This week in the Book of Numbers, we find two unusual practices right next to each other. The first is a trial for the wife of a jealous husband. The second is the temporary vow of the Nazirite – a way of undergoing a spiritual commitment through a vowed time of minor abstinence.
A possible link between these practices may be the idea that public exposure should make us think twice about things.
In the first case, the husband consumed by jealousy has an outlet, but only by a thorough public airing of his suspicions about his wife’s fidelity, because he needs to go to the priesthood at the Temple, in full view of everyone.
In the second case, a person who wants to make a spiritual change, for whatever reason, also needs to go into the public square, through the offices of the priesthood again, in order to declare their time as a Nazirite.
In both instances, taking something public may be seen as a potential barrier, a speed bump, to making a case about a suspicion, or devoting oneself to a quick spiritual fix.
In this way, the Torah may be reminding us something that we desperately need to remember today. Namely, when we express difficulties with people, or similarly, commit to the newest personal self-improvement method, we must try it out in private first. I believe we are more willing than ever to go to a wide audience with a personal issue, and that we may need to be more careful than ever, considering how quickly misinformation spreads.
Wishing everyone a wonderful week,
Jonathan