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by Dr. Avigdor Bonchek

Introduction

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Parashas Pinchas(65)

In this week's sedra Moses asks for a leader to succeed him. Hashem instructes him to appoint Joshua as his heir to lead the People after Moses' death.

Numbers 27:16

Let Hashem, the God of the spirit of all flesh, appoint a man over the assembly.

RASHI

Let Hashem appoint: Rashi: When Moses heard the Omnipresent say to him 'give Zelaphchad's inheritance to his daughters', he said 'The time has come for me to ask for my personal request - that my sons should inherit my position of leadership .' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, 'That is not My intention. Joshua is worthy of being rewarded for his service, as he never moved from the tent.' This is the meaning of Solomon's statement 'He who watches the fig tree shall eat its fruit'

(Proverbs 27:18).

In light of the previous Rashi-comment (27:15), what would you ask here?

Your Question:

QUESTIONING RASHI

A Question: Rashi said above that the righteous (Moses) ''ignore their own needs and concern themselves with the needs of the community" but we see from this comment that Moses did think of his personal needs and wanted his own son to be the newly appointed leader. How can these two comments be reconciled?

Your Answer:

UNDERSTANDING THE "CONTRADICTION" IN RASHI

An Answer: Moses was, first and foremost, concerned with the community's need for a new leader. But this did not prevent him from asking G-d that that leader be his son. Moses hoped that these two needs, the personal and communal, would complement each other and not contradict each other.

INHERETING LEADERSHIP THE TORAH'S WAY

The latter part of the Rashi-comment on verse 16 is enlightening. He says that G-d's answer to Moses' request was as follows:

"The Holy One said to him 'That is not My intention. Joshua is worthy of being rewarded for his service as he never moved from the tent (a reference to Exodus 33:12). This is the meaning of [King] Solomon's statement 'he who keeps watch over the fig tree shall eat its fruit'

We see clearly that nepotism is not looked upon favorably in the Torah. The position of leadership has to be filled by the man most worthy of the task, without consideration of family background. Throughout the Torah and Tanach we see this principle enforced over and over again. Joshua's son did not inherit his father's mantel; Samuel's children didn't inherit their father's position.

This idea is expressed most emphatically in the Talmud. In the mishna in Edios (5:7) we are told that when the great Sage, Akavia ben Mahalalel, was on his death bed, his son made a request of him. "Father, tell your friends (the Sages) to include me in their circle." His father said to him: "I shall not tell them that.' [His son] said to him: "Why? Have I perhaps done something wrong?" He answered him: "No. But it is your own actions that shall draw you near [to the Sages] or your own actions that shall cause you to be distanced [from them].

Akavia was unequivocal: Your own actions, he told his son, will determine how far you get in life, not your ancestor's accomplishments.

In another law, the Sages expressed this idea in its starkest form. They said honors are to be bestowed according to the person's accomplishments in life and nothing else. "The mamzer (born of a unlawful relationship) who is an accomplished talmid chacham ( Torah scholar) takes priority over the High Priest who is an ignoramus." (Talmud Horius 13a)

The mamzer is the lowest level of a person with a blemished pedigree, the High Priest, on the other hand, is the highest level. In the realm of personal accomplishment, the talmid chacham is on the highest level, the ignoramus, on the lowest. This law says that personal accomplishment is to be awarded more honor than inherited status. This line of thought runs through the Scriptures and the Talmud like a scarlet thread. It continues to be the guiding principle in Jewish life throughout the generations afterwards.

ALWAYS CHECK THE COMPLETE VERSE WHICH RASHI QUOTES

Rashi quotes the first part of a verse from Proverbs. "He who keeps watch over the fig tree shall eat its fruit" (Proverbs 27:18)

Sound advice to heed is that whenever Rashi quotes a verse in Tanach, we should check the verse ourselves. In this case, Rashi quotes only part of the verse. We should see what the complete verse says. It says:

"The protector of a fig tree will eat its fruit and the guardian of his master will be honored."

We see that it is the last part of this verse, the part not quoted by Rashi, which really supports his idea. As this verse indicates, the rightful heir of Moses' leadership mantel is Joshua, for he was 'the guardian of his master' and therefore he 'will be honored.'

Shabbat Shalom
Avigdor Bonchek

"What's Bothering Rashi?" is a production of "The Institute for the Study of Rashi."


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