פרשה: פינחס · עלייה: שני (גבורה)

משפחת החנכי, the family of Chanoch. Yalkut Shimoni on our verse (item 773) quotes Rav Idi who says that whenever you have the letter ה at the beginning of a name and the letter י at the end this is a sign that the person named was a son of the person who claimed to be his father. The string of such names here proves that the Israelites practiced marital fidelity. [The two letters discussed here together form the name of G'd i.e. י־ה so that what Rav Idi means is that G'd associated His name with the names of these families. Ed.]

Having read Rav Idi's comment, we need to understand why these two letters appear in the reverse order, i.e. ה־י instead of י־ה. We may understand this with the help of some introductory remarks based on Tikkuney Hazohar 10. We are told there that the overall pool of souls of the Jewish people originates from an area beneath the throne of G'd which is called Heychal Kodsho, the Sanctuary of His Holiness. This aspect of G'd is called in our parlance א־ד־נ־י. Our halachic codifiers such as Tur Shulchan Aruch Or Hachayim 5 have told us that when someone utters the name of G'd during his prayers he must think of each single letter in the name of G'd he utters. When he utters names which we are permitted to utter and which are spelled in the prayerbook with the letters א־ד־נ־י, he must think of G'd in terms of His sovereignty. When he encounters the name of G'd spelled י־ה, he is to think of G'd in terms of His being eternal. When he encounters the Ineffable Name, i.e. י־ה־ו־ה, he is to think of G'd in terms of His being supremely powerful. He should also think of G'd as multifaceted as portrayed by the various ways His name appears in print. We have a verse in Psalms 11,4 where the ineffable name of G'd appears both before and after the words היכל קדשו, "the Sanctuary of His holiness." In that instance you will find that the letter ה at the end of the name of G'd before the expression היכל קדשו and the letter י immediately after the expression היכל קדשו form the reverse of the usual י־ה, i.e. ה־י just as in the sequence of the name החנכי. These two letters then may be viewed as the seal of the היכל קדשו, and together they represent the two letters י־ה which form the name of G'd most often manifest in our lives ever since the destruction of the Temple.

הוא דתן ואבירם, "the same Datan and Aviram, etc." What did the Torah want to teach us by referring to Datan and Aviram at this point? If the Torah merely wanted to tell us that these two were the same Datan and Aviram we have encountered in connection with the rebellion of Korach, we knew this. It was hardly likely that two members of the tribe of Reuven both named Eliav each had two sons called Datan and Aviram. Moreover, their names did not need to appear here at all. None of the other families who had died before this census were mentioned in this sequence. Furthermore, why was the Torah so long-winded in telling us how these two brothers "incited in the company of Korach against Moses and Aaron when they incited against G'd?"

I believe that the reason the Torah recalls what these brothers had done was to inform us that they had been the cause of Korach's rebellion. It was G'd's wish to publicise the names of the wicked people who had orchestrated the evil in question. By writing אשר הצו, the Torah stresses that these two incited others both against Moses and Aaron as well as against G'd. Rashi explains the verse in the same sense. Once we have heard that these two caused the whole Israelite community to sin, it is quite possible to blame them also for having incited Korach. Although the Torah wrote (Numbers 16,1) "Korach took, etc.," which sounds as if Korach had initiated whatever he did, this may have occurred after something the brothers Datan and Aviram had already done, and that they had incited him. When the Torah repeats here once more what it had written in Numbers 16,32 that "the earth opened its mouth and it swallowed them and Korach," it may be that these two were the root cause why Korach and family were swallowed by the earth and why the 250 men who offered incense were burned to death at the time. The Torah also suggests here that but for the two demagogues Datan and Aviram the Israelites who had gathered threateningly against Moses and Aaron would have done תשובה.

The best proof for our theory is the fact that Moses is described as trying to placate only Datan and Aviram when he sent messengers to call them for a chat (Numbers 16,12). When they refused to come, Moses even went to look them up (16,25). The reason was that Moses felt that these two were at the bottom of the whole rebellion. Once we accept this, the death of all the people who perished can be attributed to Datan and Aviram. This results in our being able to find some excuse for both Korach and the 250 men who offered the incense. You find that the Torah wrote in Deut.11,6: "and what He has done to Datan and Aviram, the sons of Eliav, how the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, their houses, and their tents and every living thing which followed them." Moses attributed the entire debacle exclusively to Datan and Aviram. Having explained this, we can now understand the scholar in Sanhedrin 110 who holds that the company of Korach does not qualify for life in the hereafter as referring only to Datan and Aviram. The contrary opinion who holds that Korach and company will enjoy life in the hereafter and who base themselves on Samuel I 2,8 that "G'd lowers people to Sheol and brings them up again," must be understood as referring to Korach and companions exclusive of Datan and Aviram to whom the verse does not apply.

ובני קרח לא מתו. However, Korach's sons had not died. It is somewhat surprising that the Torah informs us about this fact here instead of in the story about Korach or in connection with the count of the Levites where we should have been told about which Levites had died. If you accept what we have written it is evident that the Torah chose this occasion to reveal who was the root-cause of Korach's uprising, i.e. Datan and Aviram. If so this was the place to inform us about some other redeeming quality of Korach, namely that his sons were righteous and did not join their father in his rebellion or that they retracted in time. At any rate, whereas Datan and Aviram and all their "houses," i.e. their offspring perished, Korach's sons did not. This is another factor which supports the theory that Datan and Aviram had been the instigators all along.

לשאול משפחת השאולי, "of Shaul the family of the Shaulites." Rabbi Yochanan is quoted in Bamidbar Rabbah 21,3 as having said that Zimri had 5 names, one of which was "Shaul son of the Canaanite." It is difficult to understand that the Shaul mentioned here could have been Zimri seeing we have the principle (Yuma 38) of שם רשעים ירקב, "let the names of the wicked rot;" if so, why would G'd associate His name [i.e. the letters ה and י surrounding the name שאול Ed.] with that of such a wicked person? This especially since the Torah has already referred to his Canaanite connection! One of the ways we suggested as appropriate to understand 25,14 אשר הכה את המדינית, had been that Zimri was struck only while in the company of Kosbi. He did not share his afterlife with her. This would explain why at this stage, i.e. after Zimri was dead already, G'd could associate His name with Zimri's because the latter was in עולם הבא by this time. Perhaps the following words in Bamidbar Rabbah 21,3 lend even more weight to what we have just said. The Midrash explained the name שאול to mean that he had "lent himself out to commit a sin." Seeing that loans are subject to return to their origin, Shaul returned to his erstwhile status after his death.

לאזני, "to Ozni, etc." Rashi says: "this was the family of Etzbaun, and I do not know why he is not called by the same name as he appears in Genesis 46,16." Thus far Rashi. I do not see why he had to invent something without giving a reason for it, especially when we have no tradition concerning this amongst the writings of our sages. Moreover, you will find the following comment in Midrash Tanchuma item 4 on our Parshah: "When you examine the list of the children of Gad you will find seven names although Etzbaun does not appear seeing he was missing having followed Bileam's advice." According to the Midrash then, Ozni must have been a different family which originated with Gad but did not appear in the list in Genesis 46,16. This in itself would not be unusual as surely all the tribes had more families than the ones enumerated here, but these were known by the family names of their more numerous brothers. When these sub-categories became numerous they in turn were given separate names. I have found the following in the Pessikta: Ozni is identical with the Etzbaun mentioned in Genesis 46,16. The name is derived from "Atzit" and "he-ezin." Thus far the Pessikta. Accordingly, it was a proper name and the Torah did not care listing the same person here under a different name. Rashi must have been divinely inspired having guessed what the sages have stated [which he did not quote because he had no access to these writings. Ed.]

בני יהודה, the sons of Yehudah. This whole paragraph (19-22) is full of allusions to the history of the Jewish people. The reason the Torah has chosen to present us with these hints when enumerating the family members of Yehudah is because Yehudah is symbolic of the Jewish people as a whole. We have learned already in Bereshit Rabbah 98,6 that when one used to ask a Jew who was a member of a certain tribe to identify himself he would describe himself first and foremost as a Yehudi, not as a Shimoni or Reuveni, for instance. When our verse starts with the words בני יהודה, the Torah has in mind the descendants of Yehudah, not just his actual sons. Er and Onan respectively are allusions to the premature destruction of both the first and the second Temple. This idea is alluded to in Song of Songs 5,2: "I am asleep but my heart is ער, "awake." This means that while the first Temple was standing G'd was very much "awake," watching over my fate. Onan is an allusion to the second Temple. The Torah refers to it as Onan, an expression denoting אונאה, deception, as many of the holy vessels such as the Holy Ark, etc. were missing during the entire period of the second Temple's operation.

The Torah goes on to say that Er and Onan died, a reference to the destruction of both Temples. Departure of the שכינה, G'd's Presence, from the Temple, is described as death. Just as death of a body is the departure of the soul, so the departure of the Holy Presence of G'd is the death of the Temple. The cause, of course, were the sins committed by the Jewish people. Instead of being filled with G'd's Presence, the respective Temples became filled with the negative spiritual forces created through the sins committed. There is also an opinion according to which the specific sins which the original Er and Onan had been guilty of became the cause of the destruction of both Temples (compare Shabbat 62). The Talmud there states that the Jews were causing their bedsteads to become evil-smelling with semen (which was not theirs), committing the same sin as Er who is reported as being "evil" i.e. wasting his semen, in the eyes of G'd (Genesis 38,7). Onan's sin which is held responsible for the destruction of the second Temple, i.e. "senseless hatred" as described in Yuma 9, was that he hated his deceased brother and did not want that his name should be perpetuated through his impregnating his brother's widow (compare Genesis 38,9). The word Onan is derived from the Hebrew אונאה which also describes mutual harassment, i.e. causeless hatred.

The Torah concludes verse 19 by mentioning ארץ כנען, to remind us that these sins were committed on holy soil and that the souls of people who died on such soil because of such sins were returned to the domain of Samael, otherwise known as Canaan. There is also an allusion of a more comprehensive nature here. It is that the reason the Israelites did not hold on to ארץ ישראל permanently was that they never completed the command to drive out or kill the Canaanites completely. Allowing the Canaanites to co-exist with them in the same land enabled the remaining Canaanites to seduce the Israelites into worshiping idols and adopting many of the abominable practices of that nation.

The Torah introduces the sons of Yehudah here with the word ויהיו, a word which usually is a prelude to something painful, some negative experience. The painful experience our verse alludes to is the destruction of the Temple and the exile and persecution which occurred as a corollary of the destruction of the House of G'd. Hail to people who have never had to taste the bitter experience of exile. You will note that the expression ויהיו is not mentioned in connection with any of the other tribes except Yehudah and regarding one of the families of Benjamin, i.e. Bela. The reason for this will be explained in due course.

The Torah writes למשפחותם, according to their "families," as the destruction of the Temple affected all the families of the Jewish nation wherever they were, negatively. Anyone bearing the name Yehudi viewed the Temple's destruction as a personal disaster, i.e. וי היו, they were in a state of mourning.

The reference to Shelah is an allusion to the redeemer who will redeem the Jewish people from their final exile. His name is called שלה. Although when Yaakov blessed Yehudah on his death bed he called the same Messiah שילה (with the extra letter י), this detail does not change the name materially. If you will take a close look at the names recorded here and compare them with the ones in Genesis chapter 46, you will find numerous changes in the spelling. Perhaps the formula שלה is a form of the possessive as it belongs together with the words ויהיו בני יהודה i.e. "inasmuch as all of Israel has to mourn on account of what happened to the Temple and to look forward with fervent hope to the coming of the Messiah." We have a parallel for this in the Talmud where Rabbi Yoshua ben Levi was asked by the Messiah if the Israelites were truly aware of his pain and were sick on his account. The Zohar in Parshat Beshalach comments on Isaiah 52,8: קול צפיך נשאו קול….בשוב ה׳ ציון, "the voice of those who wait for you raise their voice (still further)." Here too the expression ויהיו means that all the families are saddened, שלה, on account of the Messiah who has not yet come. When the verse continues speaking of משפחת השלני, "the family of Shelah," this refers to the generation in whose time Shelah (Messiah) will appear. That whole generation will then be called by the name of the Messiah in commemoration of that event.

There may be an additional message in the fact that the Torah added the letter נ when speaking of the family of Shelah, i.e. השלני. Normally only the letters ה or י are used in adding the possessive clause to such names. We must refer to Shabbat 32 where the Talmud explains Zachariah 8,23 אשר יחזיקו עשרה אנשים מכל לשונות הגוים והחזיקו בכנף איש יהודי to mean that in the days of the Messiah 10 people of each of the 70 nations will hold on to the fringes on the garment of a single Jew begging to be allowed to go with him, etc. The same idea is hinted at in the word השלני. All the nations of the world will claim שלו אני, "I belong to him," i.e. to the Messiah."

לפרץ משפחת הפרצי. This is an allusion to the authority wielded by a Jewish king who may infringe on fenced in private property in order to make a roadway (Sanhedrin 20). The verse tells us that the descendants of Peretz will all be kings, enjoying the right to be פורץ גדר, to tear down fences in order to claim a right of way. We are told in Baba Metzia 113 concerning messianic times that every Jew will be considered as a prince. This is supported by Isaiah 49,7: "kings will behold them and rise up (in their honour)." The word פרץ is also an allusion to the great פרצה, "breach," which the Messiah will make amongst the Gentile nations.

לזרח משפחת הזרחי; this is a reference to what is written in Isaiah 60,2 וכבוד ה׳ עליך זרח, "and the glory of the Lord will shine upon you." The prophet goes on in verse 19 of the same chapter: "your light will shine continuously" (not by day only, or by night only, but continuously, forever more). In other words, the family of Zerach will be instrumental in assuring us of G'd's eternal light.

It is also possible that the entire paragraph refers to three manifestations which will occur during the messianic period. 1) the arrival of the Messiah from the tribe of Ephrayim as we learned in Sukkah 52. 2) The Messiah of Davidic origin will reveal himself. 3) The final stage of the redemption when G'd personally and directly will rule over us. The name Shelah is a reference to the advent of the Messiah descended from Ephrayim; the Torah hints that he will be smitten and die as a result of the sins of the Jewish people. The word שלה then must be understood as similar to Samuel II 6,7: ויכהו שם על השל, G'd killed him there (Uzzah) because of the sin." [he had tried to steady the ark instead of letting the ark steady him, an inadvertent sin. Ed.] The word פרץ refers to the Messiah from the house of David who would make a פרצה amongst the Gentile nations. and who would avenge the blood of the Messiah from the tribe of Ephrayim. Concerning G'd's eternal rule over us, the Torah wrote לזרח, alluding to G'd's light which would shine forever from then on.

The reason the Torah writes the word ויהיו in connection with פרץ though he symbolises the Messiah from the house of David, is that the arrival of the Messiah will be accompanied by many painful episodes, so much so that some scholars who lived during the time of the Talmud expressed the wish not to be alive during that time. The expression בני פרץ, allude to two separate phenomena which will originate through the arrival of פרץ, i.e. the arrival of the Messiah. One is that G'd will build the "courtyard of the King," i.e. third Temple, and the Jewish people will all be members of His entourage. This is what is meant by the words לחצרון משפחת החצרוני. [the word חצרון is related to חצר, courtyard. Ed.] The second result is alluded to by the words לחמול משפחת החמולי, i.e. that G'd will relate to us at that time with all the pity (חמלה) possible.

When the Torah writes אלה משפחות יהודה, "These are the families of Yehudah," it is a hint that they would experience both the pleasant and the unpleasant aspects of the redemption. לפקדיהם, refers to the fact that being numbered contained positive and negative elements (compare Zohar Chadash volume 1 page 160. [I do not have a Zohar Chadash on Pinchas. Ed.]) Our paragraph mentions two kinds of numberings.

The Torah speaks of 76,500 fighting men who were counted amongst the tribe of Yehudah. [The author indulges in fanciful speculation of the time of the redemption based on the numbers of the tribe of Yehudah. The speculations have proven irrelevant. I do not propose to go into detail. Ed.]

בני יששכר, The members of the tribe of Issachar, etc. Inasmuch as the tribe of Issachar is distinguished by intensive Torah study, the Torah alluded to this in its very name, יש שכר, "there is a reward," i.e. this tribe more than any other qualifies for reward. Any benefit secured in this life other than reward for Torah study is not worth the name, as it is transient. Our sages in Berachot 28 tell us that one needs to recite a short prayer when leaving the house of study in which one acknowledges that whereas both the secular people and the Torah scholars invest a great deal of effort in their respective pursuits, the former waste their efforts, whereas the Torah students do not labour in vain. The reason is simple. All comforts and riches in this life are transient, do not accompany man to the hereafter. The reward called שכר which one receives in return for Torah study does endure and one can take it with him to the hereafter. By using the word שכר the Torah also indicates that everything in the world which G'd has created, He created only for the sake of Issachar, i.e. the people studying Torah. We find this thought already in Bereshit Rabbah 1, i.e. that the word בראשית ברא implies that G'd only created the universe for the sake of Torah, i.e. the people who study it. Another allusion contained in this verse is related to what we learned in Uktzin 3,12 that in the messianic future (or even later) G'd will make every righteous person inherit 310 "worlds." The author of that Mishnah bases this on the numerical value of the word יש, from the promise in Jeremiah 31,16 יש שכר לפעולתיך, "there is a reward for your accomplishments."

When the Torah continues: לתולע, etc., the Torah utilises the names of the respective families of the tribe of Issachar to describe the conditions which need to be met by the Torah student to qualify for the reward we have described. We are taught in Avot 6,5 that Torah knowledge can be acquired via 48 different paths. The meaning of the name תולע alludes to two of these paths. 1) The student must develop the characteristics of a noble, elegant person, עדין. Our sages in Moed Katan 16 describe David as having possessed this virtue and that is why he was called עדינו העצני (Samuel II 23,8). [This is a completely homiletical interpretation of that whole verse by Rav who describes David as having made himself as delicate as a worm when studying Torah. Ed.] The second aspect of the meaning of תולע is that one needs to make oneself as insignificant as a worm whose only power is its mouth. These two virtues combined represent the ultimate simile for humility, especially when applied to a mighty warrior such as David. If one possesses this virtue one has no need to cultivate any of the other 48 qualities mentioned in that Mishnah.

The Torah goes on לפוה משפחת הפוני. We must first explain why the Torah saw fit to add the letter נ in the word הפוני, although this letter is not one found in the name of G'd. We would have expected the Torah to write הפוי. We suggest therefore that the Torah wanted to allude to the other qualities mentioned in the above-mentioned Mishnah in Avot 6,5 which are recommended for the student who wishes to acquire Torah. One of them is מיעוט שיחה, a minimal amount of unnecessary conversation, plus other such suggestions. By referring to פוה משפחת הפוני the Torah alludes to the mouth seeing the word פוה is related to פה, mouth. The Torah added the letter ו which is the mystical dimension of the עץ החיים, "the tree of life," the activity the mouths of the members of the tribe are busy with when studying Torah more than the mouths of secularly oriented people. The fact that this letter ו appears next to the letter ה suggests the mystical dimension of good characteristics combining within the persons studying Torah. The words משפחת הפוני suggest that one needs to divest oneself of all extraneous concerns, even from idle talk, if one wants to attain the maximum Torah knowledge and observance one is capable of achieving. I have found a comment by Rabbi Moshe Alshich on Exodus 28,31 according to which the mouths of Torah students are in the same category as the holy vessels used in the Temple. This is because of all the things that are sacred nothing is more sacred than Torah. Once the mouth has become a holy vessel it must not be abused to serve secular matters, even if the conversation one conducts is not slanderous or otherwise concerned with forbidden matters. This is precisely what the Torah hints at with the word לפוה, i.e. that any conversation not related to Torah should be avoided. As to the expression משפחת הפוני, the latter נ converts this word into פנות i.e. the turning aside or clearing out of all matters which interfere with the mouth being used for disseminating Torah.

The Torah continues לישוב, which suggests "sitting," i.e. that in order to study Torah in depth one has to sit down, one cannot study haphazardly a few minutes here and a few minutes there. This too is one of the 48 methods described in the Mishnah as a way to acquire Torah. Sitting down enables one to also activate other qualities useful in the acquisition and retention of Torah.

The Torah continues with the fourth son of Issachar לשמרן משפחת השמרני. The word שמרני suggest שמירה, "observance," something that the Torah student is even more duty-bound to be careful with than the average Jew. A sage in Yuma 86 was asked to give an example for the sin of חלול השם, a desecration of G'd's name. He answered: "if I were to buy meat and not pay cash on the spot." This gives us an inkling of how circumspect a Torah scholar has to be in every single one of his actions. We read in Chovat Halevavot in the fifth section of the chapter dealing with repentance that the pious people in former generations used to rather forego seventy things which are permissible in order to avoid violating even a single thing which is forbidden.

When the Torah continues: אלה משפחות יששכר לפקדיהם, the word פקדיהם is meant in a positive sense. The Torah describes the פקידה as 64,300. [The word Pekidah has a dual meaning; in addition to numbering or appointing, the plain meaning in our verse, it also means keeping something in mind, Ed.] The Torah hinted at two potential achievements here. 1) The terrestrial world can be fit to be the carrier of G'd's Presence, שכינה. This is alluded to in the number 64 being only one less than the numerical value of the name of G'd spelled א־ד־נ־י. The number 64 is the numerical value of the attribute of Justice, דין. Our task is to "sweeten" this attribute by means of Torah study so that we close the gap between what is represented by 64 and to achieve what is represented by the number 65 (compare Zohar volume 2 page 9). This is based on Deut. 22,6: "and the mother (bird) is sittting on the chicks (eggs)." 2) the attainment of life in the hreafter which is alluded to in the Mishnah by the mention of 310 worlds. In our verse this is alluded to by the words אלף ושלש מאות, 1300. [I believe the idea is that we are to imagine the number א=1 inserted within the number 300 making a total of 310. Ed.]

Before explaining the reason behind all this, let me first examine the statement of Rabbi Yoshua ben Levi in Uktzin 3,12 according to which the righteous will inherit 310 worlds. If the Rabbi meant to emphasise the number, why did the word in the Bible (Proverbs 8,21) which Rabbi Yoshua uses, i.e. יש, list the number ten before the number 300? It would have been more convincing if Solomon had written שי instead of יש! I have heard a beautiful explanation about this. The number 310 actually comprises 4 worlds, i.e. the worlds of אצילות, בריאה, יצירה and עשיה. Each one of these words contains or is dependent on the number 10, i.e. the 10 emanations [each emanation is divided into ten parts also. Ed.]. Rabbi Yoshua wanted to tell us that the righteous will enjoy the harmony in four different worlds. However, not every righteous person will enjoy this harmony in equal measure. All the righteous will experience all there is to experience in the lower three of these four worlds. When it comes to the highest of these worlds, the עולם האצילות, however, different souls of the righteous will experience only a fraction of the potentially ten parts of harmony to be experienced in that domain. Each of these parts is again divided into ten, so that Rabbi Yoshua assures the righteous that the minimum of the possible total of 400 "worlds" that each of the righteous will attain is 310, i.e. the total available in the lower three worlds and not less than one tenth of the potential attainable in the עולם האצילות. We need to appreciate further that the "tenth" part which one attains in the highest world is by itself worth more than all the spiritual achievements one has attained in the three lower worlds combined. This is what Solomon alluded to when instead of speaking of שי he spoke of יש, i.e. to remind us that the ultimate tenth one has attained in the fourth world is superior to the 300, i.e. 3×10×10 in the lower three worlds. In view of the aforegoing the אלף (1) which precedes the number 300 in the word אלף ושלש מאות, alludes to the small part of the potential available in the עולם האצילות and is parallel to the letter י in the word יש in Proverbs 8,21. The number 300 may be understood at its face value. The idea that every emanation is divided into ten parts itself so that every "world" is comprised of 100 units is found in Tikkuney Ha-Zohar chapter 69. This then is what is alluded to in the letters שכר in the name יששכר.

בני זבלון, The sons of Zevulun, etc. The verse alludes to Zevulun's particular contribution and to that tribe's spiritual achievements. The name סרד containing the same letters as the word סדר, "order or arrangement," means the same thing as סדר, just as the Torah on occasion reverses the order of the letters in the word כשב, "sheep," and spells it כבש. The idea is that Zevulun arranges all the material needs for Issachar so that the latter can study Torah without interruption. אלון is an expression for strength, i.e the oak tree; Proverbs 3,18 describes Torah as the tree of life for those who grasp it and support it. Vayikra Rabbah 25,1 elaborates that instead of speaking of the people who study Torah, Solomon spoke of those who support Torah, i.e. מחזיקים בה. Seeing that Zevulun supported Issachar's Torah study financially, the Torah alludes to this with the letters in the name of one of his sons אלון.