ABRAHAM’S TENT: WEEK # 42 PARSHAT PINCHAS, Justice in a just place!
This is the weekly portion read on the 42th week of the Torah cycle (5 books of Moses), for the week of
July 13th -19th, 2025 (17th – 23rd Tammuz, 5785).
If you have questions or comments, please feel free to contact me:
Rabbi John Ludemann, email: kolchesed@gmail.com
(Editor’s note: I've had a number of people ask “Why do you not spell out GOD’s Name?”. The reason is that as observant Jews, we try to observe the third commandment (Exodus 20:7) ‘YOU SHALL NOT TAKE THE LORD YOUR GOD’S NAME IN VAIN’. The word in Hebrew for vain is “Shav” which means literally “commonplace” or “to throw away”. To prevent such an error, the custom is to drop the first vowel (G-D, L-RD,) or replace that name with the Hebrew phrase “The NAME” which is
transliterated as “HaSHEM” or “HaShem”. It is a reminder of that third commandment and is in no way disrespecting the Almighty Creator of the Universe. )
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This week’s portion is named after the third High Priest and grandson of Aaron, Pinchas/Phineas (Numbers 25:10-30:1).
After Balaam failed to curse the Israelites, Balaam (he?) offered one last option to King Balak - to convince the Israelites to curse themselves (Numb. 25:1-3).
It worked – the men of Israel were smitten by the Moabite Temple Prostitutes and began to cavort with them. Pinchas, seeing that this was infecting the community with Idolatry - stopped it by throwing a spear into one of the Princes of Israel and the Moabite woman he was “messing around – consorting” with in front of the Temple and G-D’s Presence.
The plague was stopped.
After that point, we get back to the business of why this portion is so important.
After the second census, an interesting thing occurs that for the first time, radically changes The Laws of G-D!
You did not misread that, G-D changes the very laws he had laid down prior to this generation, to address modernity, and Justice.
It occurs in Numbers 27:1-5:
“The daughters of Zelophehad, of Manassite family—son of Hepher son of Gilead son of Machir son of Manasseh son of Joseph—came forward.
The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
They stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chieftains, and the whole assembly, at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting, and they said, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not one of the faction, Korah’s faction, which banded together against G-D, but died for his own sin; and he has left no sons.
Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan just because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!”
Moses brought their case before G-D.” (JPS 2006)So, the daughters of Zelophehad boldly approach the Sanhedrin, Eleazar the Kohen, and Moses himself
and said “Hey, we women have rights too! We should get the opportunity to hold onto what is legally
our right.” This is some 4,000 years before equal rights and women’s right to vote. Before this time in
history, no woman in the world, the entire civilized world had the right to speak before a court of law.
Yet, their plea was just and right before the eyes of the court, the Chief Priest, Moses and G-D.
G-D’s response was commandment changing in Numbers 27:6-11:
“6 And G-D said to Moses,
“7 The plea of Zelophehad’s daughters is just: you should give them a hereditary holding
among their father’s kinsmen; transfer their father’s share to them.
“8 Further, speak to the Israelite people as follows: ‘If a householder dies without leaving a
son, you shall transfer his property to his daughter.
9 If he has no daughter, you shall assign his property to his brothers.
10 If he has no brothers, you shall assign his property to his father’s brothers.
11 If his father had no brothers, you shall assign his property to his nearest relative in his
own clan, who shall inherit it.’ This shall be the law of procedure for the Israelites, in accordance with G-D’s command to Moses.” (JPS 2006)
This is the basis for what is now known as the Oral Law or Talmud. The Talmud is a set legal precedent that is brought about by the leadership of the elders and sages has judged on an aspect of Jewish law.
What this seemly minor discussion lays out in its fullness that all the laws given to us at Mount Sinai are open for broader interpretation.
Another example is the laws of what is called in English “Sacrifices”, or Korbanot in Hebrew. At the point of the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians in 950 BCE, the sages looked to Hosea the Prophet for guidance for how we could continue to observe without a Temple or animal slaughter, for our ability to draw near to G-D.
Found in Hosea Chapter 6, we see that it was Prayer, not animals that G-D desires. So, what sustained us under that Babylonian Captivity was a radical change of how we approach those Levitical laws.
It is not an abolition of the eternal commandments, HasVaShalom/G-D Forbid! It was a broader understanding of how we approach those laws and who were included in them.
This goes to [?] who and what we are in the Modern world.
There was a concept that started out as part of a divorce proceeding. When it came to compensating a wife for the wrong a spouse had done during their marriage, the compensation was called a “Tikkun
Olam”, or to fix the world that was damaged in their marriage.
That concept has moved from a 12th century term for fixing a broken marriage between a husband and wife- to fixing a broken world between Humanity and their Creator.
The Torah is not a static anachronism, which has had its moment and now needs to be replaced.
On the contrary, it is a document beyond time, eternal. Its concepts are beyond the ages.
It is only its recipients that are growing and maturing to understand the deeper concepts and meanings.
As we mature and our understanding broadens as to the world, and universe around us, we will need to be able to address the concerns of those who boldly approaches the Torah and say, “What about me?
Is there a place here for me?”
To that, we as Torah observant people must stand up and say:
“Of Course, come in, and let us praise the Living Creator –Together.”
Next Week: Mattos-Massei: Land expansion and Justice Cities
Rabbi John Ludemann,
Dir. Rel. Ed and History
www.kolchesed.org
