“He shall not make himself unclean for his father, or for his mother, for his brother, or for his sister, when they die: because the crown of his God is upon his head.” (Bamidbar 6:7)

There are many different ways of approaching challenges, and especially as to how to use these challenges to further one’s growth. I call this the “swimming pool phenomenon”. There are people who will just jump into the pool and start swimming. There are others who will first put in a toe, then their foot, then their leg, and slowly get their whole body into the water. It is futile to argue which way is better because each person has their specific preference. But there are times when one of these styles will be more appropriate than the other.

This is also true in Avodas Hashem. Sometimes a person must take a quantum leap to get going; other times baby steps are necessary for steady, natural growth. One should examine the specific situation to determine which approach would be more effective.

The preferred approach for Avodas Hashem will also differ with one’s age. The young and energetic usually have the ability to take great strides in short amounts of time. When people are older, they usually are more successful when they take small steps and improve gradually.

When the Torah tells us about a kohen not becoming tamei meis, it excludes 7 relatives: Father, mother, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter. In this week’s parsha it discusses when a nazir can become tamei meis, but it omits becoming tamei for a son and daughter. Rav Yaakov Kamenetsky (1891 –1986), asks, “Why are they not mentioned?” He answers based on the ideas we expressed above. Becoming a nazir changes one’s lifestyle in an immediate and drastic way. Therefore, this is more appropriate for younger people who do not yet have children, so there is no reason for the Torah to mention them! (n.b. The halacha is that they may become tamei to the son and daughter) However there are situations where something which happens to a person is like a splash of cold water on their face, and they realize that they should become a nazir even at an older age.

For example, this week’s haftara speaks about Shimshon Hagibor, who was a different kind of nazir, as he was a nazir from birth. This was because Shimshon’s mother received such a wakeup call and was told by an angel of Hashem that she had to become a nazir in order to merit birthing Shimshon.

Parshas Nasso is the longest parsha in the Torah. The meforshim tell us that the reason it follows Shavuos is because, since we just accepted the Torah, we are “on a roll”, so we over-extend ourselves on this Shabbos in limud hatorah. Not only is the parsha the longest, but the medrash on Parshas Nasso is also the longest, because having just been invigorated to learn Torah, we put it to good use by learning more than we normally would.

This week, as we still have the adrenaline of Shavuos with us, we should all try to increase our limud torah and kiyum hamitzvos, in order to keep the Yom Tov spirit with us for a little longer.