Torah Portion of the Week

Nasso נשא

Numbers 4:21–7:89

Parshat Nasso ('Elevate') is the longest parsha in the Torah at 176 verses. It completes the Levite census and duties (Gershon and Merari families), then addresses the purity of the camp by expelling the ritually impure, the restitution process for robbery with a false oath, the dramatic ordeal of the Sotah (the suspected adulteress who drinks the bitter waters), and the laws of the Nazirite who consecrates himself through abstention from wine, haircuts, and corpse contamination. At its heart stands the Priestly Blessing — the three-verse formula by which the Kohanim bless the nation. The parsha concludes with an elaborate, repetitive account of the twelve tribal chieftains' identical offerings at the dedication of the altar, and God's voice speaking to Moses from between the two Cherubim atop the Ark.

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1 of 7

Census and Duties of Gershon and Merari

מפקד ועבודת גרשון ומררי

Numbers 4:21–4:49

God commands Moses to take a census of the Gershonites aged thirty to fifty for Tabernacle service. They carry the curtains, coverings, and screens of the Tabernacle and the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron. The Merarites carry the structural components: the planks, bars, pillars, sockets, pegs, and cords, each man assigned specific items by name. The census totals: Kohathites — 2,750; Gershonites — 2,630; Merarites — 3,200; grand total of Levites in active service — 8,580.

2 of 7

Purity of the Camp and Restitution

טהרת המחנה והשבת גזל

Numbers 5:1–5:10

God commands the Israelites to send out of the camp anyone afflicted with tzaraat, anyone with a bodily discharge, and anyone contaminated by contact with a corpse — so they do not defile the camp in whose midst God dwells. The Torah then addresses a person who wrongs another by committing a trespass against God (robbery accompanied by a false oath): they must confess their sin, restore the principal plus one-fifth, and bring a guilt offering. If the victim has no relative to receive the restitution, it goes to the priest.

3 of 7

The Sotah — The Suspected Adulteress

הסוטה

Numbers 5:11–5:31

If a man suspects his wife of infidelity — a spirit of jealousy comes upon him — he brings her to the priest with a meal offering of barley flour (no oil or frankincense). The priest sets her before God, loosens her hair, places the meal offering in her hands, and holds the 'bitter, curse-causing waters' containing sacred water mixed with earth from the Tabernacle floor and ink from a scroll on which the curses were written. If she is guilty, the waters cause her body to swell and her thigh to fall away; if innocent, she is cleared and will conceive. The husband bears no guilt for bringing her.

4 of 7

The Nazirite Vow

נזיר

Numbers 6:1–6:21

A man or woman who takes a Nazirite vow to consecrate themselves to God must abstain from wine, grape juice, vinegar, grapes, and raisins — nothing from the grapevine, from seeds to skin. They must not cut their hair — the hair is the crown of their consecration. They may not come near a dead body, not even for parents or siblings. If someone dies suddenly beside them, their consecration is defiled; they must shave on the seventh day, bring offerings on the eighth, and restart their Nazirite period. Upon completion, the Nazirite brings specific offerings, shaves their consecrated hair, and places it on the fire under the peace offering.

5 of 7

The Priestly Blessing

ברכת כהנים

Numbers 6:22–6:27

God tells Moses to instruct Aaron and his sons to bless the children of Israel with this formula: 'May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance upon you and grant you peace.' God concludes: 'They shall place My name upon the children of Israel, and I will bless them.'

6 of 7

The Tribal Chieftains' Offerings — Dedication of the Altar

קרבנות הנשיאים — חנוכת המזבח

Numbers 7:1–7:83

On the day Moses finishes erecting the Tabernacle, anointing and sanctifying it, the tribal chieftains bring their offerings. First, they present six covered wagons and twelve oxen for transporting the Tabernacle — four wagons to the Gershonites and two to the Merarites (the Kohathites carry their sacred objects on their shoulders). Then, over twelve consecutive days, each chieftain brings an identical dedication offering: a silver bowl and silver basin filled with fine flour mixed with oil, a gold ladle of incense, a bull, ram, and lamb for burnt offerings, a he-goat for a sin offering, and oxen, rams, he-goats, and lambs for peace offerings. The Torah records each tribe's offering individually despite their being identical.

7 of 7

The Voice from Between the Cherubim

הקול מבין הכרובים

Numbers 7:84–7:89

The parsha concludes with a summary of the total dedication offerings and a remarkable verse: when Moses enters the Tent of Meeting to speak with God, he hears the Voice speaking to him from above the Ark cover that is on the Ark of the Testimony, from between the two Cherubim — and God speaks to him.

Prophetic Reading

Haftarah הפטרה

Judges 13:2–13:25

שופטים

The birth of Samson as a Nazirite from the womb connects to the parsha's laws of the Nazirite vow. An angel appears to Manoah's wife, commanding that the child be consecrated to God.

Full Text

Parshat Nasso

Numbers 4:21–7:89 · 176 verses

First Aliyah

ראשוןNumbers 4:21–4:37

Chapter 4

פרק 4

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21 וַיְדַבֵּר יְהֹוָה אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹֽר

22 נָשֹׂא אֶת רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן גַּם הֵם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָֽם

23 מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה עַד בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה תִּפְקֹד אוֹתָם כׇּל הַבָּא לִצְבֹא צָבָא לַעֲבֹד עֲבֹדָה בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵֽד

24 זֹאת עֲבֹדַת מִשְׁפְּחֹת הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי לַעֲבֹד וּלְמַשָּֽׂא

25 וְנָשְׂאוּ אֶת יְרִיעֹת הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְאֶת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד מִכְסֵהוּ וּמִכְסֵה הַתַּחַשׁ אֲשֶׁר עָלָיו מִלְמָעְלָה וְאֶת מָסַךְ פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵֽד

26 וְאֵת קַלְעֵי הֶֽחָצֵר וְאֶת מָסַךְ פֶּתַח שַׁעַר הֶחָצֵר אֲשֶׁר עַל הַמִּשְׁכָּן וְעַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ סָבִיב וְאֵת מֵֽיתְרֵיהֶם וְאֶֽת כׇּל כְּלֵי עֲבֹדָתָם וְאֵת כׇּל אֲשֶׁר יֵעָשֶׂה לָהֶם וְעָבָֽדוּ

27 עַל פִּי אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו תִּהְיֶה כׇּל עֲבֹדַת בְּנֵי הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי לְכׇל מַשָּׂאָם וּלְכֹל עֲבֹדָתָם וּפְקַדְתֶּם עֲלֵהֶם בְּמִשְׁמֶרֶת אֵת כׇּל מַשָּׂאָֽם

28 זֹאת עֲבֹדַת מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי הַגֵּרְשֻׁנִּי בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד וּמִשְׁמַרְתָּם בְּיַד אִֽיתָמָר בֶּֽן אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵֽן

29 בְּנֵי מְרָרִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם לְבֵית אֲבֹתָם תִּפְקֹד אֹתָֽם

30 מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה וְעַד בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה תִּפְקְדֵם כׇּל הַבָּא לַצָּבָא לַעֲבֹד אֶת עֲבֹדַת אֹהֶל מוֹעֵֽד

31 וְזֹאת מִשְׁמֶרֶת מַשָּׂאָם לְכׇל עֲבֹדָתָם בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד קַרְשֵׁי הַמִּשְׁכָּן וּבְרִיחָיו וְעַמּוּדָיו וַאֲדָנָֽיו

32 וְעַמּוּדֵי הֶחָצֵר סָבִיב וְאַדְנֵיהֶם וִיתֵֽדֹתָם וּמֵיתְרֵיהֶם לְכׇל כְּלֵיהֶם וּלְכֹל עֲבֹדָתָם וּבְשֵׁמֹת תִּפְקְדוּ אֶת כְּלֵי מִשְׁמֶרֶת מַשָּׂאָֽם

33 זֹאת עֲבֹדַת מִשְׁפְּחֹת בְּנֵי מְרָרִי לְכׇל עֲבֹדָתָם בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד בְּיַד אִֽיתָמָר בֶּֽן אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵֽן

34 וַיִּפְקֹד מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן וּנְשִׂיאֵי הָעֵדָה אֶת בְּנֵי הַקְּהָתִי לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם וּלְבֵית אֲבֹתָֽם

35 מִבֶּן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וָמַעְלָה וְעַד בֶּן חֲמִשִּׁים שָׁנָה כׇּל הַבָּא לַצָּבָא לַעֲבֹדָה בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵֽד

36 וַיִּהְיוּ פְקֻדֵיהֶם לְמִשְׁפְּחֹתָם אַלְפַּיִם שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת וַחֲמִשִּֽׁים

37 אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי מִשְׁפְּחֹת הַקְּהָתִי כׇּל הָעֹבֵד בְּאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד אֲשֶׁר פָּקַד מֹשֶׁה וְאַהֲרֹן עַל פִּי יְהֹוָה בְּיַד מֹשֶֽׁה

21 GOD spoke to Moses:

22 Take a census of the Gershonites also, by their ancestral house and by their clans.

23 Record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of tasks for the Tent of Meeting.

24 These are the duties of the Gershonite clans as to labor and porterage:

25 They shall carry the cloths of the Tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting with its covering, the covering of dolphin skin that is on top of it, and the screen for the entrance of the Tent of Meeting;

26 The hangings of the enclosure, the screen at the entrance of the gate of the enclosure that surrounds the Tabernacle, the cords thereof, and the altar, and all their service equipment and all their accessories; and they shall perform the service.

27 All the duties of the Gershonites, all their porterage and all their service, shall be performed on orders from Aaron and his sons; you shall make them responsible for attending to all their porterage.

28 Those are the duties of the Gershonite clans for the Tent of Meeting; they shall attend to them under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

29 As for the Merarites, you shall record them by the clans of their ancestral house;

30 You shall record them from the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who are subject to service in the performance of the duties for the Tent of Meeting.

31 These are their porterage tasks in connection with their various duties for the Tent of Meeting: the planks, the bars, the posts, and the sockets of the Tabernacle;

32 The posts around the enclosure and their sockets, pegs, and cords—all these furnishings and their service: you shall list by name the objects that are their porterage tasks.

33 Those are the duties of the Merarite clans, pertaining to their various duties in the Tent of Meeting under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.

34 So Moses, Aaron, and the chieftains of the community recorded the Kohathites by the clans of their ancestral house,

35 From the age of thirty years up to the age of fifty, all who were subject to service for work relating to the Tent of Meeting.

36 Those recorded by their clans came to 2,750.

37 That was the enrollment of the Kohathite clans, all those who performed duties relating to the Tent of Meeting, whom Moses and Aaron recorded at GOD’s command through Moses.