Initiative: Parashat Pinhas

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Parashat Pinhas
Numbers 25:10 – 30:1

Our Torah portion deals with two dramatic instances of individual passion and initiative. One, the initiative of Pinhas, was recounted in last week’s portion. Pinhas’ act is a violent reaction at a moment of crisis. It averts a national disaster. The beginning of this week’s reading gives God’s reaction to Pinhas’ act. Our Torah Sparks columns have discussed this topic numerous times. The second act of initiative is that of the daughters of a man called Tzlof’had. Their story is begun this week and continues into next week’s reading. Their story, too, has caught our attention in Torah Sparks over the years.

In both of these cases an individual or a small group of individuals does something unbidden by the rules of their society at that moment. The repercussion of Pinhas’ initiative, as described in this week’s Torah reading, is that Pinhas is given special recognition and a special mission, to be the bearer of God’s “Covenant of Peace.” But, in truth, since Pinhas was already in direct priestly line from Aaron, his new status had little effect on the community or on the future of the Jewish people. (How well Pinhas lived up to his mission is the subject of mush Rabbinic reflection.)

The case of the daughters of Tzlof’had is different. Their initiative was not a violent response to a crisis. Rather, it was a personal appeal to the powers that be to rectify what they saw to be a flaw in the Torah’s system. They challenge the one-sided inheritance laws that had been issued by God, through Moses, whereby only males could inherit estates. The laws were very timely because they were given just at the moment when the people were being allotted portions in the Land of Israel. These women, all daughters of the same father, all without male siblings, wished to inherit their father’s portion in the Promised Land. But the existing law did not allow for that. When they challenged this law before Moses and the leaders as being unfair, God responds by saying, “The daughters of Tzlof’had speak truthfully.” (Num. 27:7) God agrees with their complaint and the law is changed forever! Unlike the case regarding Pinhas, the repercussion of this non-violent initiative is one that reverberates for all of Israel and for all time.

One may ask: If God thought that the daughters were justified in their demand, why wasn’t the law formulated that way from the start? We may infer from this story that had the daughters complied with society’s norms of the time and remained passive and quiet, that the law would not have changed. The Torah herself shows us that God’s Torah was a work of partnership between God and humans. God’s input is challenging and demanding. But it is challenging and demanding not only in the mitzvot that it places upon us.  It is also challenging and demanding of us that we respond and try to make sure that the Torah is not taken in the wrong direction. The very content and message of the Torah depends on whether we have the passion and are willing to take the initiative to join in this partnership.

Had Tzlof’had’s daughters remained silent, they would have had no part in our Torah portion, nor would they have had a portion in the land of Israel. And so it is with us. We, too, will only take our place in the unfolding of the Torah, and we, too, will only have a portion in our national home if we have that passion and take the initiative.

Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David Greenstein


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Image: courtesy of “Women of The Wall”

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