| Torah Portion | Haftarah Portion(s) | B'rit Chadashah Portion(s) |
|---|
Numbers 4.21–7.89 | Judges 13.2–25 | Luke 1.11-20 |
| | John 7.53–8.11 |
| | Acts 21.17-32 |
| | |
| | |
Portion Outline
Torah
Numbers 4:21 The Gershonites and Merarites
Numbers 4:34 Census of the Levites
Numbers 5:1 Unclean Persons
Numbers 5:5 Confession and Restitution
Numbers 5:11 Concerning an Unfaithful Wife
Numbers 6:1 The Nazirites
Numbers 6:22 The Priestly Benediction
Numbers 7:1 Offerings of the Leaders
Prophets
Jdg 13:1 The Birth of Samson
B'rit Chadashah
Luke 1.11 Zechariah is visted by the Angel of the Lord in the Temple
John 8.1 Yeshuah delivers the woman taken in adultery
Acts 21.17 Paul comes to Jerusalem
Acts 21.27 Paul is apprehended-in great danger-but rescued by the chief captain
Commentary
Bonus material
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Torah Portion Summary
The second reading from the book of Numbers and the thirty-fifth reading from the Torah is called Nasso, a word that literally means "lift up." It comes from the first word of the second verse in Hebrew, which could literally be translated to say, "Lift up the heads of the sons of Gershon," an idiomatic way of saying, "Make an accounting of the sons of Gershon." This Torah portion finishes up the census of the Levites that was under way at the end of the last Torah portion, before going on to discuss the purification of the camp, the ritual for a woman suspected of adultery, the laws of the Nazirite vow, the priestly benediction and the gifts the heads of the twelve tribes brought for the dedication of the altar.
Haftarah Portion Summary
The Haftarah for Naso recounts the miraculous birth of Shimshon (Samson), who was to commanded by the Angel of LORD (who was in fact God Himself) to be a Nazirite from birth. Samson was given a commission to be one of the great deliverer's of Israel.
Samson's nezirut was different in some ways than that described in Naso. For one thing, in the Torah portion, the vow was voluntary, whereas in the case of Samson, the LORD Himself commanded it. Second, the typical nezirut lasted 30 days, but Samson's began at conception (Menoach's wife was given her own nezirut to perform at conception) and was to last his entire lifetime. Finally, the restriction of the Nazir to not touch a corpse could not have been in place for Samson, since he was known for his military exploits (e.g., killing 1,000 Philistines with the jawbone of a donkey).
Samson's gift from the LORD remained as long as he was faithful to the vow of Nezirut, but he was eventually undone by the wiles of the temptress Delilah, who beguiled him to break his vow before the LORD.
B'rit Chadashah Portion Summary (Acts)
The Brit Chadashah reading shows the Apostle Paul arriving in Jerusalem to visit James, the half-brother of the LORD Yeshua, and leader of the church that Jesus Himself started. James and the elders listened as Paul told them about his missionary activity among the Gentiles, but they felt compelled to have Paul join four others in a Nazirite vow and to pay for their expenses (i.e., the sacrifices commanded in the Torah). By so doing, Paul would demonstrate to the Jews that he was indeed Torah observant and not teaching anything contrary to the law of Moses.
As for the Gentiles who had believed, James and the elders reaffirmed their previous instruction that they (minimally) abide by the Noahide laws (Acts 15:19-29) in order to be members of the Jesus movement - that is, without becoming full Jews (i.e., undergoing ritual circumcision and becoming obligated to keep the mitzvot of the Torah).
As is evident from this passage, as well as others in the book of Acts, Paul continued to be Torah observant throughout his life, even after his conversion to Christianity. In fact, Paul took another Nazirite vow after these events, as revealed in Acts 18:18.