Questions – Parshah Pinchas
Numbers 25:10-18
The scene at the end of the previous parshah (which is divided from the opening of this parshah by the rabbis, but is united in the system of chapters created by medieval Christian Biblical “scholars”). Why did the rabbis divide the parshah here as they did?
When God speaks to Moses about Pinhas, God gives Pinhas’ genealogy. Why would that be important for God to do?
In verse 25:11 God uses words with the root: פִּֽינְחָ֨ס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֜ר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֗ן הֵשִׁ֤יב אֶת־חֲמָתִי֙ מֵעַ֣ל בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּקַנְא֥וֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִ֖י בְּתוֹכָ֑ם וְלֹא־כִלִּ֥יתִי אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּקִנְאָתִֽי three times. New JPS translated this root as “acting passionately.” Both Pinhas and God’s actions are said to be passionate. Can we equate human passion with Divine passion? God describes Divine passion as potentially deadly and Pinhas’ passion was deadly. Can we have holy passion without violence?
The traditional understanding of the grant of a “Brit Shalom” is in order to heal Pinhas from the taint of his violent actions, or as a way for him to recover from the extremity of his behavior. Was Pinhas a violent person by nature, or was this action exceptional for him?
In the past God only threatened to wipe out the Israelites to Moses in private. Here God tells Moses only after the fact that this could have been the fate of the Israelites in this case. What does this tell us about Moses’ position of authority? Has that changed, or was there something about this incident that brought God to a point of rashness in Divine action that exceeds earlier challenges?
The names of Zimri and Cosbi are mentioned with their family status delineated. This is a kind of elevation, particularly for a non-Israelite women is uncommon after the fact, if it was not mentioned before the conclusion of the incident (See Korach, et al.) Why this unusual asymmetry?
What was “the affair of Peor?”
Why is the Midianite action trickery?
What was the timeframe of all of this action in the camp in relation to the prophecies of Balaam? Does this support the ideas of the Chofetz Chain in terms of proper speech?
Numbers 26
We learn that the sons of Korach didn’t die. What explanation is there for that. How would you explain this contradiction in the text from the earlier parshah?
Why is the participation of Zimri of Simeon not reflected in the description of the tribe of Sieom in the census? How does the count of the tribe if Siemon compare to previous counts?
Why are Er and Onan mentioned in the census when we not remind of them in previous census counts?
How does the final census number compare to the previous census?
This census would seem to be intended as the count before going into battle with Midian. Instead it is about land tenure when the Israelites enter the land. Are they connected ideas or not?
Was the plague necessary to clear out the last survivors from Egypr before the Israelites could enter to Holy Land? Were they the ones who died in the plague or had they already died? Could this have been part of the reason fro God’s anger, that the sinning was coming from the “all new people” who were born and raised in the desert?
Chapter 27
