Letting Hashem In – Parshas Nasso 5769
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Loading ...ואם לא נטמאה האשה וטהרה היא ונקתה ונזרעה זרע (ה:כח).
“If she (the suspected Sotah, adulterous woman) was innocent then she will be exonerated and will be blessed with children” (5:28).
The Sotah goes through a fascinating investigative process. She drinks the bitter water. If she is guilty, then she becomes bloated and her body explodes in full view of all the people assembled. If she is innocent, she will live and is given a blessing for the rest of her life that she will be fruitful and produce strong and healthy children.
At first glance, both these two options seem hard to understand. They appear quite extreme. If she is guilty, why does the Torah dictate that she should perish so dramatically, could she not just die silently, why all of the fanfare and embarrassment? On the other hand, if she did not have relations with the man, why is she given such a great reward? Did we forget that she still went into seclusion with a man whom her husband warned her not to interact with, she is not that innocent? So why does the Torah give her such a great blessing?
The simple explanation is well known and after presenting it I would like to offer a deeper insight. The purpose of the Sotah’s dramatic death is so that people will see what happened to her and take a lesson to steer away from perversion. In fact, the Torah’s idea is that one who sees it will be inspired to accept Nazirus upon himself to help train himself to stay away from the distractions of the world! On the other hand, if she is innocent, her husband may be reluctant to take her back, thus, just as for the sake of peace Hashem allowed His name to be erased, so too Hashem offers the couple a great blessing as encouragement to bring them back to a peaceful union.
I believe it is deeper than this. Chazal (BM”R 9:12) say that adultery is one of the worst sins, as it shows a complete rebellion against the spouse and against Hashem’s boundaries. Therefore, if she is guilty, she (and the man involved who will die the same way as well) has made a statement that she does not want Hashem to be part of her live. There is no room in her heart for the Word of Hashem. But Hashem wants to enter our hearts and permeate our existence. So when His Holy Name is drunk by her a conflict arises. The holiness wants to expand and give to her, but her body is not interested. Perhaps this figurative spiritual friction is manifest by her physical explosion! She bursts because there is no way for Hashem to remain part of her!
The “innocent woman” on the other hand, true that she certainly is no righteous woman, as shown by her seclusion with a prohibited man, but at least she stopped herself! This is a message to Hashem that she is at least trying to improve! Thus, for her when the water enters her body, there is room to expand and the Word of Hashem brings the greatest blessings! Accordingly, she gets a great reward!
This is the way that Hashem set up the world, He wants to give and provide for us. He knocks on our doors and hearts desiring to give us only good. Our job is to open up and let Him in! Chazal in Berachos (42a and Rashi there) state, “immediately when you bring Talmidey Chachomim into your home, you will have many blessings!”
The water given to the Sotah was taken from the Kiyor, Lever, in the Beis HaMikdash. This device was made from the mirrors which the women donated. Moshe was reluctant to accept it until Hashem commanded him to. Those mirrors were used by the women in Egypt to adorn themselves to catch their husband’s attention so that they would build their families. This great Mitzvah that they performed is the beautiful act of building the Jewish home for Hashem. Their actions done L’shem Shemayim, for the sake of Heaven, were the strength and encouragement to keep the Nation alive! In the merit of the faithfulness of the women we were redeemed from Egypt!
The Sotah drinks from the Kiyor waters to point to the exact explanation as to what was expected of her. If Hashem was divorced from her heart, and she did not follow in her great grandmother’s footstep, then she will explode. If she wants to connect with Hashem and is beginning to put in effort to act like those great women, then she is blessed! The water manifests how she answered the question of “do you want Hashem part of your life or not?” We too must ask ourselves this question. When one recognizes that true service of Hashem brings genuine happiness and blessing, then he will open up and let Hashem in!
