The first is the law of the Sotah (woman suspected of adultery). This occurs in a case where her husband, for whatever reason at all (or for no reason) becomes suspicious of his wife, believing that she slept with someone else. He is to bring her to court and present his suspicions that she was unfaithful to him. If there is any independent evidence, the court follows those leads. But if there is no evidence and no witnesses, all they can rely on is her testimony, which is suspect (since it concerns her). Unlike in other ancient societies, and a few still in existence, the Torah presents a "test" (ordeal) that may be run to determine whether or not she 'stepped out on her husband.' It involves the kohanim (official priests) who work at the Tabernacle (and, later on, the Temple), who question the woman at each step of the procedure, eventually leading to her drinking "bitter, cursing waters" that contain both soil from the floor of the tent of meeting and the dissolved words of a curse written on parchment. If the woman explodes, she had committed adultery. If not, her innocence had been proven - publicly - and she

would become pregnant.

The second case is that of the Nazir (Nazirite), a person who - for whatever personal reason, including feelings of guilt over something they had done - vowed to take on some limitations in his or her life. They abstained from alcohol and from all grape products, they let their hair grow without it being cut, and they avoided coming in contact with ritual impurity for the entire period of their naziritude (?), which could extend anywhere from a month to years. When they completed the term of naziritude, they were to shave themselves completely (including all the hair on their head, eyebrows, etc) and burn the hair as a symbol of foregoing their temporary status. Interestingly, they also had to bring a sin offering, which the rabbis explain to be in payment for the "sin" of rejecting legitimate pleasures that God provided (drinking, shaving, etc). We Jews are not real big on asceticism!

Finally, the third section is the priestly blessing, which we still use on Shabbat and holidays and other times (May God bless you and keep you...). The words that introduce this section in the Torah tell us that the kohanim were given this instruction: thus shall you bless the people Israel. In other words, it's not merely that the kohanim are the only ones ALLOWED to bless the rest of the nation, but that it is a mitzvah - a commandment - for them to do so. We know they would ascend a raised platform (called a duchan) to lift up their hands in a strange way and bless the people on God's behalf.

It seems that life was not much different back then from what it is now. Marriages had problems. People felt guilty and needed some way to make it better. People needed somebody else to tell them - to pronounce - that everything would be alright. But rather than seeing a head shirker or marriage counselor, the palpable presence of God

Within their public life enabled a different and powerful avenue for dealing with these emotions and situations.

Perhaps, even today, although the 'rituals' have gone, we can still access the deep power and love of God to absorb some of the difficulties we face on a regular basis.

Shabbat shalom

R' David Bockman