MAY 20 • 2021 | 89
SPIRIT
TORAH PORTION
Recognizing The
Individual
I
n Parshat Naso, the longest
parshah in the entire Torah,
we read about the dedication
of the altar and the gifts and sac-
rifices that each Nasi (prince of
the tribe) brought. It goes on to
detail the sacrifices of
all 12 Nesiim, making
it clear that they all
brought precisely the
same things.
When reading this,
we have the question
of why does the Torah
repeat itself, multiple
times? It could have
specified one, and
then merely added
that “the same thing
was brought by the
Nesiim of all the other tribes”
without the repetition of what
they brought and mentioning
each name!
The question gets stronger
when we consider the fact that
there are many important laws
in the Torah that are conveyed
with just a few limited words or
Torah laws that are not men-
tioned in the actual text of the
Torah at all!
The repetition here comes to
teach us a lesson in interperson-
al relationships. A person can
come along and donate to his
local synagogue, even though
another 50 people donated the
same thing or same amount.
Still, he needs to be acknowl-
edged and thanked for it.
This phenomenon was true
across all the generations and
how much more so in today’s
generation. People crave rec-
ognition and praise for their
actions and the fact that other
people have done the same thing
doesn’t matter at all.
It’s the same thing at a college
graduation, where thousands of
students graduate at the same
time. In the crowd, you’ll have
parents waiting patiently for
hours listening to all the names
being called out, just to hear the
name of their son or daughter
mentioned, despite the fact
that there are thousands of
other students graduating at
the same time.
On Israel’s Memorial Day,
the Israeli Army reads the
name of every fallen soldier,
and we’re talking about close
to 24,000 soldiers. Still, fami-
lies sit by and wait to hear the
names of their loved ones.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe,
of righteous memory, had a
custom of standing for hours
on end giving out dollars for
blessings to every individual
who passed by, even infants and
toddlers. The Rebbe personally
acknowledged each individual
for every achievement that he or
she had achieved, serving as a
living example for us on how to
relate to people.
Each us of needs to constantly
remember to value and hold in
high regard every action taken
by every person, regardless of
how small or insignificant that
action may be.
This is the lesson of this week’s
Torah portion: If the Torah can
“waste” so many verses and
repeat over and over the same
sacrifices brought by the 12 dif-
ferent princes, how much more
so can we follow the Torah’s
example and “waste” words of
praise and recognition for oth-
ers.
Rabbi Schneor Greenberg is rabbi of
the Chabad Jewish Center of Commerce,
JewishCommerce.org.
Rabbi
Schneor
Greenberg
Parshat Naso:
Numbers
4:21-7:80;
Judges
13:2-25.
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WE ARE OBSERVING ALL STATE COVID-19
GUIDELINES & RESTRICTIONS
248.709.9648
Let our experienced team at Le Shoppe Too & Changing
Hands handle your Estate Sale needs. Your items can
be valued and consigned or auctioned at our store.
We offer hands free-hassle free estate sales.
Call Leslie Weisberg today for a free consultation
changinghandsestates.com
3325 ORCHARD LAKE RD, KEEGO HARBOR, MI
248.481.8884
www.leshoppetoo.com
UPSCALE CONSIGNMENT & AUCTION HOUSE
ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE,
FINE-ART, HOME DECOR & LIGHTING
Support Local
Businesses
HOURS
TUES–SAT Noon–5pm | MON closed
SUN & evenings by appointment only
FREE
preliminary
art appraisals
Wednesday’s 12-4
with Terri
DFAA:
248.672.3207
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