How can we "settle"?

Pinchas

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.


There are times when the separations between parshiot appear to be less than understandable. For instance, last week’s parasha (Balak) ends with the slaying by Pinchas of an Israelite man and a Midianite woman caught fornicating in public. The beginning of this week’s parasha (Pinchas) begins with God’s praise of Pinchas for the action, and confirming his line as hereditary High Priests. Why the separation? Some rabbinic tradition states that the separation teaches us that we need to be more deliberate between judgment and action than the way Pinchas acted in the text itself.

There is yet another odd disparity. Israel reached its final stop before entry in the land (Shittim) last week as well (25:1), where we read that they “settled" (“vayeshev”) in Shittim, and they began to engage in the immoral actions which ended with Pinchas’ action.

The use of this particular verb in the text (“vayeshev”) is quite important. Its p’shat (plain) meaning implies the end of a difficult journey, suggesting that undisturbed rest is next to happen. But as noted by the great sage Rabbi Yohanan, when the Torah uses this verb, the following narrative is quite to the contrary. For example, when Jacob returns from exile with Laban he settles (vayeshev) in the land of his fathers, but then the loss of Joseph and strife with his sons result in a life he calls “bitter” at its end. Here, Israel arrives at Shittim, and instead of quiet and peace, they become enmeshed in immorality with the women of Moab, leading to war and to plague.

Think about the “settling” of the modern State of Israel. While we continue to pray for peace, we and they live through a seemingly never ending conflict. They arrived looking for tranquility and respite from oppression, and instead endure generations of strife.

We can also consider how the Jews have “settled” in America. Jews arrived full of a desire to “vayeshev” – to settle in peace after a difficult journey. America has, almost uniquely in Jewish history, fulfilled the promise of “vayeshev” by offering the Jews unparalleled freedom and equality. Nevertheless, can we see within our freedoms of “vayeshev” in America precisely the dangers encountered by the Israelites in Shittim? Like the Israelites at Shittim, the Jews of America are challenged to maintain their cultural and religious identity in a land which seems ready to absorb us entirely. What are the strategies that we, as American Jews, can adopt to maintain our own identity in an increasingly multi-cultural America? How can we adapt our tradition into the 21st century? I'm just asking the questions.