For the week of July 26

The narrative ending last week’s Torah portion depicts another Israelite failure. Many men yielded to the blandishments of Midianite women in the desert, and followed rampant idolatrous practices. God’s anger threatened to put an end to the Israelite enterprise, but the sins were ended when a young man, Pinchas, (grandson of Aaron) took matters into his own hands. He killed a Jewish man and Midianite woman in “flagrante delicti,” and ended the relations between these two tribes.

Our Torah portion begins with God telling Moses how appreciative He is of such zeal. This raises a number of questions, which we will address in our Torah study. Pinchas is awarded the promise of an eternal priesthood, which will come through the line of Eleazar and Pinchas’ families.

Scholars believe that this story was written during the reign of the Judean kings (cf. Second Kings, circa 600’s BCE). This would trace the supremacy of the priestly lineage of Zadok, the high priest, in King David and Solomon’s time. This is in direct succession from Pinchas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, the first high priest.

Join us for a spirited discussion this Shabbat, on our zoom channel.