B"H

Tuesday, Sivan 10, 5783 (Hakhel Year) / May 30, 2023

This week’s Parsha is Naso, which is read on the Shabbat after the holiday of the Giving of the Torah, is the longest Parsha in the Torah. It consists of 176 verses.

In this Parsha we find the three-fold-priestly blessing, which the Kohanim (priests) recite on the holidays to bless the Jewish people. In Israel these blessings are recited by the kohanim each Shabbat or in some places each day.

Q.   What is the connection between the three-fold-Priestly blessing and the fact that it is read on the Shabbat after Shavuot – the holiday when we received the Torah?

A.    Blessingin Hebrew is “Beracha” which begins with the letter “Bet.”  The Torah also begins with the letter “Bet” (“Breishis”). 

Our sages ask, why doesn’t the Torah begin with the first letter of the Hebrew alpha bet (Aleph)?  They reply, “G-d wanted to begin the Torah with the Betfor it is the letter which means blessing.” G-d wanted to tell us that through Torah we acquire blessings.

Thus, the Shabbat after the holiday of Shavuot we read the three-fold blessing, to show us that through Torah, which was given on Shavuot, one acquires G-d’s blessings.

Also, the name of this Parsha, “Naso,” means to “Elevate.” Indeed, the Torah elevates us, as the saying goes, “When one is firmly connected on high, they do not fall below.”  

Q.   On special days, such as Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, holidays etc. we read from the Torah about the specialty of that holiday and the special sacrifices brought on that holiday. Why do we read from the Torah also every regular Monday and Thursday? What is so special about Mondays and Thursdays?

A.There is a verse in the Torah from which our sages derive that three days must not pass without reading from the Torah.

Thus, the sages established that, in addition to Shabbat, we should also read from the Torah every Monday and Thursday, this way three days will not pass without Torah. 

Q.Why were Mondays and Thursdays chosen rather than the other days of the week?

A.On these two days villagers and farmers from the nearby areas would come to the fair in the city. The Rabbis instituted to read the Torah on these two days so that people coming from small villages etc., where there were no synagogues, would get to hear the reading of the Torah while they were in the city.

HAVE A VERY GOOD, HAPPY, HEALTHY AND SUCCESSFUL DAY