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Parasha Naso (Make an account)
by Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber
The Scripture readings for the Shabbat of June 14/14 Sivan are: Bamidbar/Numbers 4:21-7:89; Shoftim/Judges 13:2-25; Ma'asei Talmidim/Acts 21:17-26. Responsibility and Maturity In Parasha Naso, HaShem (His Name [This is a traditional Jewish way of referring to G-d]), instructs Moshe to organize the Leviim (Levites) into work groups, each group having a specific duty to perform, as their special service to the Ohel Moed (Tent of Meeting- Tabernacle). For example: Bamidbar {4:21} HaSHEM spoke to Moshe, saying, {4:22} Take the sum of the sons of Gershon also, by their avot' (fathers') houses, by their families; {4:23} from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shall you number them; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Ohel Moed. {4:24} This is the service of the families of the Gershonites, in serving and in bearing burdens: {4:25} they shall bear the curtains of the tent, and the tent of meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above on it, and the screen for the door of the Ohel Moed, {4:26} and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tent and by the mizbeah (altar) round about, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them: therein shall they serve. {4:27} At the commandment of Aharon and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershonites, in all their burden, and in all their service; and you shall appoint to them in charge all their burden. {4:28} This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershonites in the tent of meeting: and their charge shall be under the hand of Ithamar the ben Aharon the cohen (High Priest). Besides the family of Aharon, the Leviim were divided into three family groups, the family of Gershon, the family of Merari and the family of Koath. Each family group was given a specific task to perform. Each family group was under the head of their family and the three family heads were under authority of the family of Aharon. There are two things of interest I would like to discuss concerning this portion of Parasha Naso. The first concerns the age at which each family member was to begin his service in the Ohel Moed. Although HaShem tells us that the family members are to be numbered from the age of thirty, He does not tell us why. A member of the tribe of Levi started serving in the Ohel Moed only at the age of thirty and up until the age of fifty, there were other duties however that they performed prior to and after the dates of Ohel Moed service. For example there were the flocks that had to be raised specifically for the daily korbanot (draw near, mistranslated as sacrifice). Why then did HaShem limit the work in the Ohel Moed to those of thirty years old? Although I do not want to second guess the L-rd, and I am sure He has a valid reason for this stipulation, I will however suggest an answer it may not necessarily be the actual reason. I am going to base my answer on my experience with actuaries. For those who are not familiar with this profession allow me to explain. An actuary is an insurance person who computes premium rates and divides risks according to probabilities and statistical records. Based on these probabilities or statistics the actuary sets the insurance premium for any insurable risk. For instance life insurance for any given area is based upon the average life expectancy in that area. For car insurance, a subject I am sure we are all familiar with; the rates are based on accident and theft probability. Younger drivers have a higher rate of accidents so their premium rates exceed those of older drivers. Rates tend to be extremely high for those under the age of twenty-five, while drives over the age of fifty enjoy the lowest rate. I believe, once again I caution you that this is only my belief, that HaShem was His own actuary and knew that the age for a mature person, mature enough to serve Him in the Ohel Moed was thirty. My conclusion can be further supported by the fact that both Yochanan Hamtabel (John the immerser) and Yeshua began their ministries at age thirty. Rav Shaul (Rabbi Paul) in sending out his talmid (disciple) Timothy gave him this very important instruction. Timoteos alef/1 Timothy {5.22} Lay hands suddenly on no man,.... It would do us well to heed both HaShem's example and Rav Shaul's instruction. Before we as leaders assign anyone to head up a ministry they should have reached proper maturity both physically and spiritually. It would also be good for those who are young, both physically and spiritually, to display patience and seek experience, which comes with maturity before accepting to be the head of a ministry. Sometimes it is better not to have a ministry then to have someone who is not mature head it up. The second thing I would like to discuss is the fact that upon entering into the ministry of serving in the Ohel Moed, a Levite would be there performing the same job for twenty years. Do you know what that means? It means for 20 years, year after year after year the members of a particular family performed the same function, for generations. It means if you were a member of the family of Gershon your ministry before the L-rd was to bear burdens. In other words you were the shlepper (carrier) family. You schlepped the curtains of the Ohel Moed, its covering, and the covering of sealskin, the screen for the door, the hangings of the court, the screen for the door of the gate of the court, their cords, and all fittings and you did it for twenty years, whenever it had to be done. There was no opting out; there were no changing jobs because there were no changing families. From my experience and the knowledge I have of other leaders' experiences, believers today are not so committed. Many times I have had someone tell me after serving in a ministry a year, three years and even as little as six months that they believe the L-rd is moving them on. They claim He no longer wants them doing what they claimed the L-rd wanted them to do just a short time earlier. So to all those guilty parties out there, to those of you who were thinking of quitting but are now convicted by what I am saying, and to those who are contemplating giving up on what they are doing because they believe the L-rd changed His mind, take heed from the lesson of this Parasha and the ministries of the three Liviim families.Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada. Copyright 2003
- Romans 1:16, NIV |