Rabbi Charles P. Sherman
Megan Nicole Godwin Bat Mitzvah
Shabbat Naso
June 14, 2003
The Sin of the Nazarite – Then and Now
Megan read to us this morning the law of the Nazarite. It is a strange law which has baffled generations of readers and scholars. Basically the law provides that if a person takes an oath to abstain from all wine or other intoxicating drink and not cut his hair, he must keep his vow. Then when the term of the oath is over, he must bring a burnt-offering (a sacrifice) and a sin offering. Now why a sin-offering? What is the sin involved in being a Nazarite? Let me share with you this morning three different explanations which are found side by side within our tradition, and then give you a modern explanation.
One of the pre-eminent teachers of Judaism was Moses Maimonides. Maimonides says that the sin is in becoming a Nazarite itself. After all, Maimonides argues, God made wine and strong drink in order to gladden the heart; the Nazarite abstains from them – that is the sin.
Maimonides cites a wonderful passage from the Talmud: “In the world-to-come a person will have to give an accounting for all the pleasures that God created in this world from which he abstained.” According to this view, Judaism is a life-affirming faith and, therefore, whoever abstains from, avoids, the joys of this world is a sinner. We Jews often cite this view with pride. We boast that we do not have monasteries or nunneries, that we teach our children to drink on Shabbat and at the seder – and to make a blessing when they do – and that this is what prevents our children from becoming alcoholics. For us, strong drink and wine are not temptations of the devil, but joys created by God.
Nachmonides, another eminent exponent of Judaism, gives an exact opposite explanation of this law. He says that the sin is not becoming a Nazarite as Maimonides claims, but the sin is forsaking it. That is, it wasn’t taking the oath of becoming a Nazarite that was the sin, but ending it. Nachmonides says that if a person really wants to obtain a high spiritual level, the only way to do so is by transcending his attachment to material things. In this case, the Nazarite has done so and has reached a stage of purity. How, then, can he give it up and go back to his previous state?
We are not used to thinking of aestheticism as a part of Judaism, but Nachmonides is an important and respected authority and, if he says so, we must take this point of view seriously. Who can deny that the only way to really reach a high spiritual level is by not being overly-attached to material things.
Solomon Astruc offers a third explanation, different from that of Maimonides and Nachmonides. He says the sin is not in becoming a Nazarite as Maimonides thought, and not in stopping being a Nazarite as Nachmonides taught. Astruc felt that the sin was in becoming so addicted to wine and strong drink that the only way he could overcome his addiction was by taking this drastic step of swearing to become a total tea-totaler. Astruc says the sin was in becoming so compulsively drawn to drink that the only way he could break his addiction was by going cold turkey and taking a sacred vow to abstain. Once he had completed the time set in his vow, he could return to drinking in moderation, safely once again.
This sounds very contemporary doesn’t it? Addiction to alcohol and other drugs has become a major concern in our generation. It is a problem not only in the barrio and the ghetto, but in the country club and the posh restaurants and wherever the elite meet to eat and drink. We can relate to this interpretation which sees total abstinence as the necessary way back from addiction, as a stage towards recovery. His addiction was the sin for which the Nazarite had to bring an offering.
Three interesting explanations for the same strange, difficult to understand law. I want to share with you one more, this one by Rabbi Dow Marmur, a contemporary colleague. He says that to be a Nazarite is to go on a religious binge. The community can not really stop those who do it, for they show commitment and zeal. But nor can it celebrate the zealots in their lack of balance and sobriety. Judaism requires structure and routine, not periodic excursions into excess – hence, the sin-offering.
Now what Megan read to us in her Haftorah was the announcement of the impending birth of probably the most famous Nazarite in Jewish history – Samson. The Samson story is that of a man who squanders his God-given powers for the most spurious of reasons. He may have done some harm to our Philistine enemies, but only by destroying himself. The Samson story may have been popular then, but Samson has never been a role model for the authentic Jew.
I think the reason is obvious. The life of the spirit is not a series of peaks, but a steady, laborious, sometimes even boring climb. Those who go for the peaks really never get very far and usually come tumbling down and sometimes, like Samson, they cause havoc on their way down. But those who walk steadily stand a chance of reaching their destination – even if it is by the sweat of their brow.
I’m with Marmur. Judaism isn’t ecstasy but halacha – steady walking. The words of the Prophet Micah, which I have prominently displayed in my office, teach: “It has been told you, O man, what is good and what God requires of you – only to do justice and to love mercy and to walk modestly with your God.” Religion at its best is about walking modestly or humbly with God. The Nazarite is a religious show-off. Hence, the sin-offering.
Now, today especially, this Marmur-Sherman interpretation is not popular. Many Jews and non-Jews today, to the extent that they attend religious services, want to be transported to new heights by whatever means will get them there – as long as they are spared the laborious climb. Some say they aren’t interested in religion, just in spirituality. I hear this as saying they wouldn’t mind being Nazarites occasionally, for example, by going on a meditation retreat as a vacation to religion. But they do not want to be subjected to regular prayer and observance; they want to reach the destination without having to make the journey. They want short trips, gimmicks – physical or chemical – to give them the illusion they are moving even when they are standing still.
Perhaps it has always been like that, but it seems to be more prevalent in our time. The well-off and the successful begin to realize that wealth and prominence have not brought fulfillment and happiness. They want more out of life – some call it spirituality – but they are in a bind. Though they say they want to transcend materialism, they are too steeped in it to abandon it. So they act as consumers in search of alleged anti-consumerism, and they hope to acquire it like any other commodity. Instead of trying to earn it, they want to buy it and pay for it at the express counter.
Consumerism is tied to a market economy. As long as there is demand, there will be supply. So in our time, I think more than ever before, there are ostensibly religious outfits which promise consumers what they want. Our society is teaming with gurus, rebbes and other wonder-makers who offer shortcuts to Heaven. They prey on all while they claim to pray for all. But the rich and the bored are special targets because they pay better. And, of course, the more people pay the more they tend to believe that they are getting better value for their money.
Friends, it is only a fad. Unlike some sociologists who predict the demise of conventional religion in favor of the Nazarite/Charismatic/Renewal movements, I am among those who advocate a steady course and who try to lead people on the laborious climb. Sure, I’d like to make the journey as painless and as enjoyable as possible, but I am not prepared to abandon the course by offering phony flights to the top, for I fear disastrous crashes. Holiness is hard work; it cannot be had without application and integrity.
As Reform Jews, we may interpret the walking – halacha – differently from other Jews, but we have not abandoned our commitment to it, even when we choose different methods. If anything, Reform Judaism has expanded Judaism by enlarging the scope of what we consider to be the routine of Jewish living.
The difference between our approach and the approach of New-Age religions – Evangelical, Oriental, Christian and Jewish – is that we believe that the essence of spirituality is serving God, not the self. That is why study is so central to us. The Bible and its interpreters teach us how to serve God in community. Those only concerned about the self promise individual fulfillment in place of collective responsibility. No wonder they are more popular; they have married consumerism to narcissism. I, not God, am now the center of the universe. God is only there to give me light, to inspire me. And, above all, not to call me unless I call Her.
Marmur says it is the difference between therapy and theology. Therapy is about me; theology is about God. Yes, I am important to myself; but, if I am more important to myself than anybody else, I cannot over love. For when I love I consider the object of my love more important to me than I am to myself. “You shall love the Eternal with all your heart, all your soul and all your might.”
Love is very different from falling in love. Nazarites fall in love with a fantasy god. Those who follow the way of halacha learn to love the real God. Falling in love leads to romantic religion. Normative Judaism is classic religion. Romantics owe God a sin-offering when they come out of their trance.
New Agism tries to supplant tradition not to expand it. As for us Reform Jews, instead of seeking to cultivate Nazarites, we recruit ordinary Jews and show them how to walk modestly with God. Instead of offering free trips to Heaven, we provide pay-as-you-can excursions to the Temple. While it may be less glamorous, I believe it is far more lasting.
This congregation is a good example. Once it was an exponent of classical Reform Judaism; it feels very different now than it used to. Instead of going on religious binges and cultivating Nazarites, we have made the climb easier, more interesting and stimulating, even though it is as steep as it has ever been. I hope that the result is not more ostentatious piety, but more honest walking with God. Not less social action in favor of anti-social meditation, but a wider range of work in the service of God, a more comprehensive register of spirituality. Our renewed interest in prayer and study has not diminished our commitment to the homeless or to the sick. On the contrary, each has enhanced the other.
I am comfortable preaching this sermon today because our Bat Mitzvah is part of a family who has learned this lesson well. The Cohens and Godwins – often three generations strong – are here week after week, Shabbat, festivals and Holydays. Not just for the specials – the Scholars and Artists-in-Residence, Rock’n Soul or TGIS services. Megan and her sisters have the most consistent attendance record of all our Religious School students. They are here not only for all Junior Choir performances, but also for all the practices and rehearsals. They understand the precept of walking modestly, humbly, steadily with God.
I believe this is the Judaism of the future, as it is the Judaism of all centuries – the Judaism that instructed the Nazarite to bring a sin-offering. Friends, instead of being fascinated by alien Nazarites, let us be inspired by our own co-workers. Better still, let us try to join those who laboriously and slowly, week-in and week-out, climb to the top where the view is clearer and the purpose of serving God is more obvious. Amen
In preparing this message, I have benefitted from the writings of Rabbi’s Dow Marmur and Jack Riemer
