Pinchas: Continuous Consistency - The Link Between Leaders and Lambs

By Aryeh Bienstock

In this week’s parsha, Moshe Rabbeinu requests that Hashem appoint his successor and he is instructed to appoint Yehoshua as the next leader of Bnei Yisrael (Bamidbar 27:15-17). Immediately after this encounter, the Torah describes the mitzvah of the korban tamid, the twice daily offering to be brought in the Beis HaMikdash. Here the pasuk says,

את־הכבש אחד תעשה בבקר ואת הכבש השני תעשה בין הערבים

You shall offer one lamb in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight.

These two episodes appear to be unrelated and Rabbi Rosner, in his Sefer Shalom Rav, asks why the instructions for the Korban Tamid were specifically chosen to be placed right after the future of Bnei Yisroel was appointed.

Quoting the Mishkan Betzalel, Rabbi Rosner explains the connection between these two seemingly unrelated events. The encounter between Moshe and Hashem highlights the need for a leader to be totally committed to his people, always acting on their behalf. Leadership is a full-time job and requires constant and consistent involvement in one’s community. Rabbi Rosner says that Hashem is saying, “you are asking that Bnei Yisroel should have a constant leader? You are asking Me to do something constant? Tell them to do something constant for Me. The Korban Tamid is offered twice daily. Please have Bnei Yisroel offer a daily sacrifice to show they are constantly connect to Me.” These two episodes are place next to each other because they both highlight the reciprocal commitment required in our relationship with Hashem.

There is a famous debate cited in the introduction to Ein Yaakov regarding the most important pasuk in the Torah. Ben Zoma believes it to be “Shema Yisroel”, while Ben Nanas argues that it is “V’Ahavta L’Reicha Kamocha”. Ben Pazi suggests the pasuk from this week’s parsha that we quotes above, "את־הכבש אחד תעשה בבקר ואת הכבש השני תעשה בין הערבים" is the most important pasuk in the Torah.

This suggestion is potentially surprising as the other two pasukim communicate very important virtues in Judasim. Yet there is something about this mitzvah that is so important for us to internalize that it is deemed the most important pasuk in the Torah. As mentioned previously, this pasuk teaches us about the Korban Tamid which was brought every day and on another level it teaches the consistency required in our avodas Hashem.

Building on this, Rabbi Ari Wasserman[1], outlines the potential struggle that one can encounter with this unwavering consistency day in and day out. It is easy to mindlessly fall into a routine in which our actions become robotic and instinctual, devoid of emotion and passion. That is not the proper way to approach our relationship with Hashem. To resolve this, Rabbi Ari Wasserman focuses on a neighboring pasuk.  There the Torah says, “עלת תמיד העשיה בהר סיני לריח ניחח אשה ליהוה“, to remember another korban, namely the Olas Tamid that was brought on Har Sinai. As he explains, this memory is meant to evoke the excitement and emotion of that awe-inspiring moment. We should have the same excitement Bnei Yisroel had at Har Sinai when they brought their first Korban Tamid. With this in mind, we can learn that the commitment and consistency necessary in our relationship with Hashem should be partnered with passion and excitement – like that which was experience at Har Sinai.

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[1] Rabbi Ari Wasserman in his Sefer “Welcome to our Table 2” quotes Rabbi Frand who quotes Rabbi Yosef Salant