07 Jun PARSHAS NASSO: DECLUTTERING OUR LIVES

All of us, I imagine,

find life stressful.

But at least for most

of us, it doesn’t have

to be this way. The

Torah in Parashat Naso discusses the

laws of a nazir – the person who

decides to raise his spiritual level by

spending a period of time – usually a

month – refraining from wine. After

he completes this period, the Torah

commands¨†–†דעומ†להוא†חתפ†לא†ותוא†איבי

he is required to come to the Bet

Ha’mikdash and bring special

sacrifices. Rashi points out that the

Torah does not say that the nazir

should come to the Bet Ha’mikdash,

but†rather†ותוא†איבי†–†he†is†broughtÆ

Rashi†explains†this†to†mean¨†תא†איבי

ומצע†–†“he†brings†himselfÆ”†This

sounds like a very strange thing to

say. Why doesn’t the Torah simply

state that the nazir comes? Why is the

nazir†described†as†“bringing

himself”øøø†The†answer¨†I†believe¨†is

that after observing this period, the

nazir is able to find himself, his

essence, his core, who he really is.

Marketers make us believe that our

lives will be so much better if we

purchase whatever it is they’re selling,

go wherever it is they want us to pay to

go, or do whatever it is they want us to

pay to do. Maybe in some situations

this is true, but most of the time, it’s

wrong. Very wrong. As our Rabbis

teach†in†Pirkeh†Avot¨†הברמ†םיסכנ†הברמ

הגאד†–†the†more†possessions†a†person

has, the more worries he has. And

they really meant it. The more we

have, the more we need to worry

about. The more cars we have, the

more trips to the garage we need to

make. The more homes we own, the

more leaks and electrical problems we

need to deal with. The more luxury

trips we take, the more we need to

pack and rush to the airport. That’s not

to say it’s wrong to purchase more

than one car or home, or to go on

vacations. The point is that all these

things come with a price beyond the

dollar amount. Having extra things

we don’t need, and doing extra things

we don’t need to do, clutter our lives.

They give us more stuff to think about

and worry about. They distract us.

They take us away from the things that

matter the most. The definition of

“holiness”†is†knowing†what†one†needs

and what he does not need, what

belongs in his life and what doesn’t,

what deserves more attention and

what deserves less or no attention.

This is what a nazir wants to do. He

takes the courageous step of saying

“no”†to†things†he†doesn’t†need¨†and

that would distract him from the

things he does need. The nazir is the

person†who†has†the†guts†to†say¨†“I

don’t need the latest iPhone. I don’t

need to make such a fancy wedding. I

don’t need to go away on vacation. I

don’t need to renovate again. I don’t

need another suit or outfit. All these

things make life complicated for no

reasonƆI’m†happier†living†simplyÆ”

The nazir is the person who recognizes

that a lean life is a happy life, that less

so often is more, that keeping things

simple eliminates unnecessary stress

and†makes†life†calmerƆÆומצע†תא†איבי

The nazir gets rid of the clutter in his

life so he can find himself, who he

really is, what’s really important. Let

us follow the nazir’s example, and

work to declutter our lives, because

having more does not mean we’re

better off – and often leads to more

stress and less happiness.