{"id":1125,"date":"2017-07-11T12:13:28","date_gmt":"2017-07-11T12:13:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/batkol.info\/?p=1125"},"modified":"2017-07-11T12:13:28","modified_gmt":"2017-07-11T12:13:28","slug":"parashat-pinchas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/2017\/07\/11\/parashat-pinchas\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Pinchas"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Shabbat Table Talk<\/p>\n

Parashat Pinchas \u2013 Erev Shabbat 14 July 2017<\/p>\n

Week of 9-15 July 2017<\/p>\n

Torah portion: Numbers 25:10-30:1 Haftarah: Jer.1:1-2:3<\/p>\n

Download<\/a><\/p>\n

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How the Land is to be apportioned and how the Lord is to be worshipped are major concerns of this parashat. And women involve themselves with both land and worship by standing up and speaking out for what they believe to be right. \u00a0<\/p>\n

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The daughters of Zelophehad realized that if only sons could inherit land, as was proposed, then the name of their father, who had died leaving no sons, would \u201cbe lost to his clan.\u201d He had done nothing to deserve this. \u00a0So they \u201ccame forward\u2019 and \u201cstood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the chieftains and the whole assembly.\u201d \u00a0They drew attention to the injustice and proposed a daring solution: \u201cGive us a holding among our father\u2019s kinsmen!\u201d \u00a0Moses took their case to the lord, who responded, in Fox\u2019s robust translation: \u201cRightfully speak the daughters of Tzelofhad!\u201d \u00a0(Num 27:1-7)<\/p>\n

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\u00a0It is certainly possible to see the daughters as speaking out against \u201cthe patriarchal system that denies them a share in their father\u2019s land\u201d (Wax, 308) rather than the specific injustice to their late father. \u00a0Yet, however we view this episode, we can be inspired by the example of these women who saw what they believed to be wrong and spoke out against it.<\/p>\n

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The parashat concludes with the ritual calendar. \u00a0The offerings to be given at the time of the new moon, Rosh Chodesh, or the head of the month, are detailed. (Num 28:11-15) Over the centuries Rosh Chodesh has come to be considered a \u201cwomen\u2019s holiday.\u201d The two web sites in the bibliography are handy sources of information on this. One tradition is that women do no work, although they may come together to study Torah or other religious subjects. \u00a0(I have attended such gatherings at a local synagogue.) \u00a0Why do women get the day off? \u00a0It is because women took no part in the worship of the Golden Calf. \u00a0If you do not remember reading this in the text of Torah, it is because it took a midrash to find it out. \u00a0Aaron instructed \u201cthe people\u201d to take the gold earrings \u201cfrom your wives, your sons and your daughters.\u201d \u00a0So we can assume he was addressing the adult men. \u201cAnd all the people took off the gold earrings that were in their ears and brought them to Aaron.\u201d \u00a0(Ex 32:2-3) In the Hebrew, the pronoun \u201ctheir\u201d is masculine, so therefore the men had to donate their own earrings to make the Golden Calf. \u00a0The women hung on to their earrings\u2014and their faith in the God of Israel.<\/p>\n

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It could be argued their \u2018speaking out\u2019 might have been more a matter of silent resistance and that in any case it made no difference at the time (other than in the size of the Golden Calf!) \u00a0Yet the daughters of Zelophehad did not know that their words would have any effect. \u00a0They could easily have been laughed at or shouted down. \u00a0Their words made a difference because Moses treated them seriously enough that he took them to the lord. But they had to speak those words before he could do that.<\/p>\n

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Reflection: \u00a01) What has been your experience of standing up and speaking out? Were you frightened? Was it successful? Who helped you or hindered you? \u00a02) Have you ever talked yourself out of speaking out\u2014if so, why? 3) What would it be like to take the words of another to the lord, as Moses did?<\/p>\n

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Bibliography: Goldman, Moshe. \u201cWhy is Rosh Chodesh Considered a \u201cWomen\u2019s Holiday\u201d? \u00a0www.chabad.org\/theJewishWoman ; \u00a0Judaism 101. \u201cWomen\u2019s Holiday: Rosh Chodesh.\u201d www.jewfaq.org.women.htm#Holiday ;Wax, Pamela. \u201cPinchas: Daughters and Inheritance Law.\u201d In The Women\u2019s Torah Commentary, edited by Elyse Goldstein, 307-314. Woodstock VT: Jewish Lights, 2000.<\/p>\n

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This week\u2019s teaching commentary is by<\/p>\n

Anne Morton, Winnipeg, Canada<\/p>\n

Bat Kol alum 2010<\/p>\n

Email: anmorton@mymts.net<\/p>\n

[Copyright \u00a9 2017]<\/p>\n

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PLEASE NOTE: The weekly Parashah commentaries represent the research and creative thought of their authors, and are meant to stimulate deeper thinking about the meaning of the Scriptures. While they draw upon the study methods and sources employed by the Bat Kol Institute, the views and conclusions expressed in these commentaries are solely those of their authors, and do not necessarily represent the views of Bat Kol. \u00a0\u00a0The commentaries, along with all materials published on the Bat Kol website, are copyrighted by the writers, and are made available for personal and group study, and local church purposes. Permission needed for other purposes. \u00a0Questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.<\/p>\n

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Bat Kol Institute for Jewish Studies, Jerusalem<\/p>\n

~~1983-2017~~<\/p>\n

\u201cChristians Studying the Bible within its Jewish milieu, using Jewish Sources.\u201d<\/p>\n

Website: www.batkol.info; \u00a0\u00a0Parashat Admin: gill@batkol.info<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Shabbat Table Talk Parashat Pinchas \u2013 Erev Shabbat 14 July 2017 Week of 9-15 July 2017 Torah portion: Numbers 25:10-30:1 Haftarah: Jer.1:1-2:3 Download \u00a0 How the Land is to be apportioned and how the Lord is to be worshipped are major concerns of this parashat. And women involve themselves with both land and worship by…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":1126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/46"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ratisbonne.org.il\/bk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}