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bechukOtai י ַתֹ ּ קֻח ְּב nasO אֹ ׂשָנ
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“If you walk in My decrees and observe My commandments and The portion of Naso introduces the laws of the Nazirite (nazir/ah), a
perform them; then I will provide your rains in their time, and the man or woman who takes an oath to refrain from eating or drinking
Land will give its produce and the tree of the field will give its fruit” any grape derivatives for a certain period of time (Numbers 6:1-21).
(Leviticus 26:3-4). The Hebrew root word from which the name of this This oath also includes the prohibitions against cutting one’s hair
portion stems is chok. Like most Hebrew roots it has many meanings, and coming into contact with the dead. In Mattot, at the end of the
implications, and potential inferences. Simply translated it means book of Numbers, we will discuss why oaths are taken, in general; in
law or decree. The Rabbis defined three categories of mitzvot, based this section, we will focus on the Nazirite oath.
on how logical they appear to us. The first category is comprised The obligation to bring a sin offering (in addition to a number of
of those laws that any civilized society would establish, such as other offerings) when the Nazirite period is completed highlights a
the prohibitions against murder and theft. The second category is central paradox underlying the Nazirite oath. On the one hand, as
comprised of laws that, while not immediately obvious, make perfect the Talmud explains, the sin offering is required because the Nazirite
sense upon further consideration, for instance, the obligation to must atone for abstaining from certain worldly pleasures. On the
desist from labor one day a week in order to create a day of rest on other hand, one of the main reasons for vowing to be a Nazirite is to
Shabbat. The third category includes mitzvot that seem to ignore or provide one’s self with additional ammunition in the battle against
defy logic and even appear counterintuitive. The name given to this the sometimes overpowering desire to overindulge in these selfsame
latter category is chukim (plural of “chok”). worldly pleasures. Supporting this latter presumption, the Torah
The Torah’s quintessential example of a chok is the laws and presents the Nazirite laws immediately after those of a suspected
rituals of the red heifer, explicitly introduced by the words: “this is adulteress. As Rashi points out, anyone who sees such a woman
the decree [chok] of the Torah” (Numbers 19:2). As Rashi notes the “in her disgrace” would be motivated to take the Nazirite vow to
nations will come and taunt Israel with the seeming irrationality of avoid the pitfalls that unbridled sensuousness can lead to (Rashi on
this mitzvah, for it not only contradicts other Torah norms but also Numbers 6:2). If the Torah introduces the Nazirite laws to restrain
paradoxically renders impure those who are pure and purifies those people from indulging in the physical pleasures of this world, why
who are impure. Answering this taunt, Rashi cites the tradition that does it mandate a sin offering at the end of the period to atone for
God has already told us that it is a chok, a Divine decree, and we abstaining from those very pleasures?
have no right to question its logic.
To understand this seeming inconsistency, we must contemplate
Thus, the term “chok” implies a decree that we must follow the fine line that Judaism draws with regard to physicality, in general,
whether we understand it or not. Yet paradoxically the opening and bodily pleasure, in particular. Judaism seems to maintain two
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