“Nasi” – The Offerings of the Tribal Princes of Israel
One year after the Exodus, on the first of Nissan, the dedication of the portable Sanctuary began. The dedication lasted twelve days, during which offerings were brought daily to the Mishkan, delivered by the prince of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.
In memory of this, it is customary during the days of the month of Nissan preceding Pesach to read daily the passage from the Torah describing the offerings of the prince of a different tribe.
Our website provides the text of the prayers from the Siddur “Tehillat Hashem” published by “F.R.E.E. Publishing House.”
2 Nissan
Today’s day offers an opportunity to connect with the depth of understanding possessed by the tribe of Yissachar.
It is probably not coincidental that the initiative for the dedication of the altar came from the tribe symbolizing the study of Torah. It is Torah that is the most effective trigger for renewal within the Jewish people.
3 Nissan
Today is the day of the tribe of Zevulun. I have a complex relationship with it. Zevulun has become a byword for businesspeople – those who become sponsors of yeshivas and other Jewish activities. By the nature of things, wealth is accompanied by a coarsening of the soul, and exceptions are rare. But the revival of Jewry, both in America and in Russia, would not have happened without the Zevuluns.
These are people for whom, probably, intellectual pleasure was not initially the defining factor. Otherwise, they would not have achieved what they did. And yet, despite this, finding the strength within themselves to support specifically spiritual endeavors – this is a service to the Almighty that is difficult to overestimate. And in its merit, Zevulun, too, becomes a possessor of a profound life, one that might at first have seemed so distant from him.
