The Torah wants us to partake in the pleasures of life but in moderation. That is why the Nazir, a person who denies himself wine, grapes, a haircut or any contact with a dead body usually for a month. After this period, he has to bring a sin offering. It is a sin not to have permitted pleasure.
Now for a quick devar Torah.
In this week’s parsha, we read about the laws of the Nazir — the person who voluntarily takes on extra restrictions. He avoids wine and grapes, does not cut his hair, and distances himself from certain normal pleasures of life.
But the Torah’s attitude toward the Nazir is fascinating. On one hand, there may be a good reason for someone to become a Nazir. A person may realize, “Something in me is out of balance. I need discipline. I need to pull myself back.” The Gemara tells the story of a young man who saw his reflection and became impressed with his own beauty. Realizing that his ego was getting out of hand, he became a Nazir to bring himself back down to earth.
But on the other hand, when the Nazir completes his period, he brings a sin offering. Why? What sin did he commit? One explanation is that he denied himself pleasures that God permitted. Judaism does not believe that holiness means rejecting life. God gave us a world to enjoy — but to enjoy properly, with limits, discipline, and responsibility.
That is the key balance. The Torah does not want us to live like people who say, “Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die.” That is one extreme. But it also does not want us to deny ourselves everything and act as if pleasure itself is wrong. That is the other extreme.
The Jewish ideal is the golden mean: enjoy life, but within boundaries. Take pleasure in the world, but do not become enslaved by pleasure. Practice restraint when necessary, but do not turn restraint into a permanent way of life.
And this fits the larger theme of Sefer Bamidbar. The Jewish people are being transformed from a mob of former slaves into a nation. A nation needs people who are balanced, disciplined, and levelheaded — not pulled to one extreme or the other.
The Nazir teaches us that sometimes we need to step back in order to correct ourselves. But the goal is not extremism. The goal is to return to normal, healthy, responsible living — enjoying God’s world while staying within the limits that allow society, and the soul, to function properly.
Something to think about.
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