July 28, 2016
One of the Most Profound Paradigm Shifts in Jewish History
By Atar HadariA biblical story marks the moment when Judaism turned from charismatic authority to institutional authority, and from the rule of judgment to the rule of law.
To judge by its name, this week’s Torah reading of Pinḥas (Numbers 25:10-30:1) appears to be about its title character, the grandson of Aaron the high priest, whose heroic deed leads to a spectacular if ambiguous reward. But upon closer examination the reading turns out to be about something different entirely: namely, one of the most profound paradigm shifts in all of Jewish history.
The story starts earlier, in the closing passages of the previous week’s reading of Balak:
The Jews were camped at Shittim and the people started fooling around with the Moabite girls
Who called the people to the offerings of their gods,
And the people ate and bowed to their gods,
And the people got attached to Baal-Peor and the Lord grew angry at Israel.