Pinchas 5767

You're probably aware by now that I'm very interested in unusual and unexpected starting and stopping places in the Torah. Why is a parashiyah ended here? Why does an aliyah begin there? This week's parashah, Pinchas, feature one of those and I can't resist investigating.

The parashah begins with Hashem throwing His protective mantle over Pinchas, granting him not only immunity for his vigilante actions, but also an eternal covenant of priesthood. Having done that, Hashem turns to Moshe and instructs him to exact vengeance from the MIdyanites, who caused the Jews to die by the droves in the wake of their idolatrous orgy with the MIdyanite women. To this end, it is necessary to take a census of the fighting men (over 20 years of age), and this is done by Eleazar and Moshe. It is pointed out that, by thie time, we're counting a new generation, since all those who needed to die in the desert on account of the sin of the spies had already died out.The last verse of chapter 26 summarizes: "For Hashem said to them that they would certainly die in the desert, and not a man was left of them, save Calev ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua bin Nun.

That completes that matter. End of parashiyah ("sagur" or closed break , meaning the next section begins after a break of a few spaces, but on the same line; this is used to indicate a relatively minor pause).

Next comes the matter of the daughters of "shadow-of-fear". Well, that's what the name, Z'lofhad, means! They claim that their father died in the desert, but of his own sins, he was not involved with the uprising of Korah and his clan. This being the case, and as he WAS one of those who emerged from Egypt to whom the land was to be portioned out, why should their father's name disappear amongst Israel, seeing as how he had no sons to inherit. They ask Moshe to give them their father's portion. Moshe does not know the answer and must consult Hashem.

End of parashiyah, this time, it's a "patuach", or open break, meaning that it's a more significant pause. But not only is it a more significant pause, it's also the end of the third aliyah. Hashem's answer constitutes the beginning of the fourth aliyah, when He says, "The daughter of Z'lofhad are speaking correctly... He then proceeds to outline Jewish inheritance law in full.

End of parashiyah, also "patuach", and the next section, constituting the other half of the fourth aliyah, has Hashem instructing Moshe regarding his own demise and the transfer of authority to Yehoshua.

Why break in the middle of the story of the daughters of Zt'lofhad? Why not group together the presentation of the case and the Divine response? O.K., I understand that we didn't want to end the third aliyah with the "downer" of the death of everyone in the desert except for Yehoshua and Calev, and I accept that there are some linguistic echoes between the two passages ("died in the desert") But why stop with Moshe's bringing their request before Hashem and leave us hanging?

Rashi tells us that "Correctly are the daughters of Zt'lofhad speaking" really means "Yes they are speaking", indeed, that's how it's written before Me in the Torah. The daughters of Zt'lofhad, he tells us, merited occasioning a law of the Torah to be given at their behest, as though Hashem was holding it back for them, waiting for them to step forward. They argue their case flawlessly, using classical Talmudic reasoning: "If we are considered seed of our father, give us his portion as an inheritance in this case that he left no male heir. And if we are NOT considered seed of our father, then why should our mother be exempted from Levirite marriage - one of our father's brother's marry her so as to produce a male heir..." (Rashi, based on the Talmud)

Moshe did not have the answer. Rashi tells us that Moshe had forgotten the law. Moshe had said to the judges appointed when the judicial system was set up: The straightforward matters you will adjudicate, and the difficult matters BRING BEFORE ME. Rashi says tha Moshe was paid back by Hashem, for "taking the crown for himself", by having to bring THIS matter before Hashem.

But was it really such a difficult matter? The systematic presentation of inheritance law which follows looks straightforward and logical. Where's the difficulty?

In parashat Mas'ei the leaders of the tribe of Menashe come before Moshe and complain that by giving land to the daughters of Tz'lofhad, he has created a situation where, should one of those daughters marry a man from another tribe, the land will be transfered to a different tribal jurisdiction, since tribal affiliation is determine patrilinearly. after a number of generations, the Land of Israel will be Balkanized, with little enclaves belonging to various tribes within the jurisdiction of each of the tribes. In response to this claim, Moshe instructs the daughters of Tz'lofhad that they should marry whomever they please, as long as he is from their own tribe.

I would like to assert that THAT was the complexity of the situation confronting Moshe: If he assented to the request of the women (and remembered what he had been told by Hashem), tribal integrity would inevitably be sullied. If he refused their request, the just claims of individuals for the continuity of their familial heritage would go unheeded!!

But the daughters of Tz'lofhad, living in the shadow of fear of the disappearance of their lineage and heritage, stepped forward without fear. They SPOKE correctly here, and later, in parashat Mas'ei, they DO correctly (same word: "ken"), all five of them marrying men from their tribe. They understand that rights (in this case, inheritance) and responsibility (in this case, for tribal integrity) are two sides of the same KEN (sorry for the pun). It is usually NOT the case that one who agitates for rights has the same passion for responsibilities, or vice versa. These women were exemplary, their behavior could only be a model, not an obligation. In fact, our sages tell us that the law restricting the marriage choices of heiresses so as to preserve tribal unity, had effect only during the initial generation of the conquest and settling of the land. After that, indeed, women who inherited could marry freely, and, for that reason as well as others, enclaves of one tribe did form in the territory of another tribe.

The pause at the end of the third aliyah, to reflect upon the the passionate justice and irrefutable logic of the daughters of Tz'lofhad and the legal quandary facing Moshe, only makes all the more resonant the opening words of the fourth aliyah: "KEN b'not Tz'lofhad dovrot"!!