Parashat Nasso

The longest portion in the Torah. The Gershonites and Merarites receive their loads. Anyone impure is sent outside the camp, and one who wrongs another must confess and repay with a fifth added. The ordeal of the sotah tests a wife suspected of adultery. The nazir vows to abstain from wine, from cutting hair and from contact with the dead. Then God gives Aaron the three-line priestly blessing that is still said over children on Friday night. The portion closes with the twelve tribal princes each bringing identical gifts for the dedication of the altar, one on each of twelve days, and the Torah records each gift in full.