From Parshah Pinchas Chapter 25.10-30.1

Summary

“Pinchas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by him zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal,” God says. Therefore ‘I hereby give him My covenant of peace. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him.’

Torah portion Pinchas begins by completing the episode which began in the previous Parshah of  Balak: Pinchas had ended the plague that was devastating the Israelites while they were practising  idolatry.  Pinchas’ reward for his zealotry and fanaticism was a “covenant/agreement  of peace” (Num. 25:12) and “lasting priesthood” (Num. 25:13). God declared Pinchas a hero. He had saved the Israelites from destruction by showing a passion for God as opposed to the people’s faithlessness, and as a reward, God honored him.

Pinchas acted correctly in God’s eyes.

The  story  then moves on to the second census in the book, this time of the new generation that would enter the land of Cannan (Israel). This time the total population numbered 601,730.Thereafter there are two stories, one about the daughters of Tzlofhad and God’s positive reply to their request for a share in the land, the second about Moses’ request that God appoint a successor for him.

The Parshah  ends with two chapters about the sacrifices to be brought at different times: daily, weekly, monthly, and on festivals.

Numbers Chapter 25

10 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
11 Phinchas the son of Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal.
12 Therefore, say, “I hereby give him My covenant of peace.
13 It shall be for him and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of kehunah, because he was zealous for his God and atoned for the children of Israel.”
14 The name of the Israelite man who was killed, who was slain with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu, the chieftain of the Simeonite paternal house.
15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was slain was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, a national leader of a paternal house in Midian.
16 The Lord spoke to Moses saying:
17 Distress the Midianites, and you shall smite them.
18 For they distress you with their plots which they contrived against you in the incident of Peor and in the incident of Cozbi their sister, the daughter of the Midianite chieftain, who was slain on the day of the plague [that had come] because of Peor.

Numbers Chapter 26

1 It was after the plague, that the Lord spoke to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron the kohen, saying:
2 Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and upwards, following their fathers’ houses, all that are fit to go out to war in Israel.
3 Moses and Eleazar the kohen spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying:
4 “From the age of twenty and upward, as the Lord commanded Moses and the children of Israel who had come out of Egypt.”

Torah for Today

    • Why is it important that leaders consider their successors?
    •  Should leaders have a key role in choosing who will lead after they step down?
    • What qualities in Moses do we see mirrored in Joshua?