Shiur #1: Sota and Nazir: Why are They 'Out of Place?'
Shiur #2: Sefer Bamidbar and Tehillim 78

Sota and Nazir: Why are They 'Out of Place?'

Parshat Naso contains what appears to be a very strange progression of parshiot. After all, what logical connection exists between the duties of the Leviim, the laws of "korban chatat" and "sotah," the laws of "nazir" and "birkat kohanim," and the dedication ceremony of the Mishkan? To your surprise, this week's shiur will not explain why they are indeed connected. Instead, we will do exactly the opposite - we will explain why these parshiot do not follow in logical progression! To understand why, we must consider the 'nuts & bolts' of Sefer Bamidbar. That means that we will analyze the sefer (as usual) in search of its unifying theme. While doing so, we will uncover a rather fascinating pattern - unique to Sefer Bamidbar. A pattern that explains why many of its 'pieces' just don't seem to fit.

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Sefer Bamidbar and Tehillim 78

Our study of Sefer Bamidbar shows how God's high hopes for the generation of "dor ha'midbar" are shattered by the tragic events of the "mitaavim" and the "meraglim," etc. What went wrong? Why was "dor ha'midbar" a failure? In Sefer Tehillim (chapter 78) we find an explanation of the underlying reason for Bnei Yisrael's sinful behavior, an interpretation which takes on additional significance today.

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