Commentary on Parashat Pinchas, Numbers 25:10 - 30:1
Questions
1. What was Pinchas’ full name?
2. God says that Pinchas turned God’s wrath away from the people. What did Pinchas do, and who were the main characters involved?
3. What did God tell Moses to do to the Midianites and why?
4. God commanded two people to take a census. Who were they? Who was to be counted?
5. What were two reasons for the census?
6. How was it to be determined which tribe got which land? How much land did the Levites get? Were the Levites counted in the same way as the other tribes?
7. What were the names of Moses’ mother and father?
8. What were the names of Aaron’s children? What happened to two of his sons?
9. Zelophehad had five daughters and no sons. Tell the story about them as related in this week’s portion. What were their names?
10. If there were no sons or daughters in a family to receive an inheritance, who was first in line?
11. When God told Moses that he would only get to see the Land of Israel, not go into it, what did Moses ask?
12. From which mountain did Moses see the land?
Answers
1. Pinchas ben Eleazar ben Aaron haCohen. (25:7)
2. Pinchas killed Zimri ben Salu (a Shimonite) and Cozbi, a Midianite woman, who were acting improperly in front of the whole camp. (25:8)
3. God told Moses to harass and smite the Midianites, because they led the Israelites astray. (25:16-18)
4. God commanded Moses and Eleazar to take a census, counting every male over 20, by tribe. (26:1-2)
5. The census was gathered to plan for war and to determine how much land each tribe would inherit. (26:2, 53)
6. The land distribution was determined by lot (26:55). The Levites did not get a land inheritance (26:62), and Levite men were counted from a month old and upward. (26:62)
7. Moses’ parents were Amram ben Kohath haLevi and Yocheved bat Levi (26:59).
8. Aaron’s sons were Nadav, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar (26:60). Nadav and Abihu were killed by God because they took strange fire into the sanctuary. (26:61)
9. Zelophehad had no sons and his daughters asked Moses if they could inherit their father’s land rather than have it go to their father’s brothers (27:3-4). Their names were Mahla, Noah, Hagla, Milka, and Tirtza. (27:1)
10. After sons, the next in line for inheritance were brothers of the deceased, then brothers of the deceased’s father, for example: uncles on the father’s side. (27:9-10)
11. Moses asked God to choose the next leader of the people. He did not plea to be allowed to enter the land. (27:15-17)
12. Moses saw the land from Mount Abarim. (27:12)
Provided by special arrangement with the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies.
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