Parashat Pinchas, 5774/2014 edition
Basics here.
My previous Pinchas posts:
~ Parshat Pinchas (Wednesday, July 13, 2011) Some interesting notes (and comments) regarding both the "briti shalom" of the Torah reading and the "still, small voice" of the haftarah.
~ Parshat Pinchas, 5772/2012 thoughts (Friday, July 13, 2012) More noteworthy for its links (to posts by Larry Lennhoff and Conservadox) than for my post itself.
This year's thoughts:
Numbers Chapter 25 בְּמִדְבַּר
Nu, and what became of Aharon's other surviving son, Itamar? Did the descendants of Itamar become "plain" Leviim, rather than kohanim/priests?
Numbers Chapter 29 בְּמִדְבַּר
Check out verses 12 through 34--apparently, I've slept through years of "sacrifice" readings, because I hadn't noticed until now that the sacrifices for Sukkot decrease in number as the holiday progresses.
~ Conservadox discusses gender bias in biblical inheritance law and provides a link to a rabbinic work-around.
~ Rav Shai Held points out that the ancient sages were uncomfortable with the zealotry of Pinchas.
~ Rav Shlomo Riskin reminds us that influence often lasts longer than power.
~ Rav Dov Linzer posits that it's tough for a zealot to be a true religious leader.
My previous Pinchas posts:
~ Parshat Pinchas (Wednesday, July 13, 2011) Some interesting notes (and comments) regarding both the "briti shalom" of the Torah reading and the "still, small voice" of the haftarah.
~ Parshat Pinchas, 5772/2012 thoughts (Friday, July 13, 2012) More noteworthy for its links (to posts by Larry Lennhoff and Conservadox) than for my post itself.
This year's thoughts:
Numbers Chapter 25 בְּמִדְבַּר
Nu, and what became of Aharon's other surviving son, Itamar? Did the descendants of Itamar become "plain" Leviim, rather than kohanim/priests?
Numbers Chapter 29 בְּמִדְבַּר
Check out verses 12 through 34--apparently, I've slept through years of "sacrifice" readings, because I hadn't noticed until now that the sacrifices for Sukkot decrease in number as the holiday progresses.
~ Conservadox discusses gender bias in biblical inheritance law and provides a link to a rabbinic work-around.
~ Rav Shai Held points out that the ancient sages were uncomfortable with the zealotry of Pinchas.
~ Rav Shlomo Riskin reminds us that influence often lasts longer than power.
~ Rav Dov Linzer posits that it's tough for a zealot to be a true religious leader.
posted by Shira Salamone at 5:05 PM
2 Comments:
Nu, and what became of Aharon's other surviving son, Itamar? Did the descendants of Itamar become "plain" Leviim, rather than kohanim/priests?
I think Rashi deals with this by noting that Pinchas was born to el'azar prior to the establishment of the priesthood, and was therefore not a priest himself since it was given to Aaron and his descendants from that moment. So this verse serves to explain that Pinchas was taken into the priesthood once it was established.
Apparently, I've been even busier at the office than I'd thought--it's taken me a week to respond to this comment. Sorry about the delay.
Rashi's explanation sounds a bit after-the-fact, in my opinion--it seems to me to have been written simply to justify the story. And does this explanation "prove" that Itamar's sons also became priests? I see no evidence in the Torah sheh-BiChav/Written Torah/Bible itself.
Post a Comment
<< Home