Moshe at Har Ha'avarim

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1. Divine Command and Human Initiative OR Why Does Matot Begin With the Laws of Women's Vows?

   Prof. Jonathan Grossman

   The sin of Baal Peor, Pinchas’s act, and the commandment to battle Midian – are separated from the actual Midian War by six seemingly unrelated episodes: The census; Zelophehad’s daughters; God’s command that Moshe should go up to Har ha-Avarim; the appointment of Yehoshua; the supplementary (musaf) sacrifices; and the vows of woman and girls. These six episodes can be divided into three pairs, with one common theme: the tension between human initiative and Divine command. The episodes can all be linked to the sin of Baal Peor, and this tension is prevalent in the Midian War as well.

2. Parshat Pinchas - A New Leader

   Rabbi Alex Israel | 38 minutes

   God commands Moshe to ascend a mountain to view the Land which he will not enter. Moshe asks that God appoint a leader to continue after Moshe’s death so that Bnei Yisrael will not be like sheep without a shepherd. Why does this need to come from Moshe’s initiative? How could it be that Bnei Yisrael would be without a leader? We examine various commentator’s perspectives on this episode. Is this a way of continuing Moshe’s relevance? Or is this a painful reminder that Moshe will not be entering the Land? Moshe’s response exemplifies his positive vision of the future. We examine the strange wording of Moshe’s request and God’s response. Linguistic ties to the episode of Korah provide us with a reminder of the type of leadership Bnei Yisrael will need -one of checks and balances-, and the challenge of transferring leadership from Moshe.