Pinchas: The Delicate Interplay of Initiative and Compliance

At first glance, Parshas Pinchas seems like a hodgepodge of random stories and laws. It begins with narratives such as, Hashem rewarding Pinchas, the בנות צלפחד, and the appointment of יהושע and ends with a lengthy section about קרבנות. We must ask, what, if anything, connects these two halves and what is the overarching theme of the parsha?

I believe what strings the narrative portions of Parshas Pinchas together is the idea of taking initiative. First, the Torah tells us that Pinchas, the namesake of our parsha, is blessed with a ברית שלום as a result of his earlier actions. As seen last week, while everyone else stood still and watched כזבי and זמרי’s deplorable sin, Pinchas stood up and zealously ended the egregious חילול ה׳. Pinchas takes initiative and is rewarded greatly.

This theme of taking initiative continues throughout the first half of our parsha, sometimes in great detail, and sometimes more obscurely. While enumerating the families and members of כלל ישראל, the Torah mentions two instances of initiative which could have just as easily been left out. First, while discussing שבט ראובן, the Torah mentions the leading role of דתן and אבירם in Korach’s rebellion, and their ultimate demise. Furthermore, while discussing שבט לוי, the Torah mentions the punishment of נדב ואביהוא for bringing an אש זרה לפני ה׳. Whether or not the intention of these duos was לשמה or not is debated by the ראשונים, but both groups displayed initiative, choosing to act independently, and both were severely punished.

Perhaps the prime illustration of initiative in our parsha is the story of the בנות צלפחד. These sisters perceived an injustice in the laws of inheritance and approached משה רבינו, asking why their father’s name should be missing amongst his family, due to his lack of male offspring. Moshe brings their appeal before Hashem, and Hashem says they are correct and the הלכות of נחלות are learned from them.

Finally, our parsha has the unusual line of וידבר משה אל ה׳ לאמר. Instead of God speaking to Moshe as is generally the case, here Moshe Rabbeinu asks Hashem to appoint a new leader who will lead the people into ארץ ישראל, and Hashem chooses יהושע. Again we see someone taking initiative, here in the form of Moshe asking Hashem to appoint a new leader to which He acquiesces.

So what are we supposed to glean from all of this? Some took initiative and were rewarded, while others were punished. Some had דיני דאורייתא taught because of them, and others were swallowed by the ground. How are we supposed to know which result will befall us when taking initiative?

This, I believe, is where the second half of the parsha comes in. After all these stories, the parsha closes with a seemingly unrelated section about the תמידין ומוספין - the daily offerings, and the special festive offerings. These קרבנות can be broadly categorized as חובות שקבוע להן זמן, as obligations set for specific times. These offerings offer the perfect foil to initiative as they are commandments set for exact times and if you miss them, they’re gone. As the penultimate פסוק of the parsha says:

אֵ֛לֶּה תַּעֲשׂ֥וּ לַיהֹוָ֖ה בְּמוֹעֲדֵיכֶ֑ם לְבַ֨ד מִנִּדְרֵיכֶ֜ם וְנִדְבֹתֵיכֶ֗ם לְעֹלֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ וּלְמִנְחֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם וּלְנִסְכֵּיכֶ֖ם וּלְשַׁלְמֵיכֶֽם׃

These, the חובות שקבוע להן זמן, are the ones for the set times, aside from all your voluntary offerings. Before one embarks on voluntary offerings, before one decides to take initiative, he must make sure that he is doing the obligations set forth for him in the Torah. Once one makes sure that he does his חובות שקבוע להם זמן, then he can have נדרים and נדבות which will iyH be accepted by Hashem. Of course turning to someone wiser in Torah and life experience is always preferred, but the litmus test for initiative is the חובות שקבוע להן זמן.