Summary of the Parasha
After the Kehatites in Bamidbar, the Torah details the role of the other two families of Levi, the Gershonites and the Merarites, who carry the parts of the Mishkan on wagons. Then come several laws:
- the Sotah, a woman suspected of unfaithfulness by her husband, who undergoes a test at the Temple; the Divine Name is dissolved in the water she drinks, to bring peace back to the home;
- the Nazir, who vows to dedicate himself to God for a time: he drinks no wine, does not cut his hair and does not become impure through contact with the dead. At the end of his vow, he brings offerings and shaves his head;
- Birkat Kohanim, the priestly blessing: “May Hashem bless you and keep you…”;
- the offerings of the princes of the twelve tribes for the inauguration of the Mishkan, one prince per day for twelve days.
Summary of the Haftara
“Vayehi Ish Echad MiTzorah” (“There was a man from Tzorah”)
Text in Judges 13:2–25
An angel of God appears to the wife of Manoach, of the tribe of Dan, who has long been childless, and tells her she will have a son. This child will be a Nazir from the womb: she herself must drink neither wine nor strong drink, nor eat anything impure, and no razor shall touch the boy’s head. Manoach wants to keep the angel and thank him; the angel advises him instead to bring an offering to God, and rises to heaven in the flame of the altar. The child is named Samson (Shimshon).
Parasha-Haftara Connection
The link is the Nazir: the parasha gives the laws, the haftara tells of the birth of the most famous of them all. His fame sometimes makes us forget that being a Nazir was usually a temporary state. The haftara also reminds us of the importance of the parents’ holiness from the very beginning of a child’s life: the mother is asked to live herself what her son will live.