There is the possibility that after you read the following, you are going to think, “Rabbi Farber has finally flipped out, the ministry has become too much for him, he has succumbed to the pressure.” Well despite the fact that this d’var Torah may leave you with that impression and although you may walk away thinking that what I wrote is off the wall, I am willing to take the risk, because those who know me know that I have to say it anyway. Do not worry it is not heretical only hypothetical.

Bamidbar {8:6} Take the Leviim (Priests) from among the Bnei Yisrael, and tahor (ritually) cleanse them. {8:7} Thus shall you do to them, to tahor cleanse them: sprinkle the water of expiation on them, and let them cause a razor to pass over all their flesh, and let them wash their clothes, and tahor cleanse themselves.

I probably would have never stopped to consider this passage had it not been for something I read in Parsha Naso last week. The portion I read concerned the process involved in ending a Nazirite vow. Let us look at it together:

Bamidbar {6:18} The Nazirite shall shave the head of his separation at the door of the tent of meeting, and shall take the hair of the head of his separation, and put it on the fire which is under the korban of Shalom (Peace) offerings.

Do you notice the connection here? Both passages speak of shaving one's hair as part of the process of consecration. In verse 8.6 above, passing a razor over all of one's flesh would of course definitely include shaving his head. So why was shaving one's hair a requirement for cleansing? In addition if you will remember back to the instruction in the Book of Vayikrah (Leviticus), people being cleansed from a skin disease (leprosy) also had to shave off all of their hair.

Now I know that there are no instructions to burn the hair as an offering in either verse 6.18 of this weeks Parsha, nor was there instruction given with regard to the cleansing of the (leper), however the fact that it was mentioned in Parsha Naso leads me to believe that it may have been a requirement in these other instances as well; after all, what then did they do with the hair once shaved? Five years ago I may not have been able to answer this question but thanks to modern science and television, I have some insight I never had before.

Those of us who have become CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) buffs, because of the recent popularity of such shows on television of late, have learned that hair is an excellent carrier of a person’s DNA. In fact, in a documentary I was viewing the other day, scientists are in the process of switching from tracking the breeding habits of certain endangered species. In the past they have being using radio collars which required tranquilizing the animal and then tracking them with radio receivers. This method is traumatic and stressful for the animal and it is also difficult and time consuming for the scientist. Now because of DNA science they are switching to the sampling of the animals hair which is collected in special un-intrusive hair traps.

DNA as we know contains all the information about human life and no two people have exactly the same DNA, although family members do share some DNA characteristics. So if that is the case, which it is, what significance would the offering up of hair have to HaShem and why would He ask for it to be offered up by fire?

Through the well known scientist Albert Einstein, we have learned that matter cannot be created nor destroyed. So the burning of hair does not destroy the hair it only changes its material make-up. The hair becomes ash, smoke and vapour. Another thing I have learned from watching CSI, is that DNA cannot be extracted from burned material. So that must mean that through the process of burning, the DNA leaves the matter that is burned. Seeing that matter cannot be destroyed only changed it must be that the DNA of that burned matter is now in the smoke or in the vapour. Did the DNA then become what we are told is a sweet saviour unto the nostrils of HaShem? Is this therefore what HaShem smells their essence, their being, their DNA?

I reviewed the three instances involved in the shaving of the hair and as I previously stated they were all associated with the process of consecration unto HaShem; the (leper), Vayikra chapter 14; the Nazirite, Bamidbar chapter 6; and the Leviim, Bamidbar chapter 8. Can it therefore be that the sweet smell of the DNA from the hair of the person being consecrated, seals the process of consecration with HaShem? Can it be that a record of their consecration in the form of their DNA composition is recorded in heaven? Radical thinking I know, but it is something to think about!

Now do not go offering up your hair on the barbeque this weekend along with a lamb chop, because I do not think that will do. Firstly, offerings were only to be made in the Beit HaMikdash (Temple) at Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), which we all know no longer exists. The second reason is of course related to the first and that is, there is no longer, for the time being, a need for a Beit HaMikdash, Yeshua is our offering.

In addition, just in case you might get the wrong impression, what I have taught here has absolutely no relationship to cremation, which I believe to be unbiblical.

Rabbi Jack "Yaacov" Farber is the spiritual leader of Congregation Melech Yisrael in Toronto, Canada.

Copyright 2004