Nachshon Fought Over the 'Nasi', Moshe Insisted on the 'Aleph'

The Daily Strengthening from the Gaon and Tzaddik, The Rav Rabbi Eliezer Berland shlit"a (may he live long and good days), Thursday, 11th of Av 5784

Regarding Nachshon, it does not say Nasi (Prince/Leader); he did not allow them to write Nasi about him. [He said,] "Moshe, you will not write Nasi about me, I will not let you."

Moshe says, "What is this? For Reuven I write Nasi, for Shimon I write Nasi, for the tribe of Gad I write Nasi, for Ephraim the Nasi is Elishama ben Amihud—for every single one, Nasi was written."

Why does Nachshon deserve this special treatment? What is this privilege? Why is he different from everyone else?

Moshe said to him: "What pride do you have? Are you such a baal ga'avah (arrogant person)? You won't let Nasi be written about you? You want to be the only one who doesn't have Nasi written about him?"

Nachshon answered: "You will not write Nasi, I will not let you." And again, Moshe began to disparage him, to humble him, saying to him, "You are a baal ga'avah (arrogant person), what do you care if I write Nasi?"

"No, you will not write Nasi, under no circumstances will I let you"—in the end, they did not write Nasi.

It seems improper that Nachshon fought with Moshe Rabbeinu; after all, for everyone else, Nasi is written. Suddenly Nachshon comes and says, "I don't want Nasi written about me." What privilege, what pride? In what way are you special? Why do you deserve this? For what purpose?

Nachshon and Moshe Rabbeinu fought over the word Nasi, because Moshe did not want to write the Aleph of 'Vayikra' (And He called). Hashem told him, "Write a Vav," so Moshe wrote a Vav. Moshe did not write from memory; the Torah was not written by Moshe summarizing the lesson with the Holy One, Blessed be He. Hashem said to Moshe, "Write a Vav," so he wrote a Vav; "Write a Yud," he wrote a Yud; "Kuf," he wrote a Kuf; "Resh," he wrote a Resh—he reached the Aleph and he stopped. He said, "This I am not writing, I am not writing the Aleph." Stubborn, stubborn. In the end, Moshe wrote a tiny Aleph, a teeny-tiny one like that, but in the merit of the Aleph Zeira (the small Aleph), in the merit of the small Aleph, he merited the entire Torah.

It turns out that Moshe Rabbeinu did not want to write the Aleph, and Nachshon did not want to write the word Nasi.