Questions & Commentary on Parashat Pinchas
1. Why were Pinchas (Phineas) and his descendants rewarded
with the everlasting "covenant of priesthood/kahuna" (25:13)? What does this teach us about serving the Lord?
Rabbi Jason Sobel
Because of Pinchas' zeal, God rewarded him and his
progeny with the everlasting privilege of priesthood. As this week's Torah
portion states:
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Phineas the son of Eleazar,
the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the children of Israel,
because he was zealous with my zeal among them, so that I did not consume the
children of Israel
in my zeal. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it
shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting
priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the
children of Israel.'"
Numbers 25:10
It is clearly based upon God's response to Pinchas'
actions that great spiritual reward stems from having zeal for the Lord. But
what exactly is zeal and what should it look like in our lives? Zeal can be
defined as enthusiastic, energetic, and proactive action done in the service of
God and fulfillment of his commandments. In line with this definition the
Mishna gives a memorable and vivid description of zeal when it says: "Be fierce
as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift and as strong as a lion to do the will
of your Father in Heaven (Pirkei Avot 5:23).
Pinchas' actions clearly fit this description.
While all Israel,
including Moses, stood idly as Zimri defied God's commandments and desecrated
God's holy name by committing sexual immorality with the Midianite princess,
Pinchas stood up and took action. His zeal for God resulted in the deliverance
of Israel
from God's judgment and in great reward for himself. Like Pinchas, we cannot
remain silent and passive in the face of wrongdoing but must stand up and act
even when those greater than us do not.
Another great example of zeal in the Torah is
Abraham. His zeal is clearly seen in the incident of the binding of Isaac, as
it is written: "And Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey"
(Genesis 22:3). Commenting upon this verse Orchot Tzaddiqim states:
Even though it was understandably difficult for him to
slaughter his only son, he did the will of his Exalted Creator with zeal,
rising early in the morning. One who acts with zeal demonstrates clearly that
he loves his master and spurs himself to render him service to do his will. For
zeal depends upon the heart . . . He, therefore, was zealous in rising early,
for his soul and mind were bound with great yearning and love for the Blessed
Creator. It is for this reason that that Holy One Blessed be He swore to
Abraham to remember his seed the binding of Isaac.
The Ways of the
Tzaddiqim, 283
Like in the case Pinchas, God promised to reward
Abraham as well as his children because of his zealous faith and faithfulness.
Commenting further upon the importance of zeal, Orchot
Tzaddiqim writes, "You must know that the trait of zeal is the foundation
of all other character traits" (285) and "The trait of zeal is an ornament to
all other traits and it perfects all of them" (287).
Due to the great importance of zeal in the service
of God, it should be no surprise that one of the first things that Yeshua does
during his public ministry was to demonstrate his zeal for God by cleansing the
Temple of the money changers who were turning his Father's house into a den on
iniquity (John 2:17). In order for us to truly achieve God's purpose for our
lives and perfect our spiritual service, we must learn to cultivate zeal like
our father Abraham, our ancestor Pinchas, and our Messiah Yeshua. By so doing, we demonstrate our love for God,
our spiritual maturity, and prove ourselves worthy of leadership. May we always
strive to acquire greater zeal for it infuses our lives with the passion,
enthusiasm, and excitement necessary to energetically serve God without delay
even in the face of the business and difficulties of life.
2. After God told Moses that his death was immanent, Moses
asked God to "appoint a leader over this community to go out and come in before
them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD's people will
not be like sheep without a shepherd" (Numbers 27:12, 16-17). According to
Rashi & Nachalat Ya‘aqov, Moses
asked that his sons would be appointed as his successors. God however chose
Joshua to lead the people? For what reasons? What leadership principals do we
learn from this passage? What type of leaders does Messianic Judaism need in
order to inspire and develop the next generation?
Rabbi Jason Sobel
Moses demonstrated both wisdom and love for Israel
by asking God to raise up a new leader for Israel
before his death. Rashi writes, "When the righteous take their leave from the
world, they put aside their own concerns and deal with matters of public
concern." Thus Moses wanted to make sure that his family, the Jewish people,
would have a shepherd to guide them in spiritual matters and lead them into the
Promise land.
Furthermore, Nachalat Ya‘aqov tells us that
Moses desired that the next leader come from among his children. God however
had other plans and chose Joshua to lead the people. Why did the Lord deny
Moses' request? Why was Joshua a better choice then the sons' of Moses? Rashi
provides us with a brief answer to these questions when he writes,
The blessed Holy One, said to Moses, "This is not what
entered my mind. Joshua is worthy of taking reward for his service for (as
Exodus 33:11 says) ‘he would not depart from the tent.' And this is what
Solomon referred to when he said in Proverbs 27:18, ‘He who guards the fig tree
shall eat its fruits.'"
Thus according to Rashi, God chose Joshua because he
was the one who "did not depart from the tent." But what does this seemingly
vague statement mean? The Midrash elucidates Rashi commentary when it states,
"God said to Moses, ‘The one who guards the fig tree eats the fruit.' Your sons
sat around and did not busy themselves with Torah study. (Numbers Rabba
21:14)." From this Midrash, we learn that Joshua demonstrated two of the
essential traits of a great leader. The first is to be a student of Scripture.
Joshua was an individual who engrossed himself in the words of the Torah. One
reason why Joshua did not leave the tent was because he was busy sitting and
studying Torah. Clearly Joshua was a person who practiced the words he preached
to Israel in Joshua 1:8 where he says, "Do not let this Book of the Torah
depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be
careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and
successful."
The second mark of a great leader is being a true
servant. As the Midrash continues,
Joshua served you with devotion and showed you much respect.
Morning and evening, he was the one who set up the benches in your academy and
spread carpets over them. He served you to the best of his ability, so it is
appropriate that he should serve the Jewish people and not loose his reward.
Numbers Rabba 21:14
Joshua not only spent his time studying in "the
tent" but also serving Moses who was teaching and leading Israel
in the path of the Torah. Moses' sons however did not demonstrate the same
level of zeal for the study of Torah or for serving in the tent of learning. We
need to follow in the footsteps of Joshua and Messiah Yeshua by becoming the
servant of all if we ever hope to be great leaders like them.
Derek Leman
Luke
23:26-32 - For
what do we weep?
"Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not for me, but weep for yourselves and your children."
How should we take Yeshua's saying? Is he speaking
vengefully to Jerusalem, the city
that sent him to his death? Is he averting the shame of his impending
humiliation by calling down curses on a city he loathes?
No, this is the same Yeshua who longed to gather together
Jerusalem's children (Luke 13:34). The women he is speaking to are not
paid mourners and Yeshua is not rebuking them. These are the women who have
served him and who believe in his cause. Luke, more than any other writer, has
noted the involvement of these women in Yeshua's work (1:39-56; 2:36-58;
7:11-15, 36-50; 8:1-3; 10:38-42; 11:27;
13:10-17).
No, this is the man redeeming Jerusalem
with outstretched arms, not the man condemning the golden city. He does not
mourn his own death half so much as the thousands that will come at the end of
his generation. The children of Jerusalem
he longed to gather will instead starve or burn in the Roman siege.
For those aware of the source, Yeshua's prophetic
citation is a profound allusion to a larger idea: "They shall say to the
mountain, cover us, and to the hills, fall on us" (Hosea10:8). This was a new
application of an old prophecy.
Hosea warned his generation, "The nations shall be
gathered against them when they are chastised for their double iniquity" (10:10). What was true of the Assyrians in 722
B.C.E. would be true of the Romans in 70 C.E. The nation would topple. People
would prefer a quick death to the slow anguish of siege and warfare.
"Sow for yourselves righteousness," advised Hosea (10:12). The nation did not need rebellion but
revival. Yeshua had echoed the same thoughts, "Would that you, even you, had
known on this day the things that make for peace!" (Luke 19:42).
Yet Yeshua's reference to Hosea had deeper
implications as well. The prophecy of Hosea ended with a chilling word: "In the
storm, the king of Israel
will be utterly cut off" (10:15).
It was about to happen. The king of Israel
was about to be cut off, not for his sin but for his people's. As always,
Yeshua was the forerunner for Israel.
Yeshua's final statement to the daughters of Jerusalem
needs Hosea's prophecy to clarify its meaning: "If they," meaning the Romans,
"do this while the wood is green, what will they do when it is dry?" (Luke
23:31).
The drama is unfolding. Hosea's judgment has
come again. Gentile destroyers are coming. Yeshua was Israel's life, making the wood green. Yet the king of Israel would be utterly cut off and the wood would
become dry. What would they do when the life was gone and the wood dry?
Parashat Pinchas
1. After
God told Moses that his death was immanent, Moses asked God to "appoint a
leader over this community to go out and come in before them, one who will lead
them out and bring them in, so the LORD's people will not be like sheep without
a shepherd" (Numbers 27:12, 16-17). According to Rashi & Nachalat
Ya‘aqov, Moses asked that his sons would be appointed as his successors.
God however chose Joshua to lead the people? For what reasons? What leadership
principals do we learn from this passage? What type of leaders does Messianic
Judaism need in order to inspire and develop the next generation?
2. Why were Pinchas
(Phineas) and his descendants rewarded with the everlasting "covenant of
priesthood/kahuna" (25:13)? What does
this teach us about serving the Lord?
NEXT WEEK'S READINGS
- PARASHAT MATOT-MASEI
Numbers 30:2-36:13
Jeremiah 2:4-28;
3:4 (Ashkenazi)
Jeremiah 2:4-28;
4:1-4:2 (Sephardi)
Luke 23:33-43
UPCOMING YACHAD NETWORK EVENTS
4th Annual Young Leaders Shabbaton
New
York City ●
June 2008
7th Annual Young Messianic Jewish
Scholars Conference
New
York City ●
June 2008
Learning 
