Shabbat II

[cellio]

Aha! There's a length limitation through this net connection!

Torah study ran for about an hour. We talked about the parsha (Pinchas). Some interesting ideas came out of this (in no particular order):

• Why was Pinchas rewarded for stepping outside the system (being a vigilante), while others who showed initiative were punished (Nadav and Avihu, and Moshe when he hit the rock)? Perhaps Pinchas "got it" -- got the larger issue -- where the others did not. Nadav and Avihu didn't understand that the objective was the fixed ritual, not their innovation; Moshe didn't understand that his job with the rock was to produce a miracle, not just get water. So maybe Pinchas understood what God really wanted, did it, and was rewarded. (This was my answer.) (Aside: the rabbis make it very, very clear that we are not to emulate Pinchas.)
• Why was Pinchas rewarded for this act? By doing it, he somehow calmed God down; God was going to wipe out the people (again), but by taking immediate action against a prominent member of the community (an example? a ring-leader?) Pinchas showed God that the people could discipline its own.
• Why is the woman named? This is rare in Torah, especially for a non-Jew. Ok, she's a Midianite princess, but still... One answer: to draw attention away from Zimri -- if it were just "Zimri and that woman" everyone would be focusing on his wrongdoing, but naming someone draws attention. (Someone asked: would we have focused more on Clinton if it were just "Bill and an unnamed intern"?)
• Wasn't Pinchas already a priest? Why then reward him with priesthood? What he got was to be part of the line of high priests specifically. (Source unknown to me and not cited.)

One of the other people who was there is a rabbinic student at HUC. I didn't get a chance to talk with her much, though. She contributed a lot of good insights to the discussion (without dominating in any way -- gotta learn how to do that!). I didn't get her name or contact info, alas, but she seemed like an interesting person. I was pleased to (apparently) contribute about as much to the conversation as she did -- ok, I can keep up with rabbinic students in informal settings if they don't break into a gallop. :-)

After the torah study Jenny and I went back to HUC, where we had a lunch of cold foods that I had brought. Paula joined us for conversation, though she had already eaten. Paula is from somewhere in Texas and has to drive an hour and a half each way to get kosher food; I am blessed to live in a kosher-equipped city. She belongs to a 65-family congregation without a rabbi; she runs their school and sometimes gets asked to lead services and do other things, which is why she's here. She, like I, learned that mostly by osmosis.

Comments

[mishtaneh.livejournal.com]

I got my hands on an English Rashi commentary (for the Palm Pilot; now I have something to do other than crosswords while on the bus :)

The issue of how the grant was understood to be the line of the high priesthood is mentioned in the Rashi commentary. It references Tractate Zevachim 101 b, fwiw. But Orthodox sources in general distinguish Aharon and his sons who were specifically anointed by Moshe and their descendants after they were anointed; so Pinchas was not in fact a priest before this by that view.