Parashat Pinchas (5761)

With God's help. On the eve of the holy Sabbath, Parashat Pinchas, 5761

Continuity: What Advances in Waves?

This week's Torah portion describes Pinchas's reward for his zealous act. The Holy One, blessed be He, promises him a covenant of

eternal priesthood for him and his descendants for generations. The prophetic reading deals with another zealot, Elijah the prophet (see

our remarks on this Torah portion last year). Yet from a broader perspective it seems that the subject of the portion is not only

the matter of zealotry, but rather another theme: continuity, or transmission to future generations. The beginning of

the portion is Pinchas, who receives a covenant of priesthood for himself and his descendants after him. At the end of the portion Moses appoints Joshua

as his successor in the leadership of the people of Israel. In the prophetic reading as well, Elijah anoints Elisha to be his successor

in prophecy. Later in the portion, Zimri and Cozbi, who were killed by Pinchas, are identified—where they came from and who

their fathers were. After that, Israel is counted by its families—verses that deal in detail with the matter

of families and descendants. Further on, matters of inheritance and landed estates from fathers to sons (and also

to daughters) are discussed, along with the inheritance of the land—a discussion that concludes with the petition of the daughters of Zelophehad to inherit their father, who died

without sons. In the midst of this, the lineage of the sons of Levi is described (including Moses and Aaron).

Zimri's sin was the cutting off of the continuity of the people of Israel. When Israelites marry foreign women, the children

are not Jewish, and therefore the principal problem is the severing of the people's continuity. Perhaps this is the connection

between Pinchas's zealous act, which merited a promise of continuity, and Zimri's sin, which Pinchas repaired

for him.

Something similar may be seen in the passage of the Hebrew midwives. Pharaoh commands them to cast the boys

into the Nile and let the girls live. They do not obey him, and they save the boys. Their reward

for the midwives is: 'And He made them houses.' Rashi explains: dynasties of priesthood, Leviteship, and kingship—that is, from them

came forth the priests, the Levites, and the kings. Some have explained that if indeed all the boys had been cast

into the Nile, the people as such would have continued, since the children of Jewish mothers and Egyptian fathers (or

others) are fully Jewish. What would have been lacking in such a situation, however, are kings, priests, and Levites,

for these are determined by the fathers. If so, the midwives did not save the people, but only

kingship, the priesthood, and the Leviteship, and therefore their reward is that these would come from them. In our portion Pinchas saves

the continuity of the idea of the people of Israel from being cut off [a mathematical riddle for the reader: why only the continuity

of the spiritual?]. Therefore Pinchas's reward is that from his descendants would emerge the keepers of the spiritual flame:

the high priests.

In the portion we see that there are other forms of continuity as well. Pinchas is continued by his sons, and so too

with the inheritance of every man in Israel. By contrast, Zelophehad is continued by his daughters, and Moses

and Elijah the prophet are continued by their disciples (Joshua and Elisha). The Sages teach us that 'whoever teaches

his fellow's son the Torah, Scripture accounts it to him as though he had begotten him.' And similarly in rabbinic teaching: 'Who has preceded Me, that I should repay him?'

(Job 41) — this refers to one who has no children and produces books and lends them to others. Spiritual continuity

is a substitute for biological continuity.

In our portion, our teacher Moses turns to the Holy One, blessed be He, asking Him to appoint 'a man in whom there is spirit' as his successor. Rashi there comments

(Numbers 27:16):

Once Moses heard that the Omnipresent had said to him, 'Give Zelophehad's inheritance to his daughters,' he said, 'The time has come that I should demand

my own needs, that my sons should inherit my greatness.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: 'That is not what arose in My thought;

Joshua is worthy to receive the reward for his service, for he never departed from within the Tent.' And this is what Solomon said:

'He who tends the fig tree shall eat its fruit' (Proverbs 27:18).

Moses seeks the appointment of a successor for his own sake ('I should demand my own needs'). The Holy One, blessed be He, says to him: continuity is not

for the sake of a private need, but for the sake of the idea. Continuity has no independent standing; it serves an idea.

The implication is that if the biological successor is not suited to this, then we must choose a successor who will transmit

the idea onward more effectively.

To be sure, in Jewish law there is an approach that gives preference to the biological successor, if only because his attendance upon

his father (like Joshua's attendance upon Moses in the Tent) is more natural. However, if the natural successor

is not worthy, we must place the crown upon the head of the one more worthy of it. In fact,

the priests as a whole came in place of the firstborn, and this itself is an act of changing the successor because of unsuitability

(after the firstborn sinned).

There is a very deep point here. Most human beings leave no trace in the world after their passing

(except for those who created something of value for generations). The only result of our mere existence is

our successors (biological or otherwise). These successors too will disappear, sooner or

later, from the stage of history. If so, at no stage can one point to the purpose for which

all of history was intended. The purpose lies in the very transition from one stage to the next. We all pass

and descend from the stage, and only the idea remains.

Physicists call this phenomenon a 'wave.' What characterizes wave motion is that the medium through which

the wave travels does not advance at all. What advances is the wave's energy, which is transmitted from one point

to the next. During the movement of a wave at sea, the water does not progress at all (it moves up and

down). The same is true of the air that carries sound waves. In a wave, only the information advances, while

the medium that carries it remains behind.

One who understands this knows that the essential thing is not who the successor will be, but where he will take the spiritual energy

that he has received, and what he will do with it. We are not meant to care only for our descendants, but for successors

of every kind, and for the idea they carry with them. Without the idea, all our existence is worthless. At some point

in the future, when our spiritual information reaches its destination, then we shall know that the task

has been completed. Then our mouths will be filled with laughter.

Have a peaceful Sabbath

This may be deposited for ritual burial in any synagogue or religious academy. Comments and responses are welcome.

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