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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ICONIC 20th CENTURY FURNITURE,
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PHOTO CREDIT: JAMIE BUSH + CO. AND LAURA HULL

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
DetroitFAA.com

DetroitFineArtAppraisals@gmail.com

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