Pinhas (Num 25:10-30:1) is both one of my favorite and least favorite readings all in one. It starts with the death of Zimri and Cozbi, the Simeonite prince and Midianite princess that Phineas violently kills to avert G!d’s rage from the Israelites’ “whoring” after Baal Peor.
I’m used the David Alter translation of the Five Books of Moses this week (available on Kindle, which helps when I’m traveling) and he points out that the people killed in this incident aren’t just anonymous people. It’s the son of an Israelite tribal leader and the daughter of a Midianite tribal leader, which he refers to as “prince” and “princess.” It’s also noteworthy that bot people are named. It’s really common not to have named individuals. Here again, I see the importance of the public verses the private repeated as a theme. It’s one thing to go against tradition and Jewish law in a quiet way — but if you flaunt it publicly you’re going to pay. (per the scriptures)
There’s a whole other discussion we could have around the names. Alter points out the root of the name Cozbi (כָּזְבִּי) is c-z-b , which means “to lie” or “to deceive.” There’s definitely a lot more to that. There is also a HUGE discussion to be had around the Israelites turning on the Midianites — Moses’ in-laws. Tzipporah is a Midianite. Jethro, who help Moses realize that he can’t stand alone and needs to appoint a leadership council from the people is a Midianite. They are repeatedly identified as followers of YHVH? So why are we suddenly smiting them?
BUT…then we get to the good stuff. The first section of the reading makes you wonder if you should ever question tradition — the second says YES. We have an interlude of the census before we get to the next juicy part. The two things to note here are:
- Num 26:33 First naming of all five of the daughters of Tzelaphechad (צְלָפְחָד)
- Num 26:46 The mention of Serach bat Asher as one who left Egypt
- Num 26:59 the naming of Yocheved and Miriam
These are the only women named in the census.
The Daughters of Tzelaphechad is one of my favorite stories. These five women are named multiple times, all five of them, and their story appears twice. It begins at Numbers 27:1 and is picked up a chapter or two later. They stand up for their rights and establish the inheritance rights of women. I love that there are five of them. It makes me wonder if each could be associated to one of the elements (if you include center/void). I should probably do some name analysis and see what I can come up with.
“שְׁמוֹת בְּנֹתָיו–מַחְלָה נֹעָה, וְחָגְלָה וּמִלְכָּה וְתִרְצָה”
“these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah” (Num 27:1)
Tags: feminism, paradox, parshat, pinchas, struggles, Torah, torah study, women's rights
