[Par-lite] for Parshat PInchas - shiur
Menachem Leibtag
tsc at bezeqint.net
Thu Jun 27 07:42:49 EDT 2013
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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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PARSHAT PINCHAS
Should Chumash end with Parshat Pinchas?
Obviously not, yet in the middle of this
week's Parsha we
find the story of Moshe Rabbeinu's 'death'
and the transfer of
his leadership to Yehoshua (see 27:12-23).
Furthermore, a careful study of Parshat
Pinchas reveals
that almost all of its topics seem to belong
elsewhere in
Chumash.
In this week's shiur, we attempt to
understand why.
INTRODUCTION
Up until Parshat Pinchas, the narrative
of Sefer Bamidbar
has followed in a very logical
(chronological) order.
However, towards the beginning of Parsha
Pinchas, we uncover a
serious problem in relation to the story of
the war against
Midyan.
Even though God's command to avenge the
Midyanim is
recorded towards the beginning of Parshat
Pinchas, the details
of that battle are not recorded until several
chapters later
in the middle of Parshat Matot. In the
'interim', Parshat
Pinchas discusses several events that are not
only unrelated,
but also appear to have taken place at a
later time!
After explaining this problem in a bit
more detail, our
shiur will attempt to explain the reason for
what otherwise
seems to be a very strange progression of
parshiot.
[Before we begin our shiur, a note of
convention:
Parsha - with a capital 'P - refers
to Parshat
HaShavua,
parsha (or parshia) - with a small 'p' -
refers to
'parshiot' ['ptuchot' or 'stumot'] - the
paragraph-
like divisions in Chumash, denoted by a
wide blank
space on the line .]
DEFINING THE PROBLEM
Review 25:1-15, noting how Parshat
Pinchas begins by
completing the story of Bnei Yisrael's sin
with the daughters
of Midyan (from the end of Parshat Balak).
First, Pinchas is
rewarded for his zealous act (that saved Bnei
Yisrael from a
harsher punishment/ 25:10-15); and
immediately afterward God
commands Moshe to avenge the Midyanites:
"And God spoke to Moshe, saying: Attack the
Midyanites
and defeat them, for they attacked you by
trickery..."
(25:16-18).
Logic would dictate that Chumash should
continue at this
point with the story of that battle. But
that's not what
happens! Instead, the details of that battle
are recorded
only some five chapters later -in the middle
of Parshat Matot:
"And God spoke to Moshe, saying: Avenge the
Israelite
people on the Midyanites...[then] Moshe
spoke to Bnei
Yisrael: Choose men for battle, and let
them attack
Midyan to avenge God's anger with
Midyan..." (see
Bamidbar 31:1-2 / compare with 25:16-18).
In the interim (i.e. chapters 26-30), we
find several
unrelated topics, as summarized in the
following table:
Chapter Topic
26:1-65 A census of the entire nation
27:1-11 The story of 'bnot Tzlofchad'
27:12-14 Moshe Rabbeinu's 'final day'
27:12-23 The transfer of leadership
from Moshe to
Yehoshua
28:1-30:1 Laws of korbanot - tmidim and
musafim
30:2-17 The laws of nedarim (vows)
This problem usually goes unnoticed for
a very simple
reason. When the census begins in chapter
26, it appears to
be directly connected to this commandment to
avenge the
Midyanim:
"And God spoke to Moshe, saying: Attack the
Midyanites..." (see 25:16-18)
"And it came to pass after the plague, God
told Moshe...
take a census of Bnei Yisrael from the age
twenty and up
- by their ancestral houses, all who are
able to bear
arms" (see 26:1-2).
This juxtaposition leaves us with the
impression that
this census is necessary as part of the
preparation for the
ensuing battle against Midyan. However, by
the time the
details of that census are completed (some 60
verses later) it
becomes quite clear that this "mifkad" has
nothing to do with
that battle. Rather, its purpose is stated
explicitly:
"... This is the total number of Bnei
Yisrael: 601,730.
And God spoke to Moshe saying: To these
[counted people]
shall the land be apportioned - according
to the listed
names, the larger the group the larger the
share..." (see
26:51-54).
In other words, this census will form
the basis for the
partition of the Land after its conquest.
This observation
explains why this specific census is
conducted "l'beit avotam"
[lit. by their ancestral houses / see 26:2] -
hence it
includes the specific the names of the
official family units,
as the land will be apportioned according to
the size of these
family units (see 26:52).
[Note how this detail of "le-beit avotam"
is the primary
difference between the census here, and the
census in
Bamidbar chapters 1-2. There, we don't
find these
individual family unit names!]
Further proof that this census is
totally unrelated to
the war against Midyan comes from the details
of that battle
in Parshat Matot. Review 31:4-6, noting how
God instructs
Moshe to conscript only one thousand soldiers
from each tribe.
If only 12,000 soldiers are needed to fight
Midyan, then there
is certainly no need for Moshe to conduct a
comprehensive
census of over 600,000 soldiers!
Conclusive proof that the census in
chapter 26 is taken
for the sole purpose of apportioning the land
(and has nothing
to do with the ensuing battle against Midyan)
is found in
chapter 27, where we find the story of how
the daughters of
Tzlofchad complained that they would not
receive a 'nachala'
[a portion of the land]. Certainly, this has
nothing to do
with the war against Midyan, but everything
to do with
inheriting the Land!
[The final topic of chapter 27, i.e. the
appointment of
Yehoshua to succeed Moshe, also relates to
the topic of
inheriting the land, as it will become
Yehoshua's
responsibility to conquer and then oversee
the inheritance
of the land according the tribal families.]
]
Finally, chapters 28 thru 30 describe
numerous laws
regarding korbanot and nedarim [vows]. These
laws as well
certainly have no direct connection to the
war against Midyan.
Only in chapter 31, Sefer Bamidbar
finally returns to the
details of the battle against Midyan that
began back in
chapter 25.
The following chart summarizes our
discussion thus far
and illustrates how the natural flow from
chapter 25-31 is
interrupted by topics A-F:
CHAPTER EVENT / TOPIC
========= ===============
* 25 ==> GOD'S COMMANDMENT TO ATTACK MIDYAN
A) 26 The Census of the people who
will inherit the
Land
B) 27:1-11 The story of bnot Tzlofchad
C) 27:12-14 Moshe Rabbeinu's final day
D) 27:12-23 The transfer of leadership
from Moshe to
Yehoshua
E) 28->29 The laws of korbanot - tmidim and
musafim
F) 30 The laws of nedarim (vows)
* 31 ==> THE BATTLE AGAINST THE MIDYANIM
Clearly, none of these topics relate
directly to
'milchemet Midyan'. Nonetheless, the Torah
records them here
in Parshat Pinchas.
To understand why, we must first
determine where each of
these parshiot (i.e. A-F) does belong.
A) THE CENSUS - MIFKAD HA-NACHALOT
As we explained above, the census (in
chapter 26) was
taken to enable the leaders to properly
apportion the land
Therefore, it's rather easy to identify where
this section
'belongs', for the last three chapters of
Sefer Bamidbar
discuss the topic of inheriting the land (see
33:50 till the
end of the book). In fact, we can pretty
much pinpoint where
this unit belongs by noting a rather obvious
textual (and
thematic) parallel. Simply review once again
the concluding
psukim of the census:
"Among these shall the land be apportioned
as shares,
according to the listed names, with larger
groups
INCREASE the share, with smaller groups
REDUCE the share.
Each is to be assigned its share according
to its
enrollment..." (see 26:52-54).
The note how we find almost the
identical commandment in
Parshat Mas'ei, when God charges Bnei Yisrael
with the mission
of conquering the land:
"When you cross the Jordan into the Land of
Canaan... you
shall take possession of the land and
settle it..."
"You shall apportion the land among
yourselves... with
larger groups INCREASE the share, with
smaller groups
REDUCE the share... You shall have your
portions
according to your ancestral tribes..."
(see 33:50-55)
[Note CAPS in both quotes to
highlight parallel]
Review these psukim once again, noting
how this
commandment in Parshat Mas'ei is almost
identical to the
commandment recorded at the conclusion of the
census in
Parshat Pinchas (see above 26:52-54)!
Furthermore, Parshat Mas'ei continues
with numerous other
commandments concerning inheriting the land.
[For example,
the borders of Eretz Canaan that are to be
conquered (see 34:1-
15), the tribal leaders who will apportion
the land (see 34:16-
29), the cities of the levi'im and the cities
of refuge (see
chapter 35), etc.]
Hence, we conclude that the census in
Parshat Pinchas
actually 'belongs 'in Parshat Mas'ei!
B) BNOT TZLOFCHAD
Note how this incident (see 27:1-11) is
recorded
immediately after the census [read 27:1
carefully], and most
probably that is exactly when it took place.
After all, the
daughters of Tzlofchad's complaint stems from
their worry that
their father's inheritance (as promised in
the census) will be
lost, for they have no brothers.
Clearly, this story can be considered a
direct
continuation of the "mifkad ha-nachalot"
(i.e. chapter 26),
for it too deals with laws concerning
inheriting the Land.
Therefore, it too should have been recorded
in Parshat Mas'ei.
[In fact, the story of bnot Tzlofchad
actually continues in
Parshat Mas'ei - see chapter 36!]
C) MOSHE RABBEINU'S FINAL DAY
In the next parsha (27:12-14), God
commands Moshe to take
a final glance of the Promised Land prior to
his death:
"And God told Moshe: Ascend Mount Eivarim
and view the
land which I am giving to Bnei Yisrael,
then you will be
gathered unto your people, just as Aharon
was..." [ i.e.
the time has come for Moshe to die (see
27:12-13).
Obviously, this commandment should have
been recorded at the
very end of Sefer Bamidbar, or even at the
end of Sefer
Devarim - prior to Moshe's death; surely not
in the middle of
Parshat Pinchas! [To verify this, simply
compare it to
Devarim 34:1-6.]
Furthermore, even if this story
'belongs' in Sefer
Bamidbar, it most definitely should have been
recorded after
"milchemet Midyan", for that story begins
-stating explicitly:
"And God spoke to Moshe: Avenge the
Midyanites...
afterward you shall be gathered to your
nation" (31:1).]
D) APPOINTING YEHOSHUA AS THE NEW LEADER
The next parshia (27:15-23) is simply
Moshe's reaction to
this commandment (that he must die).
Therefore, Moshe
requests that God appoint a leader in his
place. Clearly,
both of these parshiot [(C) and (D)] form a
unit, but it would
have made more sense to records this unit
somewhere towards
the end of Chumash; but definitely not in the
middle of
Parshat Pinchas!
In fact, considering that this story
includes the
appointment of Yehoshua as the new leader,
this unit could
have formed a very appropriate conclusion for
the entire
Sefer.
E) KORBANOT TMIDIM U-MUSAFIM
The next two chapters (28->29)
constitute a schedule of
the various korbanot musaf that are offered
on special
occasions in 'addition' [= musaf] to the
daily tamid
sacrifice.
Obviously, this entire unit doesn't
belong here, for it
has nothing to do with the ongoing narrative.
Rather, it
should have been recorded in Sefer Vayikra,
most probably in
Parshat Emor, together with the other laws of
korbanot and
holidays (see Vayikra chapter 23, noting how
the phrase: 've-
hikravtem isheh la-Hashem..' relates to the
complete details
found in Bamidbar chapters 28-29]
F) PARSHAT NEDARIM
In chapter 30 we find a commandment
regarding the laws of
"nedarim" [vows]; yet another parshia of
mitzvot (as opposed
to narrative). These laws could be
understood as a direct
continuation of the previous section -
because the final pasuk
of the "tmidim u'musafim" section states that
these korbanot
were brought 'in addition to their
nedarim...' (see 29:39!).
Based on this analysis, it becomes clear
that the Torah has
intentionally 'interrupted' the story of the
war against
Midyan with several unrelated parshiot! The
obvious question
is: why?
DIVIDE & CONQUER
To answer this question, we must first
group these six
topics (i.e. A-F above) into two basic
categories.
I. PREPARATION FOR ENTERING ERETZ CANAAN
(26-27)
A. The census for dividing the land -
mifkad ha-nachalot
B. The complaint of bnot Tzlofchad re:
their inheritance
C. Moshe's death
D. The transfer of his leadership to
Yehoshua.
II. MITZVOT THAT BELONG IN SEFER VAYIKRA
(28-30)
E. The laws of tmidim u-musafim
F. The laws of nedarim
These two categories can help us
pinpoint where each of
these two units belong.
The first unit (I.) contains parshiot
that detail Bnei
Yisrael's preparation for entering the land.
As we explained
above, these parshiot belong in Parshat
Mas'ei. To illustrate
this point, the following table shows the
progression of
parshiot from the story of milchemet Midyan
until the end of
Sefer Bamidbar:
CHAPTER TOPIC
31:1-54 The war against Midyan
32:1-42 The inheritance of Reuven &
Gad in Transjordan
33:1-49 Summary of B.Y.'s journey
through the desert
33:50-56 * The commandment to conquer &
inherit the Land
34:1-15 * The precise borders of Eretz
Canaan.
34:16-29 * The tribal leaders who are to
apportion the
Land
35:1-18 * The cities of the Levites for
their
inheritance.
35:9-34 * The cities of refuge to be set
up in the land.
36:1-13 * Laws of inheritance relating
to inter-tribal
marriages
This table illustrates how the final
topic of Sefer
Bamidbar is preparation for entering Eretz
Canaan (i.e. 33:50-
36:13). Considering that chapters 26-27 in
Parshat Pinchas
discuss this very same topic, we conclude
that they actually
'belong' at the end of Sefer Bamidbar.
The second unit, containing the laws of
tmidim u-musafim
and nedarim, clearly belongs in Sefer
Vayikra. However, this
phenomenon should not surprise us, for there
are many other
instances in Sefer Bamidbar where we find
'insertions' of a
set of laws that seem to belong in Sefer
Vayikra.
[See our Introductory shiur to Bamidbar,
where this topic
was discussed in detail. Later in our
shiur, we will
suggest a reason why specifically these
mitzvot were
'transferred' from Vayikra to Bamidbar.]
CUT AND PASTE?
Based on this distinction, we can now
redefine our
question: Why does the Torah 'cut' these
parshiot (i.e.
chapters 26 & 17) from Parshat Mas'ei (where
they seem to
belong), and 'paste' them instead in Parshat
Pinchas - after
the story of Bnei Yisrael's sin with bnot
Midyan, but before
they avenge the Midyanim?
Before we offer a thematic explanation,
we should note a
small technicality that can support our
conclusions thus far.
Using a Tanach Koren (or similar), take
a careful look at
the opening pasuk of chapter 26, noting how
there is a parshia
break smack in the middle of this pasuk!
"Va-yehi acharei ha-mageifa" - when the
plague was over -
SPACE , [i.e. a parshia break in the middle
of the pasuk]
...and God told Moshe...Take a census of
Bnei Yisrael..."
(see 26:1-2)
This strange 'parshia break' in the
middle of the pasuk
may reflect this 'interruption' of the
narrative, which takes
place precisely at this point, in the middle
of this pasuk!
Now that we have established that the
census in chapter 26
'belongs' at the end of the book, we must now
search for a
reason why the Torah intentionally inserted
this unit
specifically at this point in Sefer Bamidbar,
i.e. after the
plague that followed Bnei Yisrael's sin with
'the women of
Moav & Midyan'.
We will suggest a reason for this
juxtaposition by
considering the overall theme and structure
of Sefer Bamidbar.
THE LAST PLAGUE
Recall how the narrative of Sefer
Bamidbar began as Bnei
Yisrael prepare for their journey from Har
Sinai towards the
Promised Land. Ideally (i.e. had Bnei
Yisrael not sinned),
Sefer Bamidbar would have continued with the
story of the
conquest and settlement of the Land.
Even though everything seems to be going
fine in the
first ten chapters - i.e. up until the psukim
of "va'yhi bnsoa
ha'aron" (see 10:35-36) - as soon as Bnei
Yisrael begin their
journey (in chapter 11), everything seems to
go wrong.
Instead of describing what should have been,
Sefer Bamidbar
becomes the story of how and why Bnei Yisrael
do NOT make it
to the land of Israel.
Note how just about every story in Sefer
Bamidbar from
chapter 11 thru chapter 25 describes a
rebellious act of Bnei
Yisrael, followed by a terrible punishment.
[For example, the "mitonnim", the
"mitavim", the "meraglim",
Korach and his followers, "mei meriva", the
"nachash
nechoshet" incident, and "chet bnot
midyan".]
The sin of the "meraglim" (in chapter 13)
was so severe that
God swore that the first generation must
perish in the desert.
Then, even in the fortieth year, we find
additional incidents
where Bnei Yisrael sin (and are punished).
For example, note
the story of the 'nachash nechoshet' (see
21:4-10) and 'chet
bnot Midyan' (see 25:1-6).
Even though chapters 11 thru 25 of Sefer
Bamidbar are
replete with stories of rebellion,
punishment, and death; from
chapter 26 and onward, the primary topic of
Sefer Bamidbar
changes once again. Instead of stories of
rebellion, now we
find stories of conquest and preparation for
entering the
land. The following table summarize this
division of the
narrative of Sefer Bamidbar into three
distinct sections:
I. 1->10 Preparation at Har Sinai to
travel to Israel
II, 11->25 What went wrong, i.e. why
first generation
failed
III. 26->36 Preparation for entering the
land [new
generation]
From this perspective, the act of
Pinchas, which stopped
the plague in the aftermath of the sin with
"bnot Mo'av"
constitutes an important milestone in Sefer
Bamdbar- for this
incident was the last punishment in the
desert. Hence, those
who survived that plague are now destined to
become the first
inheritors of Eretz Canaan!
With this background, we can suggest
that the Torah's
'insertion' of the census specifically at
this point in the
Sefer emphasizes precisely this point - that
the tragic events
in the desert have finally come to an end.
Those who survived
this plague are now worthy of inheriting the
Land.
This interpretation is supported by the
final statement
of that census, recorded after the levi'im
are counted:
"These are the persons counted by
Moshe...Among these
there was not one of those counted by Moshe
& Aharon in
Midbar Sinai (chapters 1-2) ... For God had
said of them:
They shall die in the wilderness, not one
of them
survived, except Kalev ben Yefuneh and
Yehoshua bin Nun"
(26:63-65).
Further support is found in Sefer
Devarim, in Moshe
Rabbeinu's opening address to the nation. In
Moshe's
introductory speech (before he begins his
main speech that
reviews the various laws that Bnei Yisrael
must keep once they
enter the land / see 5:1, 5:28, 6:1 etc.),
note his emphasis
on this very same point:
"Your very own eyes have seen what God has
done to Ba'al
Pe'or, for anyone who had followed Ba'al
Pe'or [i.e. chet
bnot Mo'av] - God has destroyed him from
your midst [via
the 'mageifa']. But you - who have
remained loyal to
your God - are standing here alive to
today!" (see
Devarim 4:3-4).
[Did you realize that this is the context
of the pasuk
"v'atem ha'dvakim b'Hashem Elokeichem"
(that we often
quote in our daily tefilla)?]
FROM CENSUS TO LEADERSHIP
In a similar manner, we can explain why
this census is
followed by God's commandment to Moshe to
ascend Har HaEivarim
to die, and the story of how his leadership
is transferred to
Yehoshua. Considering that this census will
become the basis
for the 'inheritance' of the Land of Israel,
we mention
immediately afterward this transfer of
leadership, for it will
become Yehoshua's duty to lead the new
generation to conquer
and inherit the Land. [See further iyun
section for a
discussion of how Rashi relates to this
point.]
TMIDIM U-MUSAFIM - WHY HERE?
Now that we have explained why the Torah
moves the unit
of chapters 26-27 from Parshat Mas'ei to
Parshat Pinchas, we
must also explain why the Torah moves
chapters 28-30 (the
second category) from Sefer Vayikra to
Parshat Pinchas.
As we explained in our introductory
shiur, Sefer Bamidbar
contains numerous mitzvot that 'could have
been' recorded in
Sefer Vayikra. Here we find yet another
example.
However, as was the case in the other
instances, we must
look for a thematic connection between those
laws and the
ongoing narrative. In other words, we must
ask - what is the
connection between the laws of tmidim
u-musafim and Bnei
Yisrael's preparation for entering Eretz
Canaan?
Once again, we return to the theme of
Sefer Bamidbar to
suggest an answer.
Recall that the first ten chapters of
Sefer Bamidbar
describe Bnei Yisrael's preparation for their
journey from Har
Sinai to the Promised Land. Those chapters
emphasize the
intrinsic connection between the camp of Bnei
Yisrael and the
mishkan. Bnei Yisrael must travel with the
mishkan, and thus
the 'Shchina' (the Divine presence), at the
center of the camp
(see shiur on Parshat Bamidbar).
Now, forty years later, as the Torah
describes Bnei
Yisrael's preparation for entering the
Promised Land, Chumash
may be emphasizing this very same point once
again - by
recording the laws of tmidim u-musafim in
Parshat Pinchas.
One can suggest two thematic reasons:
1)The korban Tamid, the daily collective
offering on the
mizbeiach, together with the additional
musaf offering on
the holidays, is purchased with the
'machatzit ha-
shekel', collected from each member of Am
Yisrael when
taking the yearly census!
2) The tamid offering is a symbolic daily
reminder of
Ma'amad Har Sinai. Recall (from our shiur
on Parshat
Tetzaveh) our definition of the Shchina
unit in Shmot
chapters 25-29 (the commandment to build
the mishkan).
That unit began with the purpose of the
mishkan:
"And they shall make for Me a mikdash,
ve-shachanti
betocham - that I should dwell in their
midst" (25:8).
That unit concluded with the commandment
to offer the
daily korban tamid, whose purpose was to
perpetuate the
Shchina which dwelled on Har Sinai:
"Olat tamid for all generations, at the
entrance of the
ohel mo'ed... for there I will meet with
Bnei Yisrael...
v-shachanti - and I will dwell among Bnei
Yisrael, I will
be their God..."
(see Shmot 29:42-45 compare
Bamidbar 28:1-6).
A similar phrase is found in the
presentation of the
korban tamid in Parshat Pinchas:
"Olat tamid, which was instituted at Har
Sinai..."
(28:6).
Thus, the korban tamid may symbolize the
special
connection between God and Bnei Yisrael that
must crystallize
as Bnei Yisrael prepare to conquer and
inherit their Land.
From this perspective, this korban tamid
may reflect both
the collective nature of Am Yisrael's
relationship with God
['korban tzibbur'], together with the value
of the
contribution of each individual [machatzit
ha-shekel].
` As Yehoshua prepares to lead Bnei
Yisrael into a new era,
these principles of the 'avodat tamid' -
collective purpose,
individual responsibility, and daily routine
- must serve as a
guiding light for the entire nation.
shabbat shalom,
menachem
=======================
FOR FURTHER IYUN
A. The interpretation presented in the above
shiur can
explain why Rashi (26:1) quotes two Midrashim
to explain why
this parsha of the census is located here.
1) The first Midrash he quotes,
relating to the
connection between the plague and the census,
explains that
Bnei Yisrael are so dear to God that He
counts them after
every tragedy, just as the shepherd counts
his sheep after
they have been attacked.
However, this approach is
difficult, for it does not
take into account the Torah's explicit
explanation that this
census is to determine who will inherit the
land (see 26:53).
Furthermore, in the other instances when Bnei
Yisrael are
smitten by plagues, the Torah never records
God's command
Moshe to take a census. Why should this
plague be any
different?
2) Therefore, Rashi quotes a second
Midrash comparing
Moshe to a shepherd: Moshe, like a shepherd,
when he took Bnei
Yisrael out of Egypt he counted them, now
that he is about to
die, he must return the sheep to their owner.
Therefore, he
must count them once again.
While the first Midrash focuses on
the connection
between the plague and the census, the second
Midrash focuses
on the connection between the census and the
transfer of
leadership from Moshe to Yehoshua.]
B. Note the Ramban's explanation why the
parsha of Moshe's
'death' is written at this time (in Parshat
Pinchas).
What issue led Ramban to this
conclusion?
C. The story of Bnei Gad & Reuven (chapter
32) could be
considered part of the nachala section.
1. Explain why.
2. Explain why it isn't, and why it actually
continues to the
story of milchemet Midyan.
Pay attention to the opening words of perek
32.
How does this relate to milchemet
Midyan?
3. How does this story relate to other
events in the desert,
such as chet ha-meraglim for example. (See
the Netziv on this
issue.)
D. Use our explanation of the importance of
the korban tamid
to explain why each korban musaf in Parshat
Pinchas concludes
with the phrase 'milvad olat ha-tamid .'.
E. Compare the names of the family groups in
the census in
Parshat Pinchas [le-beit avotam...] to the
names of the
original seventy members of Yaakov's family
who went down to
Egypt (see Breishit 46:8-27). Can you find
the significance
of this parallel?
[To whom was this land first promised?]
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