah, Numbers 7, which includes 89 verses. This long chapter describes the gifts, or offerings, brought by the heads of each one of the twelve tribes of Israel on the inauguration of the Tabernacle. The Torah describes in detail each offering… even when each head brought the same gift!
There are no redundancies in the Torah, but only opportunities to teach new lessons. What lesson can we learn from the repetition of the offering brought by each head of the tribes? The sages explain that no head of tribe copied the gifts of the other heads of tribes, but that each person brought his gift with his own unique intentions. The lesson then is that sometimes the way we give something is more important than what we give.
In our modern society we tend to try to be as original as we can, and sometimes we exaggerate a bit! People worry not to say what other people have said, not to wear what other people wear, and so on. We try to give the world something new and different. One the one hand, that is very hard to do, because we are all consumed with the same hopes and fears, the same aspirations.
Therefore, if we want to give the world something new and completely different, we will probably fail.
On the other hand, we are different. Our experiences, our contexts, our viewpoints are unique. If we stay true to ourselves, we will create something new, something that has never existed before. There resides our advantage!
The heads of the tribes of Israel brought the same offering to the inauguration of the Tabernacle. However, they were original, because each one of them brought, together with their offering, their own and unique feelings, experiences, and personality. We don’t need to waste our time and energy thinking about how to be more original than others. We need to be true to ourselves and allow our uniqueness to flow through our actions and words.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Rami
