[Par-lite] For Parshat Pinchas - shiur #2
Menachem Leibtag
tsc at bezeqint.net
Wed Jul 13 12:13:30 EDT 2011
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THE TANACH STUDY CENTER
[http://www.tanach.org]
In Memory of Rabbi Abraham Leibtag
Shiurim in Chumash & Navi by Menachem
Leibtag
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The CHAGIM in PARSHAT PINCHAS
As you 'should' have noticed, every time
that we doven
MUSAF (i.e. on shabbat, rosh chodesh, &
yom-tovim), we always
include a quote from Parshat Pinchas.
Similarly, the Torah reading on every rosh
chodesh and yom-
tov is either entirely from Parshat Pinchas,
or at least the
'maftir' section!
To understand why, the following shiur
undertakes a
simple analysis of chapters 28->29 in Parshat
Pinchas.
INTRODUCTION
Even though we find several
presentations of the Jewish
Holidays throughout Chumash, their
presentation in Parshat
Pinchas is quite unique. In fact, our shiur
will show how the
primary topic of this unit may not even be
the holidays!
[It will help us understand why these
holidays are
'repeated' in Sefer Bamidbar, even though
they were already
discussed in Parshat Emor /i.e. Vayikra
23.]
We begin our study by identifying the
precise unit under
discussion and its structure.
AN ORGANIZED UNIT
Just about every time that Chumash
presents a unit of
"mitzvot" - it begins with a very short
introductory narrative
- the most common form being "va'ydaber
Hashem el Moshe
lay'mor", or something similar.
This standard format allows us to easily
identify
chapters 28 & 29 as a unit, as it begins with
that opening
phrase (see 28:1), and the commandments
continue until the end
of chapter 29.
Note as well 30:1 we find what
constitutes the concluding
verse of this unit, for it describes Moshe's
fulfillment of
God's command in 28:2, that Moshe should
command these laws to
Bnei Yisrael!
In the opening verse God instructs Moshe
(see 28:1-2):
"Command Bnei Yisrael and tell them -
keep the laws of My
[daily] offerings..."
In the closing verse (see 30:1):
"And Moshe spoke to Bnei Yisrael [telling
them]
everything [all the laws] that God had
commanded him."
[Note a very similar structure
between Vayikra
23:1 and 23:44.]
This alone already indicates that all of
the laws
included between these opening and closing
verses forms a
unit.
[Note how the chapter division of Chumash
seems to have made
a major mistake here, for 30:1 should
really have been
29:40! Note how the 'parshia' break of
Chazal is much more
accurate (as usual) than the 'King James'
chapter division!
This 'mistake' probably stems from a
misunderstanding of the
opening pasuk of Parshat Masei, and how it
connects to the
last verse of Parshat Pinchas.]
As we browse through the content of
chapters 28->29, it
seems as though its primary topic is the
holidays, for they
begin in 28:16 and continue all the way until
29:39. Note as
well how these holidays are presented in the
order of their
lunar dates, i.e. beginning with Pesach and
concluding with
Succot .
Nonetheless, when we consider that this
unit begins in
28:1, we must assume that the first fifteen
psukim share the
same theme. By taking a closer look, the
connection becomes
rather obvious, for the first topic is the
daily "olah"
offering - a lamb - offered once in the
morning and once in
the evening (see 28:2-8). These laws are
followed by the
commandment to offer an 'additional' "olah"
every Shabbat (see
28:9-10), and more elaborate "olah" on every
Rosh Chodesh
[first day of the lunar mon
Now, to determine what thematically ties
this unit together,
we need only list the topic of each of its
individual
"parshiot" in search of a logical
progression:
As we will see, the progression is very
logical:
PSUKIM TOPIC / The laws of:
====== =====
28:1-8 the DAILY korban TAMID
28:9-10 WEEKLY korban MUSAF for
SHABBAT
28:11-15 MONTHLY korban MUSAF for ROSH
CHODESH
28:16-25 a special korban MUSAF for
CHAG HA'MATZOT
28:26-31 a special korban MUSAF for
CHAG SHAVUOT
29:1-6 a special korban MUSAF for YOM
TRU'AH
29:7-11 a special korban MUSAF for YOM
KIPPUR
29:12-34 a special korban MUSAF for
each day of SUCCOT
---> * [note how each day is a
separate parshia!]
29:35-38 a special korban MUSAF for
SHMINI ATZERET
29:39 the summary pasuk
The progression within this unit is very
straightforward.
We begin with the DAILY "korban tamid",
followed by the WEEKLY
"musaf shabbat", followed by the MONTHLY
"korban rosh chodesh,
followed by the YEARLY schedule of korbanot
offered on the
chagim, beginning with the first month, etc.
It is for this
reason that the FIRST pasuk of each of these
'holiday'
"parshiot" begins with the precise lunar
date.
THE KEY PHRASE: "AL OLAT ha'TAMID..."
As you review these parshiot, note how
each parshia
relates in some manner to the daily "olat
tamid". The opening
parshia describes it, while each and every
parshia that
follows concludes with the statement "al olat
ha'tamid" or
"milvad olat ha'tamid".
The Torah goes out of its way to emphasize
that each of
these korbanot are to be offered IN ADDITION
to the daily OLAH
offering! In fact, that is why we call the
offering a
'MUSAF'! - The word "musaf" stems from the
verb "l'hosif" = to
add on. These special korbanot are offered in
ADDITION to the
daily korban TAMID, and hence their name - a
korban MUSAF.
Therefore, this unit begins with the
KORBAN TAMID and
then continues with the detail of each korban
MUSAF that is
offered in addition to the daily "olat
tamid". Hence, a more
precise definition for this unit would be
KORBANOT TMIDIM
u'MUSAFIM.
Indeed, each of the holidays are
mentioned within this
unit, but not because the holidays are its
primary topic.
Quite the contrary; the holidays are
mentioned, for on each
holiday an 'additional' korban is to be
offered.
BETWEEN EMOR & PINCHAS
With this background, we can better
understand the
difference between the presentation of the
chagim in Parshat
Emor (see Vayikra chapter 23) and their
presentation here.
In contrast to Parshat Pinchas whose
primary topic is
korbanot, the primary topic in Parshat Emor
is the holidays.
In fact, that is precisely its title: "moadei
Hashem..." -
God's appointed times (23:1,4)! That unit
details the nature
and specific laws for each holiday. For
example, the
prohibition to work, the need to gather
("mikraei kodesh"),
and special mitzvot for each holiday, such
as: offering the
"omer", the "shtei ha'lechem", blowing
shofar, fasting,
succah, lulav & etrog etc. [To verify, review
Vayikra 23:1-
44.]
[Btw, that parsha does include certain
korbanot, such as
those which come with the "omer" and "shtei
ha'lechem". But
again, those korbanot are special for that
day and hence,
relate to the special nature of each of
those holidays.]
Notice as well that each holiday in
Parshat Emor includes
the mitzvah of "v'hikravtem ishe la'Hashem"
[you shall bring
an offering to God/ see 23:8,25,27,36].
However, this
commandment appears quite ambiguous for it
doesn't specify
which type of korban is to be offered.
Parshat Pinchas solves this ambiguity,
by telling us
precisely what that offering should be. To
prove how, note a
key summary pasuk found in Parshat Emor:
"These are God's appointed times set aside
for gathering IN
ORDER to offer a - ISHE LA'HASHEM -, an
OLAH, MINCHA,
ZEVACH, & NESACHIM, - on EACH DAY - DVAR
YOM B'YOMO." (See
Vayikra 23:37, compare with 23:4)
What does "dvar yom b'yomo" refer to?
Most likely to the
precise details for these korbanot as
recorded in Parshat
Pinchas! [Note Rashi on that pasuk (23:37),
that is exactly
what he says!]
[Using computer jargon, we could say that
Parshat Emor is
'indexed' to Parshat Pinchas - or, if each
"v'hikravtem
ishe" in Emor was in 'hyper-text', it would
link to its
respective URL address in Parshat Pinchas.
[e.g. 23:8-
>28:19, etc.]
Also, if you look carefully at the names
of the chagim in
the opening pasuk of each parshia in Parshat
Pinchas, you'll
notice that each specific name reflects the
primary aspect of
the chag as it had already been described in
Parshat Emor!
[That comparison is quite straightforward,
but beyond the
scope of this shiur.]
With this background, the presentation
of the holidays in
Parshat Pinchas is quite easy to understand.
Each holiday is
introduced by its lunar date and name (based
on its more
detailed description in Parshat Emor). This
introduction is
followed by the complete details of the
korban MUSAF for that
holiday, including the type of each korban,
and the number of
animals that are to be offered. Other than
those details (of
the korban MUSAF), Parshat Pinchas does not
add in any new
laws for any of the "chagim".
THE INTERNAL STRUCTURE OF PARSHAT HA'MUSAFIM
Let's return now to Parshat Pinchas to
take a look at the
actual korbanot and what they're all about.
Even though the korban MUSAF of each
holiday is presented
in a separate parshia, the set of korbanot
for each holidays
are quite similar. Note how each set
contains:
* an OLAH offering of PARIM, AYLIM, &
KVASIM;
* the appropriate flour & wine offerings,
[better known as "MINCHATAM
V'NISKAM";
* and a CHATAT offering of a SEIR IZIM (a
goat).
The following table compares the
specific korbanot of
each chag. [If you have the time (and
patience), I recommend
that you try to work it our first on your
own.]
As you review this table, note how
similar most of the
MUSAFIM are. However, note as well where and
how they differ!
CHAG / OLAT: PAR AYIL KEVES /
SEIR CHATAT
ROSH CHODESH - 2 1 7
1
CHAG HA'MATZOT 2 1 7
1
[same for 7 days]
SHAVUOT - 2 1 7
1
ROSH HA'SHANA 1 1 7
1
YOM KIPPUR - 1 1 7
1
[same as R.H.]
SUCCOT (day 1) - 13 2 14
1
SUCCOT (day 2) 12 2 14
1
SUCCOT (day 3) - 11 2 14
1
SUCCOT (day 4) - 10 2 14
1
SUCCOT (day 5) - 9 2 14
1
SUCCOT (day 6) - 8 2 14
1
SUCCOT (day 7) - 7 2 14
1
SHMINI ATZERET - 1 1 7
1
As you study this chart, note how one
can easily identify
certain groups of holidays. Let's organize
them as follows:
GROUP ONE: [the 2-1-7-1]
Rosh Chodesh, Chag ha'Matzot, and
Shavuot
Note how all three are connected to
YETZIAT MITZRAYIM!
[Rosh Chodesh - based on Shmot 12:1, and
Shavuot can be
considered the conclusion of Pesach.]
GROUP TWO: [the 1-1-7-1]
Rosh ha'Shana, Yom Kippur, and Shmini
Atzeret
Note, that all three are in Tishrei!
Since the first two
are 'days of judgement', then we must
conclude that Shmini
Atzeret must also be a 'day of
judgement'!
[e.g. "tfilat geshem" etc.]
GROUP THREE: [the {13->7}-2-14-1]
The seven days of Succot
This is the most interesting group, for
(unlike "chag
ha'matzot") even though each day of
Succot is the same
holiday, for some reason the number of
PARIM decreases
daily.
DOUBLE NATURE
In addition to this obvious division
into three groups,
there remains another interesting phenomenon
in the above
chart. For some reason, the OLAH offering on
Succot seems to
be DOUBLE. On every other holiday we offer
one AYIL and seven
KVASIM, but on each day of Succot we double
that - offering
TWO and FOURTEEN instead! Furthermore, in
regard to the PARIM,
there's an 'explosion'. Instead of either one
or two, we find
THIRTEEN! More puzzling is the fact that each
day we bring one
less.
So what's going on with the korbanot on
Succot?
One could suggest that Succot should not
be considered a
separate category, but rather a COMBINATION
of the other two.
Let's explain why.
On the one hand, Succot could be
included in Group One,
for that group contains the other two
"shalosh regalim" (i.e.
Chag ha'Matzot and Shavuot). On the other
hand, Succot could
also be included in Group Two, for that group
contains all of
the other holidays that fall out in the
seventh month (i.e.
"chagei Tishrei").
[Thematically as well, Succot fits into
both groups. On the
one hand it is a thanksgiving holiday (like
the holidays in
Group One), where we thank God for our
fruit harvest /that's
why we recite the Hallel. On the other
hand, it is also a
time of awe (like the holidays in Group
Two), for we
anticipate the rainy season which will
determine the fate of
the forthcoming year/& that's why we recite
the "Hoshanot"].
This 'double nature' of Succot can explain
why its korbanot
are DOUBLE - two AYLIM instead of one; &
fourteen KVASIM
instead of seven. But what about the PARIM?
According to this
interpretation, we should only bring THREE on
each day of
Succot. So why do we bring and 'extra' ten on
the first day,
an extra nine on the second, etc.
It's rather cute, but if we add up all
the 'extras', i.e.
10+9+8+7+6+5+4 we find that we've added 49
[=7x7] PARIM. In
relation to the "chagim", finding
significance in the number
seven (or its multiple) should not surprise
us. There are many
instances in Chumash when 'seven' relates to
our recognition
that it God who controls what we perceive as
nature (see
shiurim on both Parshat Breishit and on
Parshat Emor).
Our recognition that God controls nature
is most critical
on Succot - for it sits at the junction (and
'overlap') of the
agricultural year, i.e. at the end of the
previous year (the
autumn fruit harvest) and beginning of the
new year (the
upcoming rainy season).
Furthermore, should we add these 49
PARIM to the original
21 PARIM [3x7days], we find that a total of
SEVENTY parim are
offered during SUCCOT. Chazal point out that
these seventy
bulls are representative of the seventy
nations of mankind.
[See shiur on Parshat Noach and the 'Migdal
Bavel 'vort'.]
[If you want to find additional meaning to
the number 7 or
49 [=7x7] in relation to the 7 days of
Succot in the 7th
month, ask your local kabbalist. -
"v'akmal".]
In summary, we have shown how what
appears to be a rather
monotonous list of korbanot may actually be
hiding some very
fundamental aspects of the "chagim".
Hopefully, next time you
doven MUSAF, it will make your tefilah a bit
more meaningful.
shabbat shalom,
Menachem
================
FOR FURTHER IYUN
1. If you are not familiar with the structure
of tfilat Musaf,
after the standard opening three brachot, we
recite a "piyut"
which describes our sorrow (& our fault) over
the fact that
the Bet ha'Mikdash not longer stands (e.g.
"mpnei chataeinu",
or tikanta shabbat..." etc.). That "piyut"
concludes with our
wish that the Bet ha'Mikdash will be rebuilt
so that we can
once again offer the korbanot - then we quote
the actual
korban from Parshat Pinchas and a brief
description of its
NESACHIM. This is followed by yet another
piyut (e.g.
"yismchu b'malchutcha" or "melech
rachaman...") and then
concludes with the bracha of "kedushat
ha'yom" (e.g. "mkadesh
ha'shabbat", or "yisrael v'hazmanim').
2. Note that in regard to lighting Chanuka
candles, Bet
Shamai's shita that we begin with eight and
conclude with one
is based on a comparison to PAREI ha'CHAG -
i.e. the PARIM of
Succot.
3. The only korban that doesn't change for
any holiday is the
"seir izim l'CHATAT". This korban serves as
atonement for any
possible sin of Am Yisrael in the Mikdash.
The "seir izim" is
chosen as it is symbolic of the sin of the
brothers of Yosef
when they used a "seir" to 'cover up' their
sin. See Ramban!
As it purpose is atonement, only one offering
is necessary per
set, and hence it is not doubled in Succot as
are the other
korbanot.
4. See previous shiur on Rosh Ha'shana for a
more complete
explanation of why Tishrei (at the beginning
of the rainy
season), serves as a time when all mankind is
judged.
5. Note machloket between Ramban (and
everyone else)
concerning whether this korban MUSAF was
offered in the desert
or only once Bnei Yisrael entered the land.
Relate it to his
"shita" of "yeish mukdam u'muchar ba'Torah".
[Ramban on 28:1 &
on Vayikra 3:2.] Relate this to the above
shiur.
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