Pinchas 2021

1The Pinchas story actually began at the end of last week’s Parsha. There we learned of the seduction of the Jewish men by the daughters of Moab. The objective of the seduction was to seduce the men not only physically but also spiritually; “And the nation settled in Shittim. And the nation began to be seduced by the daughters of Moab. And they (the Moab daughters) called to the nation to worship their gods and the nation ate and bowed down to their gods. And the nation connected to Baal Peor (the local deity) and G-d was angry at Israel.” (Num 25:1-3) G-d next commanded Moshe to “Take the leaders of Israel and hang them opposite the sun, and thereby contain the wrath of G-d from acting against Israel.” (ibid: 4) Moshe responded instructing the Judges of Israel to “kill the worshipers of Baal Peor”. This may have been enough to placate G-d if not for a personal attack against Moshe and the Torah; “And behold a man from the Children of Israel came and brought close a Midyanite woman in front of Moshe and all the people. And they were crying at the door of the Ohel Moed (the Mishkan)”. The Midrash Rabah chap 24 elaborates on the story: Kasbi approached Zimri and insisted that she be allowed to attempt a seduction on Moshe “My father Balak commanded me to be “Heard” only by Moshe. Seeing as my father is a king it’s only fitting that I be brought to seduce a king! Zimri bragged that he was as great as Moshe and proceeded to demonstrate his prowess by challenging Moshe. “I will prove it to you in a public forum”. Zimri grabbed Kasbi by her hair and dragged her before Moshe. He said “Son of Amram, is this permitted or not?” Moshe replied, “She is prohibited to you”. Zimri then said “And the woman who you took was a Midyanite!” Immediately Moshe became weak and forgot the law which states that a Jewish man who cohabits with a non Jewish woman may be attacked by zealots! And they cried at the door to the Ohel Moed. The crying has several meanings. It means that Zimri and Kasbi engaged in a sexual act which involved “Crying”. The Beit Din was also crying because Moshe had been shamed and had forgotten the law. (Moshe did not forget the prohibition, just the consequences of the act.) The Midrash there indicates that Moshe and the elders were crying over their disappointment with the conduct of the nation; At the end of forty years of wandering, ready to enter the holy land and what happens? The nation engages in sexual misconduct and idol worship.

2Zimri’s challenge is reminiscent of Korach’s challenge. Both individuals questioned Moshe’s Torah and both received the most severe punishment. There the land acted as G-d’s jealous partner; here it was Pinchas filling the role. Here Moshe couldn’t execute the requisite punishment because he was personally involved in the story. “And what about the Midyanite woman that you took?” Pinchas had not such connections. His act resolved the question and returned G-ds glory and Moshe’s Torah to its place.

3Dedicated to the memory of Joel Shulman A’H