The Power of the Gift

This week’s Torah portion is Nasso, which means take. Moses continues to take a census of the Levites; and the Levites are assigned tasks for dismantling and carrying the Tabernacle. Instructions for purifying the camp are given, there is a process to atone for sins, and laws that have been abandoned, such as the trial by ordeal, when a husband is suspicious of a wife; and the rules for temporary nuns and monks, the Nazarites, are outlined. This portion famously includes the Priestly Benediction; and concludes with the description of identical offerings of the tribal families for the dedication of the altar.
Sometimes when I read the Torah, something catches my attention. I make a note of it, and it’s only later that I realize that most of the portion actually addresses this one concept. Here are some verses to consider: “God spoke to Moses, saying, Speak to the Children of Israel: a man or woman who commits any human sins, by committing treachery toward God and that person shall become guilty – they shall confess their sin that they committed; he shall make restitution for his guilt in its principal amount and add it’s fifth to it, and give it to the one to whom he is indebted. If the man has not kinsman to whom the debt can be returned, the returned debt is for God, for the Kohen, aside from the ram of atonement with which he shall provide him atonement.” (Num. 5:5-8)

This verse speaks about atonement, but also about giving. The entire sacrificial system is predicated on giving. Giving, in the Torah, is the mechanism for drawing closer to God, for atonement, and for celebrating. Also, in this Torah portion specifically, the Levites give their labor to God, the Tabernacle, and to the community of the Israelites. The Nazarites give their time and good intentions. The priests give their blessings, as well as their time, labor, and attention. The Tribal families give gifts. Giving, then, is very important for a number of reasons. We might ask, why is it that giving effects atonement and why is giving so important? We might think that confession effects atonement, or perhaps confession and personal change, and that certainly is true. But personal transformation is also a form of giving, one in which we dedicate ourselves and give ourselves over to acting in consonance with what we know is right, which is almost always what the Source of Life has asked us to do.

The verses from Nasso also teach us that in order to repair whatever we have done or have taken, we need to give more than we might expect; just the way one who has stolen something must return the stolen goods and also pay a fine. It’s the giving that reestablishes our harmonious relationships with each other and with the Divine Presence; and it doesn’t matter what we give, as long as our intentions in giving are good and pure. In a sense, all we have to give is ourselves. All of life, including giving, works the way love works. By giving love we set in motion the conditions for receiving it. By giving to each other, we set in motion the forces that allow us to receive and to grow, to feel good about ourselves and be able to share with each other.

The converse is also true. In the Talmud: R. Yochanan said, If someone keeps for himself the gifts he is required to turn over to the priests, God will punish him by depriving him of his prosperity and leaving him with nothing more than the small amount that he should have given away to God’s servants. R. Nachman b. Yitzchak affirms that giving causes us to receive: “Whoever has priestly gifts and gives them to the Kohen will be come wealthy, as it says, figuratively, whatever a person gives to the Kohen will belong to the giver.” (The Torah Revealed, R. A.Y. Finkel). As always, in spiritual life, our participation is required, and we are the impetus for our own growth, well-being, and prosperity. Not that we have total control, but that without our giving of ourselves, we make no progress. We can give time, Money, kindness, and teaching. We can give love, we can give help. The more we give the happier we become, as long as we are giving with open hearts and balanced judgment.

In the Midrash it says, (Midrash Rabba Numb. 8:7): “ by virtue of his own merit he will enjoy the fruit of his actions both in this world and in the next. Hence it is written, When thou eat the labor of your hands, meaning, the good deeds which he has painstakingly performed in this world; as you read, And there the weary are at rest (Job III, 17), and also, Whatsoever your hand attains to do by your strength, that do… (Eccl. IX, 10). What is his reward? Happy shall you be, and it shall be well with you.” Giving is the way the world works. One metaphor is seeing the world as a giant pocketwatch, whose many gears and springs work harmoniously together, each part contributing to the whole. In human interactions, withholding causes relationships to break down, but giving builds them up, gives us joy, and allows us to feel connected to God and each other. When we are sad, when we need to atone, when we want to reconnect, giving is the mechanism by which we can make a change. The Source of Life provides us with countless opportunities to give. All we have to do is to open ourselves to the awareness that opportunities are constantly being sent to us, and then seize them by giving generously to ourselves and the universe. May we be givers to each other, of whatever we are, and whatever we have to give, and by so doing, be among those who enrich life and live in great joy.