Pinchas: July 11, 2009
Numbers 25:10 - 30:1

Précis: This parasha begins with a reward for Pinchas’ zealotry in slaying the offending adulterers at the conclusion of the previous parasha. (His reward: the hereditary High Priesthood for his family). The parasha continues with a second census conducted by Moses, with war being declared against Midian. The laws of inheritance are amended to provide, at least in certain cases, for daughters to inherit their fathers’ estates. Joshua is appointed the successor to Moses as leader of the People. The parasha then shifts to details of daily sacrifices, offerings for the new moon, and Festivals.


28:1-2 “And Adonai spoke to Moses saying, ‘Command the children of Israel, and you shall say to them, ‘You shall bring forward my sacrifices to me, my food, for my offering by fire, my pleasant smell, at its appointed time.’”

Do we really believe in a God who needs “food?” Who enjoys a “pleasant smell?” Have Jews ever really believed so? The anthropomorphic nature of these lines is quite obvious, and was a cause of concern for the earliest rabbinic interpretation. Former Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Schorsch calls this expression a "linguistic fossil” - a phrase which is embedded in language but no longer has a current meaning. We have examples of this in the English language as well, such as our “going to the ends of the earth.” Even when anthropomorphic language was used in the Bible, he maintains, the language had already become a “fossil.” He argues that Jews had already left behind the idea that a God needed the sustenance of a sacrifice.

Do we believe in a God who needs ritual sacrifices, even after the termination of animal sacrifices almost 2,000 years ago? What do we make of those among the traditional Jewish community who pray for the restoration of animal sacrifices at a re-established Temple in Jerusalem?

The concept of “linguistic fossils” implies that over time, our rituals and words may have changing inflections, purposes or even meanings. Yet, the fact that the same words or rituals are still used imbues them with a direct link to an earlier time. In other words, the linguistic “fossil” provides an important sense of tradition and connection.