What’s wrong with the Nazir? – Naso
The Nazir, to whom a section of the sidra is devoted, is an ascetic who denies himself the pleasures of the world.
The title Nazir is connected with nezer, a crown, suggesting there is something noble about what he has chosen to do.
But the commentators are not so sure.
The Talmud Yerushalmi quotes Rabbi Yitzchak as saying, “The restrictions of the Torah are not enough for you, and you want to restrict yourself even further?”
An even better known statement is, “On the day of judgment a person will be held accountable for everything he beheld and did not partake of”.
So what is the truth – is the Nazir saint or sinner?
Moses Isserles finds the beginning of an answer in the phrase, “He shall be holy” (Num. 6:5), which uses the future tense.
Isserles comments, “According to Maimonides’ doctrine that the method of healing the soul corresponds to the method of healing the body, one has to practise the very opposite of bad habits until one has attained the balance of the golden mean, which is always the best rule in everything.
“The Nazir has discovered his tendency towards worldly indulgence and therefore feels impelled to go to the opposite extreme until he has trained himself to achieve the balance of the golden mean.
“The Torah says, ‘He shall be holy’, because the attainment of saintliness comes only when he has completed his Naziriteship. Until then he is termed a sinner, for abstinence is in itself evil, like everything that goes to extremes.”
