Episode 4 – Pinchas: Don't Try This at Home |This week on L’Dor V’Dor, we pick up where last week’s parsha left off: the daughters of Moab and Midian seducing the Israelites, a plague, and a violent intercession. In the heat of this crisis, Pinchas (grandson of Aaron) kills Zimri and Cozbi mid-act, and is rewarded by God with a brit shalom, a pact of peace. But what does it mean to call a violent zealot “righteous”? |We explore:• What was the Israelite sin in the worship of Baal Peor—and why did it provoke such a severe response?• Who were Zimri and Cozbi, and why did Pinchas kill them in such a manner?• How do we understand Pinchas's act as both extra-legal and divinely sanctioned but not rabbinically?• How is Pinchas spiritually linked to both Aaron and Eliyahu the prophet, and what does it mean to act “without personal agenda”?• Why is counting the people such a central act in this parsha and what does it say about community, order, and care?• What connects Pinchas, Joshua, and the daughters of Zelophehad through the models of complimentary Jewish leadership exemplified by Joseph and Moses?
| Parshat Pinchas 5785
Torah: Numbers 25:10–30:1 | Haftarah: I Kings 18:46–19:21 |
https://miko284.com/2025/07/17/off-road-with-the-daughters-of-zelophehad-the-torah-portion-of-pinchas/
