Don Isaac Abravanel, sometimes spelled Abarbanel (1437-1508) was a probing and penetrating Jewish thinker, as well as a prolific
Biblical commentator. He takes on the fascinating phenomenon of the Nazir in Numbers 6. In particular,
Abravanel explores the juxtaposition of our chapter dealing with the laws of Nazirites with the previous
one pertaining to the sotah. What’s the connection, Abravanel asks, between a woman suspected of
infidelity and someone who foreswears life’s comforts?
“And God spoke unto Moses saying. Speak unto the Children of Israel,
and say unto them. When either man or woman shall clearly utter a vow,
the vow of a Nazirite, to consecrate himself unto God.”
“He shall abstain from wine and strong drink. He shall drink no vinegar of wine, or vinegar of strong
drink. Neither shall he drink any liquor of grapes, nor eat fresh grapes or dried.” The Nazir refrains from
more: “All the days of his vow of Naziriteship there shall no razor come upon his head…he shall not
come near a dead body.” All told, the Nazir, on his own volition, adds to the Torah’s other prohibitions.
At the end of the Naziriteship – carrying a minimum obligation of thirty days – the Nazir went to the
Holy Temple. There he brought sacrifices. What does it all add up to? For Abravanel, context is all-
important, shedding light on the unkempt, teetotaler Nazir.
The Torah teaches about natural levels or strata within the Hebrew body politic. Accordingly, priests
chiefly stand apart as men who officiated in the Tabernacle. Levites, too, took their special societal
positions reserved for their tribe insofar as they assisted with Tabernacle tasks. As for the Israelites,
tribal formations and banners lent them an air of élan during the desert sojourn.
In God’s interest to assure an orderly Jewish encampment, more arrangements were established. He
commanded those people who contracted spiritual defilement to leave home until their spiritual purity
had been restored. Thieves and other ruffians, similarly, were escorted out of the Hebrew encampment
pending behavior rehabilitation. Finally, Abravanel puts forth, children born of unsanctioned sexual
relations were sent out of mainstream communal life. We’re speaking about heinous cases where a
sotah got pregnant from her paramour.
After this backdrop, Abravanel brings us to Numbers 6 and to the intriguing subject of the Nazirite. Of all
the layers and sub-tiers within the Jewish community, none rank higher than the Nazarite, a class unto
itself. The holiest of the holy, says Abravanel. Indeed, in certain regards, the Nazir reaches higher levels
than priests or Levites.
How so? Priests derive their loftiness by dint of their priestly fathers’ DNA. How different are Nazirites!
They are men and women who aspire to moral greatness on their own accord. Their religious trajectory
or upward journey begins with them, with solemn words uttered: “When either man or woman shall
clearly utter a vow…” Their arduous ride may be short-lived (30 days) or until their last days on earth.
A Nazir’s highly-regulated lifestyle surpasses that of priests. Priests, for example, may cut their hair. The
Hebrew etymology shines light on the Nazir. The term’s root implies separation and distinction.
Alternatively, Abravanel suggests, the word Nazir conveys “crown”, as in royalty. Does a Nazir not don
uncut hair as a king his crown?
Above all, Nazirites strove to enhance or bolster their relationship with the One Above, as the Torah
makes explicit: “When either man or woman shall clearly utter a vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to
consecrate himself unto God.”
See Abravanel’s World for the entire discussion of the Nazir, one that also delves into the rationale
behind the different sacrifices he brought at the conclusion of his Naziriteship.
