Naso – Lift Up

In the opening verses of this week’s Torah portion, we read about the tasks assigned to the various families of the Levite tribe in the Mishkan, the temporary Temple structure in the desert. When the Torah describes the tasks, the word “naso” is used.

Naso means to raise, or lift, indicating that the Levites’ Temple service was not merely a “job,” but meant to elevate them. Performing the prescribed service in the Temple is considered a great honor for the individual, and raises the person to a higher spiritual level.

This applies to every single Jewish person, whenever we perform a mitzvah. Doing a mitzvah as commanded by G-d is always to our benefit. We elevate ourselves and make ourselves more holy and more spiritual with each act. And by elevating ourselves, we elevate the world around us too.

With each mitzvah that we do, the world becomes holier, leading to the ultimate uplifting of the entire universe, with the coming of Moshiach!

Shabbat shalom.

Rabbi Rosenfeld
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