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Defensive-Offensive
Pinchas killed Zimri, and the plague stopped. Why did killing Zimri calm Hashem’s anger at the Jews? Pinchas took up Hashem’s cause, and fought His battle – ‘He quarreled My quarrel’.
It’s like when someone insults the king; if no-one else deals with the offender, the king himself will, and the offender may lose his life. A compassionate witness to the insult will punch the offender in the nose, thereby saving his life. The king will say ” No need for me to respond here – its under control”
When no one else reacts to a crime, Hashem will. That could mean a plague, great loss of life. However, if a Pinchas rises and fights Hashem’s battles, then Hashem will leave the issue to him.
Thanks, Zealots!
How did killing Zimri resolve the Jews sinning with Peor – the trigger of the plague?
When someone publicly demonstrates that he is on Hashem’s side many good things happen, even to unrelated problems: ‘…and he atoned for the Bnei Yisrael’ – he atoned for them all, even if he only got rid of one sinner.
Zealotry creates merit!
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What Leadership Is
Moshe asked Hashem to ensure a leader for the Jewish people so that the “Congregation of Hashem not be as sheep without a shepherd”. I.e. it’s not to lead them to great conquests, nor to spiritual heights. Not even to be their mentor and teacher. Rather so that they not be lost, bewildered and directionless, like “sheep without a shepherd”.
The primary role of a leader is simply to centralize. People in groups act in unison, as a nation. Leaderless folks are atomized individuals, relatively powerless. Any nation is a function of its leadership. No leaders means no Klal Yisrael.
Now and again some incident of alleged Rabbinic corruption or wrongdoing is exposed. Some people will speak against the Rabbinate as a whole, trying to tear down the entire leadership echelon. Nothing could be more dangerous, or more anarchist. Hashem prefers we heed rabbis than Him, because its better we do one thing wrong than hundreds, which leaderless folks do. [-Chinuch]
Leadership is like pants. A prudent man will not change his pants, no matter how much pizza is shmeared on them, unless he has another qualified pair of pants handy. Even then, he will probably not change pants in public!
Yet that is exactly what people suggest; “Let’s get rid of corrupt leaders, demonstrate against them, chuck them out!”. Do you have a replacement??
Beware turning “the Congregation of Hashem as sheep without a shepherd!”
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What Leadership Is NOT
Moshe asked Hashem, ‘G-d Of All Spirits’ to provide a successor to himself. Rashi explains the unusual term: ‘spirits’, used here to indicate that leaders need to accommodate the many personalities in klal Yisroel.
Hashem recommended Yehoshua, ‘a man with spirit in him’. Rashi comments that the reference to spirit was to assure Moshe that his request was noted: Yehoshua was just the man to accommodate the many spirits in klal Yisroel.
So why the singular? Shouldn’t he be called ‘a man with spirits’ – many spirits – not only one?
A leader needs to accommodate everyone, but he needs to be of a single opinion. He cannot be of many minds or of no specific one. That’s no leader at all! Calling Yehoshua ‘a man of spirits’ is no compliment!
Accommodate other opinions, but do hold your own!
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Growing Up
‘Moshe and Elazar spoke to the [people] saying: From twenty and up [should they be counted]’ etc.
Two p’sukim saying no more than that Moshe talked to the people about Hashem’s command that they be counted.
What was the purpose of this talk – why not just count them? Had Moshe ever announced a count before??
The People had come a long way in the desert. They had matured, becoming the Am Hashem. Moshe changed his approach too. At first he would not confer with them; a second grade teacher does not confer with the pupils. However, towards the end of the forty years he began to include them. He told them about upcoming events, just as the teacher of an adult class communicates his plans to the pupils.
(In next week’s parshah, when it came time to war, Moshe asked each shevet to produce a thousand troops. This levy too indicated that the Jews had reached a level of self-governance.)
This is proper; treating people as adults is to not spring surprises on them, but rather give them time and notice to prepare themselves.
This is the lesson for us.
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What Is Your Role?
Levi were not counted along with the rest of the Jews, because they have no portion of land in Eretz Yisroel as the rest do. [Pasuk]
Is owning land so basic that it defines the Jews into groups?
Perhaps the Jewish people can be compared to a wall; it has bricks and it has cement. Some portions are the building blocks of the nation. They make up the districts and the divisions of the people. They are the states. Others were the cement, spread throughout the nation, functioning as transmitters, reactionaries and facilitators for the nation.
It wasn’t about real estate at all. Rather it was the different function thereby implied. Levi did not receive land because they had a different function. That is why they were counted separately.
What is YOUR role in the community??
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Deferring To Another
When the daughters of Tzelofchad wished to inherit their father, they approached the local judge – their Minister Of Ten. However he said ‘These laws are too big for me. Go to someone greater’. So they went up the ranks, from judges-of-ten to judges-of-fifty, on to judges-of-hundreds and so on. Each group deferred it to those greater than themselves, although they knew the law.
Finally it reached Moshe himself. Moshe said ‘All these judges did not take the glory themselves, but deferred to others. Although I happen to know the answer, I’ll do so too’.
So he went and asked Hashem. (Midrash)
Isn’t that sweet?
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Giving Status To People
As the Torah counts the Jews by family, it lists off the shavatim first, and then individual clans. One shevet, Dan, only had one family; Chushim. We would assume that in this case the Torah would reckon only Dan, for there was no further division. Yet the Torah does speak of the Shuchim (=Chushim) clan. Why?
Dan seemed to be a hopeless case; he had only one son, who was deaf. Would Dan amount to anything?
Dan grew to be one of the most populous tribes! From where? From Chushim – the deaf son!
The Torah makes – unnecessary – mention of Chushim to teach us the great truth of Judaism: We do not run the Show. Our predictions of success are worthless. Hashem rules supreme!
Another approach:
A foreigner with a heavy accent came to change his name to O’Henry. The clerk asked “What is your present name?”. “Johnson”, says he. “That’s an all-American name, why would you change it?” the clerk was curious. “Well, whenever I say my name is ‘Johnson’ people always ask what it used to be. I say ‘Koluschz’. If I change to O’Henry, when people ask me for my previous name I can proudly say ‘Johnson’!”
When someone from Dan came by people asked him ‘Hi, which shevet are you?’ He answered ‘Dan’. Then they asked ‘And which Dan family?’ And it was really awkward…
So the Torah listed Dan as the Shucham family to prevent awkward moments.
Lets do the same with one another, and let our friend always save face!
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Sweet Terror
The Torah instructs us: ‘Tzerror’ the Midyanim and hit them, because they are ‘Tzorrarim’ to you – they made you sin with Peor!
‘Tzerror’ is an active tense – ‘enemy them!’. Enemy them, physically attack them! Why? Because they caused you to sin.
The message: we need to consider those who make us sin as mortal enemies.
Are the Torah’s ways sweet? Surely. But it is sweetness to operate on a patient who needs surgery. It is sweet to destroy evil!
Radical thoughts?
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Capitalism Or Socialism?
Everyone in klal Yisroel received a nachlah, an estate. The land was apportioned equally between those who left Egypt – the holiest man received no more than the biggest sinner.
Land was not given in recognition of virtue, as a reward or gift, but as the natural endowment that every Jew is entitled to, the provision of his basic human needs: food shelter and clothing.
This provision is dictated by the Torah.
Man ought to have his parnassah at hand, and not need to wonder where he would live from. Man needs to feel basic security, having the emotional stability of knowing he is safe and will have food.
Moreover, in the Torah view, land ownership ought to be equal and equitable: sale of real estate is limited by law and reverts back after Yovel.
This runs counter to the basic ideas of capitalism. But although this may not be the ideal way to create entrepreneurs, it does create a nation secure enough to dedicate themselves to spirituality.
A man worrying about lunch does not think of spirituality…
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Sevenfold
The holidays sacrifices are listed in parshas Pinchas. The common denominator of them all is that there are seven sheep every day (Sukkos has 14, merely seven doubled). This is reminiscent of the korbanos Balak and Bilaam brought: seven bulls and seven rams.
‘Seven’ represents strength. ‘Seven times’ means ‘many’, and seven in general indicates increase and blessing. Sheep represents the Jewish nation (Rashi). In sacrifice Israel is represented as being strengthened and prospering. Bilaam and Balak, represented their nations succeeding, brought seven bulls and seven rams.
May you be blessed seven-fold!
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Assertiveness
The daughters of Tzelofchad stood before Moshe, Elazar, the Nesi’im and the entire Nation gathered there and asked for a share in Eretz Yisroel.
The Sifra says that the Jews were counted for the purposes of inheritance, as the Torah says; ‘To these shall the land be distributed…’ These women noticed they were not being counted and hastened to claim their father’s portion.
The Ralbag points out that one ought not to be embarrassed or intimidated to do what he thinks right. These women stood before everyone and demanded their due. They received it too!
We need to be just as assertive. Not always, yes, but it is often appropriate.
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No Survivors…
‘And in these there was no man from the count of Moshe and Aharon haKohen who counted the Jews in Sinai desert. For Hashem said to them “You will definitely die in the desert” and no man was left besides Calev son of Yefuna and Yehoshua bin Nun’
Tosfos in Taanis teaches that in the last year of the desert the Jews prepared to die as usual, digging their graves. However Hashem had mercy and the last 15 thousand people lived!
Many thousands survived, not only Calev and Yehoshua. Yet the Torah clearly states that none did. What is the resolution?
1. Perhaps these people were granted life, but they had no destiny. They had no role in the people. Therefore they don’t count here.
2. These people lived only to keep Calev and Yehoshua company, so that they would have people from the old generation to talk to. They are really included in the survival of Calev and Yehoshua.
3, A third suggestion is that we count here only people who deserved to live. These people were gifted life through Hashem’s lovingkindness, but did not really earn it.