Remember it is the Nazarites who are holy only unto God and the idea of a king in power over them is unheard of. This idea also permeates into the Mandaean religion where the closet thing you have to a king on earth are the priest who are the representatives in a sense of the true melki (Kings) of the heavens. This is the place where I believe any connection between that of Judaism and Mandaeaism parted company. Israel went toward a monarchy and the Nazarites kept to themselves but over the years became a thorn in the side of religious theologians who sought to elevate their own religion had to degrade the Nazarites in the Jewish eyes in order to support their own ideas.
This is why the Nazarites in the Old Testament were told they had to give the sin offering. When the Nazarites vow expires, sometime after thirty days, he cannot just re-enter society according to Jewish theology. Instead the Nazarite must bring two offerings to a Jewish priest: a burn offering and a sin offering.
It is only the nazirite - and not the Jewish priest - who may not cut a single hair on his head. And after the conclusion of the nazirite vow, his entire head must be shorn, and the hair is then burned on the altar.
What is the symbolism of hair? And why let it grow long in the first place, only to have it eventually burnt on the altar? Jewish theologians’ note that the laws of the suspected adulteress (sota) immediately follow Rashi’s comment on the laws of the Nazarite (Num. 5:11-31). This is interpreted as being a psychological affinity between these two SINS. In the case of the adulteress after a man sees the adulteress in her shame, he will remove himself from wine, which is often the source of transgression. In the case of the Nazarite hair, the hair itself is seen as a sexual item. The cutting of Samson’s hair is famous for it’s sexual overtones.
The Talmud records that the high priest Simon the Righteous (or Simon the Just) had never eaten from the guilt offering of a nazirite except for one. Simon disapproved because he considered it a sin to renounce pleasures, which God created for the benefit of people. He made only one exception to this rule and of this he wrote:
The connection between the Nazarite and their long hair can also be seen in the New Testament where Paul states:
Paul in his speech to the Corinthians is insisting that all those who follow Christ would have short hair rather than the long hair, which indicates a follower of the Nazarites.
The objective of the Jewish community is to remain within the community and elevate the holiness and purity of the community. The Nazarite actions contradict the sanctity of the community. The Nazarite cannot prepare appropriately for an upcoming holiday with the rest of the community. According to Halacha, one prepares for a holiday by cutting hair, washing clothes, and preparing festive meals. Nazarites of course do not cut their hair and that in it’s self violates Jewish traditions.
According to Rashi one should enjoy God's gifts, if not forbidden thus the Nazarite sins. Rabbi Eleazar Hakappar states that by denying themselves the enjoyments of life which God prepares for all human beings, the Nazarite neglected the commandments of the Torah and were sinners. Simeon the Just (Righteous) and R. Simeon are also of the same opinion that a Nazarite is a sinner.
Maimonides, in the Mishneh Torah, warns against the tendency to conclude that all forms of bodily pleasure lead to sin, and therefore, should be avoided.
The Nazarites vows appear to be in conflict with the Torah and this is the basis for the debate between scholars over the Nazarite sin.
Ramban says that the sins is in limiting the Nazirite period and returning to a lower freer lifestyle. Elazer concludes that a Nazarite is a saint:
To be or not to be a Nazarite is indeed as hotly debated today as it was over 2000 years ago. In essence there is agreement among these ancient Jewish teachers that some degree of self-control and moderation are desirable. But most ancient and modern Jewish theologians also agree that the absolute denial and restrictions of our physical needs is both unhealthy and unholy.
The question is still unanswered: why this hatred towards the Nazarites if they are of the Jewish faith introduced by Moses and given the blessing of God? |
