Parshat Pinchas 5783
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in the beginning of this week’s parsha the command to count Bnei Yisrael. This counting takes place after the episode of Pinchas taking the life of Zimri and Kozbi. Pinchas’s action ended the plague which resulted from the sin of Ba’al Pe’or where Bnei Yisrael sinned with the Moabite and Midianite women. Rashi teaches that the reason for their counting at this juncture, was to see who remained after the plague. This parallels Rashi’s explanation of the counting in the beginning of sefer Bamidbar which he teaches was to count how many remained after the sin of the golden calf.
Rashi brings another explanation for the counting at this juncture. He teaches that Moshe Rabbeinu was about to pass on the leadership of Clal Yisrael to Yehoshua. Bnei Yisrael were counted when they were given over to Moshe when they left Egypt. Therefore, as part of passing on the flock to the next shepherd, Moshe was commanded to count them and return them with a precise number to Yehoshua as well.
These reasons brought here by Rashi are similar to the explanations given for previous countings in the Torah. But there is something unique about this counting, as Rashi himself points out. Rashi teaches on the pasuk (Chapter 26, Pasuk 5), בני ראובן חנוך משפחת החנכי, that the nations of the world were disparaging Bnei Yisrael. How can you count the lineage of your tribes? Do you really think your children were descended from their fathers and not fathered by the Egyptians? If they enslaved their bodies, did they not control their wives?
The Torah responds to this crude claim by stating that the family of חנוך was referred to as החנכי; the letters “Heh” and “Yud”, the letters of the name of Hashem, appear before and after the name. This indicates that Hashem is testifying that the lineage of Clal Yisrael is pure. And this pattern is repeated throughout the counting of Bnei Yisrael.
Immediately after this counting, the Torah discusses dividing the portions of Eretz Yisrael. As we have explained many times previously, sefer Bamidbar is the transition from the generation of those who left Egypt to those who enter Eretz Yisrael. The Medrash Rabbah on Bereishis (46,9) states, אם מקיימין בניך את המילה הן נכנסים לארץ ואם לאו אין נכנסים לארץ. A condition for Bnei Yisrael entering Eretz Yisrael was to fulfill the mitzvah of Bris Milah. And fulfilling this mitzvah of Milah includes maintaining the sanctity required of Milah.
The pasuk in sefer Tehillim states (Chapter 111, Pasuk 6), כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו לתת להם נחלת גוים. The Sfas Emes teaches that the p’shat in the words כח מעשיו is based on the pasuk in sefer Yeshayahu (Chapter 57, Pasuk 16) ונשמות אני עשיתי. The handiwork of Hashem are the holy Jewish Neshamos which were created with two “Yudim” (see Rashi on Bereishis, Chapter 2, Pasuk 7), one for Olam Haba and one for Olam Hazeh. And this handiwork was given over to Bnei Yisrael, הגיד לעמו, through the power of Bris Milah. It is precisely a result of the purity of Milah that Clal Yisrael are able to produce offspring with Divine souls. And as a result, לתת להם נחלת גוים; when Bnei Yisrael are maintaining the purity of the Bris, they produce these Neshamos and they merit to receive and maintain the ability to dwell in Eretz Yisrael.
The Sfas Emes explains that this is the fundamental reason for the counting of Bnei Yisrael at this juncture. With the sin of Ba’al Pe’or, Bnei Yisrael compromised the purity of Bris. Having relations with the Moabite and Midianite women would have endangered their ability to enter Eretz Yisrael. The covenant was, you act in a pure manner, and I will enable you to produce holy souls who will dwell in the Holy Land. They were saved by Pinchas. He returned the significance and the sanctity of their Bris with Hashem to those who survived and remained. And this was proven in the counting. After the plague killed off those who sinned, Hashem is testifying that Bnei Yisrael indeed are the descendants of their fathers for the women maintained their purity in Mitzrayim. And not only of their immediate fathers, but of the forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov, who established the Bris with Hashem. And this purity of the men will enable them to continue producing נשמות טהורות.
The Sfas Emes says that this is even hinted at in the pasuk we quoted above, כח מעשיו הגיד לעמו. The word הגיד is a reference to the Bris Milah itself, the means through which the Kedushah is passed on. And the Gematria of הגיד is twenty two, representing the twenty two letters of the Torah inscribed in the hearts of Clal Yisrael in the merit of keeping the sanctity of Bris Milah.
The testimony of Hashem of the lineage of Bnei Yisrael is followed by the portions of Eretz Yisrael. Since they survived the plague of Ba’al Pe’or and maintained the Bris, they will enter Eretz Yisrael. Rav Tzadok adds, that afterwards, the parsha concludes with the additional sacrifices brought on the festivals. This is because the sanctity of the festivals is determined by Clal Yisrael when Beis Din declares the New Moon. And this only happens since Bnei Yisrael themselves are holy, as the Bracha of Yom Tov states, מקדש ישראל והזמנים. Hashem sanctifies Clal Yisrael who in turn sanctity the time of the festivals. Once again, Pinchas returned the Kedushah of Am Yisrael by ensuring the holiness of the Bris, which leads to Eretz Yisrael and ultimately to the Kedushah of the Yomim Tovim.
Good Shabbos
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