There are however two of the tribes where Yaakov takes a step back and seeks to disassociate his name from their reputations.

Summoning Shimon and Levi he admonishes them exclaiming, “In their conspiracy may my soul not enter! With their congregation do not join, O my honor! For in their rage they murdered people and at their whim they hamstrung the ox.”

The simple understanding of the full text refers to either the episode where they vented their wrath against the populace who condoned the ravaging of their sister Dinah at the hands of Shechem, or alternately to  Shimon and Levi having led the effort to do away with their pesky brother Yosef , who is likened to the strength of an ox, by murdering him.

Rashi however interprets this first verse to be referring firstly to the incident with Zimri, the leader of the tribe of of Shimon, who ‘conspired’ to brazenly commit an act of immorality with a daughter of a Midianite prince, and was struck down by Pinchas in that famed act of pure and holy zealotry. Secondly it refers to the tragedy of a descendant of Levi, Korach who led the ‘congregation’ in rebellion against the authority of Moshe, but was thwarted when the earth miraculously swallowed him and his cohorts alive.

When each of these individuals’ genealogy is recorded in the Torah it stops, in the case of Zimri, at Shimon, and by Korach, at Levi, not mentioning their ultimate link to Yaakov, in fulfillment of Yaakov’s wish that his name not be affiliated with them and their misdeeds.

If this is be the case then why did Yaakov list these events out of their chronological order. He should have alluded first to the episode of Dinah and the brother’s plot against Yosef and then make reference to the stories of Zimri and Korach which took place many years later?

In a fascinating parallel, in this week’s Torah reading, Pinchas, it begins with the tragic tale of Zimri, and then goes on to make two references to Korach. Once when taking a census of the people, delineating the families in the tribe of Reuven, making reference to two of its infamous citizens, Dasan and Aviram, who were swallowed up with Korach.  The second time is when the daughters of Tzelafchad appealing to Moshe to inherit their deceased father’s share in the Land of Israel, assert to Moshe that their father was deserving of this right since he was neither a party to the plot of the Spies nor a sympathizer to the congregation of Korach.

Finally the Torah desiring to accent for posterity the greatness of these famous sisters it places emphasis on their ancestry from Menashe as the ‘son of Yosef’, seeking to equate their love for the land with that of  Yosef who displayed his affection for it as well when he instructed his brothers while yet in Egypt to remember to inter his bones in the Holy Land many years later when they would return there after their long sojourn in Egypt.

Is this a mere coincidence?

In all these incidences there is a common theme.

Tradition teaches that Zimri, as well as Korach, were driven by noble intentions. Zimri pursued the Midianite princess in an attempt to create an alliance that would herald the final redemption bringing all nations of the world under the banner of one G-d. Korach truly cared about the feelings of the people and championed their cause in seeking to empower them with greater stature. The reaction of Shimon and Levi to the defilement of their beloved sister by Shechem was motivated by an ardent desire to preserve the sanctity of this holy family. The brothers’ assault on Yosef was driven by an honest concern that Yosef might usurp their roles and future contributions in building up the Jewish people. They saw him as a threat to the legacy of the Patriarchs.

There was one flaw however by all of them. As right as they might have been, but when there exists a taint of self-interest, self-promotion or merely the instinctive natural reaction of anger, it delegitimizes the entire effort, and one will be held accountable for the havoc that was created.

Decisions that adversely affect others may only be undertaken after one has filtered out of the equation any sense of self. One must be motivated to action purely for the sake of G-d and the other’s welfare.

Yaakov therefore first foretells of the consequences of acting without absolute pure intention, by describing the horrible incident of Zimri and Korach. He then points to the first source of that flaw, the event at Shechem. The fault there lay not necessarily in the action itself but in their reflex of anger. As indeed Yaakov proclaims, ‘For in their rage they murdered people’. As subtle as it is and even justified, Yaakov sought to teach them that by not gaining absolute control of our emotions we are liable to end up scheming to kill our own brother with all sorts of rationalizations. Yaakov concludes, ‘at their whim they hamstrung the ox’, pointing to their following their capricious ideas. The leap from following instinct to indulging in self-delusional opinions is not that far apart.

The portion begins with a demonstration of a zealous reaction that impacted the nation greatly but was purely motivated. The reaction of Pinchas to the defamation of G-d’s name stemmed from the purest motives and he was thus vindicated. The Torah here as well publicizes the lineage of Pinchas to his illustrious grandfather, Aharon, the Lover of Israel par excellence, to testify that Pinchas was free of reactive anger or self-promotion.

The portion concludes with the account of the daughters of Tzelafchad, whom we are told were, מחבבות את הארץ, loved the land and were motivated by that fondness. Here too the Torah wants to point to their honest desire for holiness that is contained in the land that was bereft of any self-serving interest. But how do we know that, maybe they simply wanted a ‘piece of the pie’ and desired a homestead like anyone else would want?

We are also taught by the mention of their beloved ancestor Yosef, that their love for the land was rooted in his display of love for the land in his stated desire to be buried there. Here too the question begs, weren’t all the sons of Yaakov transported there as well? In what way did Yosef uniquely reveal a deep love for the land?

Rashi quoting the Sifrei directs us to the verse where Yosef prior to his departure asks of the Children of Israel, that when G-d will remember to bring them out, והעליתם את עצמתי מזה (בראשית נ כו), then you must bring my bones out of here.

The Zohar notes that Yosef asks that only after his flesh deteriorates and he remains merely as bones, shall his body be interred in the Holy Land. Yosef feared that he was infected with a spirit of impurity during his sojourn in Egypt that prevented him from being worthy to enter the Holy Land until such time as he would be left with his ‘essence’ removed from any sense of self-indulgence. (זוהר תרומה)

The daughters of Tzelafchad we are taught reacted already much earlier when during the episode of the Spies when the people uttered that blasphemous sentiment, “Let us appoint a leader and let us return to Egypt”, they interceded and exclaimed, “Give us a possession” in the land. (ילק"ש תשעג)

At a time when the ‘well intentioned’ spies, were ‘protecting’ their fellow men by preventing them from entering into the ‘land that consumes its inhabitants’, the selfless daughters of Tzelafchad proudly took a stand, throwing away the instinct of fear and rage, adhering to the will of G-d without any ulterior motive other than to be privileged to absorb the holiness of the land.

The journey that began with the episode in Shechem and continued to challenge the brothers in their dispute with Yosef, that found further expression in the events surrounding Korach and  Zimri finally found their tikkun, rectification, in the pure reaction of Pinchas and the altruistic desire of the daughters of Tzelafchad to be inspired in the Holy Land, coming full circle in bringing closure to the flaw that plagued them time and again.

In the portion that details the transfer of authority to Yehoshua preparing the nation for their soon to be glorious future in the Holy Land, the Torah chose to bookend the repetition of these occurrences with the personages of Pinchas and the daughters of Tzelafchad, both descendants of Yosef who left us a legacy of pure and selfless devotion to G-d and His people.

May we emulate this vital attitude in all our interactions so that we too may merit to return to the Promised Land very soon.

באהבה,

צבי טייכמאן