Vol. 11   No. 38

Parshas Pinchas

"And on the day of Shabbos two lambs in their first year" (27:9).

The Da'as Zekeinim mi'Ba'alei Tosfos cites a Medrash Shochar Tov. The Medrash comments that the Musaf of Shabbos (in spite of Shabbos' status as the most beloved of all the Yamim-Tovim) is the smallest of all the Musafin. Indeed, says the Medrash, Shabbos complained to G-d to that effect.

In reply, G-d explained that this is the Musaf that befits the Shabbos, since everything on Shabbos is double; its song is double (see how virtually every Pasuk in 'Mizmor Shir le'Yom ha'Shabbos' is double phrased), its oneg (joy) is double (as the Pasuk in Yeshayah 55:13 indicates), its punishment is double (as the Torah writes about someone who desecrates it "mos yumos") and its bread is double. Is it not therefore befitting for its Korban to be double, too?

That explains why we say in Tefilas Musaf 'to bring on it the Musaf-offering, as is befitting' (an expression that is not used by any other Korban).

And the Medrash draws an analogy to this of a king who ordered his servants to prepare a meal for his children, which they promptly did, serving them a meal consisting of two dishes. When the servants asked the king what he would like to eat, he replied that they should prepare for him the same as for his sons. So too here. G-d gave Yisrael two loaves to eat, and in exchange, He told them to prepare for Him two lambs, no more, no less.

Why, one might ask, do we not read this Parshah each Shabbos (as Maftir) like we read the Musaf of Rosh Chodesh and of the Yamim-Tovim, on each Yom-Tov?

Perhaps, one may suggest, this is not possible, since the Parshah only contains two Pesukim, and we have learned in Megilah (22a) that it is forbidden to begin before a Parshah of less that three Pesukim. This answer is inadequate however, because it is possible to add a few Pesukim from Parshas ha'Tamid - like we do on Rosh Chodesh that falls on Shabbos.

The Da'as Zekeinim M.T. therefore answers that we read the Musaf on each Yom-Tov only because of the atonement that it contains, like we find in the Gemara in Ta'anis (27b). The Gemara there describes how, when Avraham Avinu asked G-d on what merit his children would inherit Eretz Yisrael, G-d replied on the merit of the Korbanos. And when Avraham asked him what would happen when the Beis-Hamikdash was no longer standing, He replied that Yisrael should read the Parshah of the Korbanos and it will be considered as if they had actually brought them, and they will be forgiven for their sins.

Indeed, each Parshah of the Musafin contains a Pasuk of atonement ("And one goat to atone ... ") - except for that of the Shabbos - which does not come to atone. Consequently, one would achieve nothing by reading it.

Alternatively, the Da'as Zekeinim points to the Pasuk in Emor (23:4) "Eileh Mo'adei Hashem Mikro'ei Kodesh, asher tikre'u osom be'mo'adom", which, simply translated, means "These are the festivals of Hashem which one shall read ... in their time", a clear indication (the Rosh refers to it as an 'Asmachta' [a hint in the Torah]), that it is a Mitzvah to Lein the Pesukim of Musaf on the appropriate Yom-Tov. And this incorporates Rosh Chodesh, which is called a Mo'ed too, as the Gemara there explains. Shabbos, on the other hand, is not!

The Chizkuni explains the the Torah does not include a 'Chatos' in the Musaf of Shabbos, because it is not Kavod Shabbos to Shecht on this holy day anything that is eaten by humans - the Korban Tamid and the Korban Musaf were all Olos that were burned entirely on the Mizbei'ach. In fact, this is what we mean when we say in Tefilas Musaf 'You wanted its Korbanos'. And what's more, he says, the Torah writes 'and a goat to atone' by Rosh Chodesh and by all the Yamim-Tovim, because they do indeed come to atone for their sins. And nowadays, when there is no Korban, reading about the "Sa'ir lechaper" atones instead. The sole exception is Shabbos, where no goat was brought. The Korbanos of Shabbos do not come to atone, because Shabbos itself serves as a kaparah, and does not require Korbanos to achieve atonememt. All the Korbanos that are brought on Shabbos, he explains, come as a 'sweet smell' (because 'G-d commanded us to bring them, and His will was carried out').

"Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon ha'Kohen" (25:11).

The Rosh raises the question how Pinchas could allow himself to defile the Kehunah by rendering himself Tamei Meis. Initially, he concurs with Rashi (Pasuk 13), that he only became a Kohen after this incident. But he retracts from this answer, because, he maintains, seeing as his father Elazar was a Kohen, he must have been at least a Kohen Hedyot. Perhaps his reward comprised the appointment to the post of Kohen Gadol for war.

He therefore concludes that Pinchas actually avoided becaming Tamei Meis by withdrawing his spear whilst Zimri and Kozbi were still convulsing, before they had actually died.

The Rosh ignores the Medrash which describes how Pinchas carried the two sinners around the camp, still pierced by his spear, which he held aloft above his head for all to see. The Targum Yonasan however, does cite it. In fact, he maintains that that act incorporated most of the twelve miracles that Pinchas merited. And one of those miracles he claims, was that Zimri and Kozbi remained alive, until Pinchas set them down after his demonstration had ended ... 'so that a Kohen should not become Tamei Meis'. According to Targum Yonasan, it was not Pinchas' withdrawal of his spear that saved him, but an awesome miracle. Be that as it may, the Targum Yonasan supports the Rosh's basic theory, that Pinchas was a Kohen.

" ... and he atoned for the B'nei Yisrael" (25:13).

One normally connects 'Kaparah' to the realm of Korbanos, comments the Rosh. In that case, he asks, what sort of Korban did Pinchas bring, for the Torah to use such an expression?

No problem, he answers, for the Medrash explains that if someone rids the world of resha'im, it is as if he has brought a Korban.

"And it was after the plague, that G-d said to Moshe ... count all the congregation of B'nei Yisrael" (26:1-3).

G-d commanded Moshe to count the people to know who was eligible to fight against the Cana'anim, says the Da'as Zekeinim mi'Ba'alei Tosfos. They were counted twice, once in Bamidbar and once here. Here the Torah mentions the families (presumably because only someone who is Meyuchas [of pure descent] is accepted in the Jewish army), which it did not do in Bamidbar.

For various reasons, not all of Ya'akov's grandchildren are listed as independent families. Some of them had no sons, so they are counted as an extended part of their brother's large family. That is why Ohad, Yachin and Tzochar, sons of Shimon, are not listed as families. Similarly, the family of Yishvah, son of Asher is not listed, because, for the same reason, he became part of his brother Yishvi's family.

Whereas sometimes, the family is called after the grandson, such as that of Zerach, who is listed among the families, even though he was a grandson of Shimon, and not a son. And the same applies to the families of Ard and Na'aman, who were sons of Bela, Binyamin's son, and not his own. Gil'ad too, who was a son of Machir, Menasheh's son, is counted independently, whereas Machir's other sons are included in Machir's family. Presumably this is because they all had large families. And finally, there are some families whose names are slightly changed. Hence, Nemuel is referred to here as Yemuel, Chushim to Chusham, Achi as Achiram and Mupim as Shefufam.

See also Rashi, Pasuk 13-38.

"And the name of Asher's daughter was Serach" (26:46).

The Torah mentions her here, the Da'as Zekeinim M.T. explains, because she went down to Egypt together with Ya'akov (and remarkably, she was still alive).

Unklus explains that Serach was not Asher's daughter, but his wife's (from a previous marriage). And this explains, they say, why the Torah adds the word 've'sheim' (and the name of ...); because what the Torah is therefore saying is that Serach was Asher's daughter in name only, but not biologically.

The problem with this however, is that if Serach's biological father was one of the other brothers, then why does the Torah not tell us which one; and if it was someone outside the family, then why is she reckoned as part of Ya'akov's family? Interestingly, the Ramban attributes the significance of Unklus' statement to the fact that now that Serach was the daughter (not of Asher, in which case she had brothers, but) of Asher's wife from a previous marriage, this indicates that she a sole heir, and as such, she would have inherited her father's property.

In any event, the Da'as Zekeinim M.T. remains puzzled over Unklus' translation. They therefore attribute the Torah's insertion of the word "ve'sheim", as a mark of her righteousness, as if to say that she had earned herself a good name for her piety and good deeds.

The Torah refers to the Chatas of the Musaf Rosh Chodesh as "Chatos la'Hashem", which it does not do by any of the other Musafim.

The Gemara in Shevu'os (9a) explains that this is to console the moon, which complained at having been made smaller at the time of the creation, as if G-d (Kevayachol) was bringing a sin-offering for having done so.

Incidently, this Korban serves to prevent babies from dying from Askarah (choking). The first Chidush Levanah occurred on the Tuesday night of the creation, when the luminaries were placed in the sky, and on Wednesday, the men of the Ma'amad used to fast so that the babies should not be stricken by Askarah (see also Rashi Bereishis 1:14).

That is why we say in Musaf of Rosh Chodesh "a time of atonement for all their generations" (a reference to their children).

On Shavu'os, we say 'one goat to atone', but omit the word 'as a sin-offering' - in honour of the Torah that was given on this day.

Alternatively, it is because, on the day that Yisrael received the Torah, they were free from sin, as the Medrash says in connection with their undertaking to keep the entire Torah.

The reason that, on Shevu'os, we do not insert the words 'besides the Sh'tei ha'Lechem ...' (in the manner that we do on Rosh Hashanah and on Yom Kipur), is because we already say 'And on the day of Bikurim, when you bring a meal-offering ... ", which alludes to the Sh'tei ha'Lechem and all the Korbanos that accompanied them.

On Rosh Hashanah, the Torah writes "And you shall make an Olah" (as opposed to "bring an Olah", that it writes by all the other Musafim). Because it is the Day of Judgement, and when one stands before G-d in judgement, one becomes a new person. Presumably, the Da'as Zekeinim M.T. is referring to someone who is awe-inspired by the seriousness of the day to do Teshuvah, as others explain.

On Rosh Hashanah, we say 'besides the Olah of Rosh Chodesh', but not 'besides the Chatos of Rosh Chodesh'. In fact, we only mention the Olah of Rosh Chodesh because of its similarity to that of Rosh Hashanah. Both come to atone for Tum'as Mikdash ve'Kodashav. The former atones for someone who did not realize that he was Tamei when he entered, but became aware of it afterwards, whereas the latter atones for the reverse case. The Chatos of Rosh Chodesh, on the other hand, is not mentioned because the Pasuk makes no reference to it either. Indeed, the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (8b) refers to Rosh Hashanah as 'the Chag on which the Chodesh (i.e. the mention of Rosh Chodesh, according to the current understanding) is hidden'. That in turn, is because this goat comes to atone for the diminishing of the moon (meaning perhaps that it is a matter which is profound and hidden), as we explained earlier. In any case, since the Torah does not mention it, we do not mention it either.

The question remains why we do not mention the second goat that was brought on Shavu'os. Particularly, when we bear in mind that the two goats both came to atone for different phases of Tum'as Mikdash ve'Kodashav. Consequently, we ought to insert 'and two goats to atone'?

The answer to this question lies in the fact that the Musaf Tefilah is to replace the Korban Musaf, and the second goat was not brought together with the Musaf-Offering in the early afternoon, but in the morning, or as Rashi explains in Parshas Emor, the one goat was brought as part of the Musaf, the other, together with the Two Loaves.

It is well-known that on Succos, the Kohanim brought a total of seventy bulls, thirteen on the first day, twelve on the second, and so on.

The Rosh points out how easy it is to ascertain how many bulls were brought on any particular day, by bearing in mind that the day plus the number of bulls always add up to fourteen. Hence on day 1, they brought 13 bulls, on day 2, 12; on day 6, they brought 8 bulls, and on day 7, 7.

Easy isn't it!

Yisrael are commanded to bring, via the services of the servants of Hashem (i.e. the Kohanim), two un-blemished lambs in their first year, as an Olah each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, as the Pasuk writes in Pinchas (28:2) "Command B'nei Yisrael and say to them 'My Korban, My bread ... two each day, as a burned-offering, continually".

Ultimately, the onus to fulfill this Mitzvah lies on the Beis-Din ha'Gadol, since they are the ones who issue rulings in Yisrael; they are responsible for all communal matters, as Chazal have said in the Sifri "And you shall say to them" - this entails a warning for the Beis-Din.

A reason for this Mitzvah, based on what the author wrote in Parshas Terumah in Mitzvah 95 (Building the Beis-Hamikdash), is as follows. We are commanded to bring the Tamid twice each day, when the sun rises and when it sets, to instill within ourselves a desire to cleave to Hashem, may He be blessed. For just as a human being has an instinctive need to eat twice a day, morning and evening, for which he needs to prepare his food, so too, should he serve His Creator, to see to His needs and to prepare His food (Kevayachol) twice a day, morning and evening. Because it is not correct for a slave to expend more time and energy tending to his own needs than to the needs of his master.

By doing this, a person will remember his Creator at all times, which ultimately means that he perfects himself before His Creator and earns His blessings, for He is a G-d of loving-kindness. That is why the Torah writes "Isheh rei'ach nicho'ach la'Hashem" - 'because I said (to do it) and My will was carried out', as Chazal explain. This means that the part of the Korban that goes to Hashem (who does not eat and has no need of our Korbanos) is only because He said so, and when a slave does what his master has commanded him to do, he earns whatever reward his master has in store for him.

Some of the Dinim of the Mitzvah ... Chazal have said that the time to bring the lamb of the morning Tamid is before the sun rises, as soon as the entire eastern horizon has lit up. It happened once in the time of the second Beis-Hamikdash, that the Tamid shel Shachar was delayed, and they only brought it after four hours in the day ... and the time for the afternoon Tamid is from half an hour after midday (from six and a half hours) right up to nightfall. In fact, they would normally Shecht it two hours later at eight and a half hours, and bring it one hour later at nine and a half hours. The two hours delay was to enable the Kohanim to finish bringing the Korbenos Yachid and Tzibur that were waiting to be brought, since with the exception of the Korban Pesach, it was forbidden to bring any Korban after the Tamid shel Bein ha'Arbayim (the afternoon Tamid). The only difference between the Tamid, shel Shachar and the Tamid shel Bein ha'Arbayim was that the former was Shechted on the north-west side of the slaughter-house (in the Azarah) by the second ring, whereas the latter was Shechted in the north-east by the second ring, so that both were Shechted directly opposite the sun ... the other details are discussed in Maseches Tamid, in the second Perek in Yuma and in the Rambam (in the 2nd Perek of Hilchos Temidin).

This Mitzvah applies in the time of the Beis-Hamikdash to the community at large (the Beis-Din ha'Gadol, as we explained earlier), but more directly, to the Kohanim. Should they fail to bring the Tamid each day in its right time, they have negated an Asei, and this also applies to anyone who is aware of the omission (and who is able to do something about it but doesn't).

The Ramban reckons the Tamid shel Shachar and the Tamid shel Bein ha'Arbayim as two separate Mitzvos, seeing as the times neither coincide nor deter each other.

Yisrael are commanded to bring two lambs as a Korban each Shabbos, as the Torah writes in Pinchas (28:9) "And on the day of Shabbos, two un-blemished lambs in their first year". And it is called the Musaf of Shabbos.

The author already gave a reason for the Mitzvah of the Korban Musaf and its Dinim in Parshas Emor in Mitzvah 299 (The Musaf of Pesach). In this case, it is to remind us of the special character of the Shabbos, that after creating the world in six days, G-d desisted from work on the Shabbos.