Family Parshah
Naso Q & A

They shall confess the sin that they committed. He shall make restitution for his guilt in its principal amount and add its fifth to it, and give it to the one to whom he is indebted. (5:7)

Question: Since only one person dealt dishonestly, why does the verse say "they shall confess" -- in the plural, and not "he shall confess" -- in the singular?

Answer: This Torah portion concerns someone who unlawfully holds the money of a fellow Jew, and includes the situation where a borrower denies the receipt of a loan, compounding the iniquity by swearing falsely that he owes nothing. Obviously, if there are witnesses, he is unable to deny it or swear to that effect.

The Talmud says1 that one should extend a loan in the presence of witnesses to avoid violating the Torah law "do not put a stumbling block before the blind,"2 for without witnesses, the borrower may be tempted to deny the loan entirely.

Consequently, both the borrower who denies the loan and the lender who gave it without witness have sinned. Therefore -- "they shall both confess" -- and resolve not to repeat their sin in the future.3

Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying: "So shall you bless the Children of Israel." (6:23)

Question: When the kohen recites the Priestly Blessing he must remove his shoes. Why?

Answer:  The Talmud4 says that if a kohen's shoelace breaks and he sits down in the middle of the blessing to fix it, people may suspect him of stopping in the middle of the blessing because he is a disqualified kohen, i.e. the son of a woman forbidden to marry a kohen. Therefore, the Rabbis forbade kohanim to wear shoes during the priestly blessing (even without laces).5

And establish peace for you. (6:26)

Question: When the kohanim conclude their blessing, it is customary for people to thank them by saying "yasher ko'ach" -- thank you.

It is a mitzvah for them to bless the people. Why do we thank them when they are commanded to do so?

Answer: When a kohen extends the blessings he is indeed fulfilling a commandment from G-d. However, he is at liberty to go to any synagogue he wants and recite the blessing there. The people of the synagogue which he selected are grateful to him for coming, and for this they say "thank you."6

The one who brought his offering on the first day was Nachshon the son of Aminadav... and his offering.... (7:12-13)

Question: Why is it written "and his offering" regarding Nachshon the son of Aminadav?

Answer: According to the sages,7 it was Netanel the son of Tzuar who suggested that all the heads of tribes bring offerings. Anyone who encourages others to do good deeds receives a reward for the encouragement and also shares the merit of the deeds themselves.

Therefore, although Nachshon brought his offering first, it is written "and his offering" to indicate that the merit was not entirely his, but shared with Netanel.