The Rebel With A Cause

We talked about what is the essence of a Nazir. His halachos are no wine, no haircutting and no touching of a dead person. The Torah is actually more stringent with a Nazir than with a Kohen in regard to touching a dead person; a Kohen may bury family members, and a Nazir may not. And the Torah explains that a Nazir cannot contact a dead body “for the crown of Hashem is upon his head” – i.e. his hair. His hair is referred to repeatedly as “it shall be holy” (6:5) “and he shall hallow his head” (6:11), expressions which indicate that the hair is somehow holy. When he becomes (-inadvertently) impure it is treated as “and his head became Tamai”. And at the end, he cuts his hair at the entrance to the Ohel Moed, and then places his hair upon the fire burning his Shlamim!
The prohibition against wine also goes above and beyond the normal idea of wine – a Kohen may not come drunk to his service, but a Nazir may not even eat grape seeds, despite their being non-alcoholic.
What is the importance of hair, and what is the connection between all these?
We had a suggestion; The Halacha states: a king takes a haircut each day. A Kohain Gadol each week, and a Kohain at least once a month. Hair cutting is associated with respectability and being part of the establishment. Someone who has not taken a haircut for some time looks uncouth. Indeed, a hippie does not cut his hair.
Drinking wine is also the urban thing to do. It is the genteel drink, the food of the gentleman. It is doing what is the “in” thing to do. And a Nazir cuts himself off from that.
A Nazir breaks free from society – in a good way. He rethinks and examines everything he does in order to find out if he is doing those things because everyone else is, or because it’s the right thing to do. He is a rebel, but not as a personal statement. He takes temporary measures in order to gain perspective. A rebel with a cause.
And that is holy. He has exchanged the bonds of civilization for the bonds of Hashem. He has declared himself outside the pale of respectability, answerable to his G-d alone. Even after he returns to normalcy his life will never be the same. He will live inspired, doing what is right for G-d’s greater Glory alone. And we put him on a pedestal, as a model for humanity. He is a lesson to us all.