Parashot Matot & Mas’ei
Week of July 4-10, 2010
Torah Portion: Numbers 30:2-36:11
Haftarah:
Readings for Sunday:
For a modern reader it is important and reassuring that these two parashot show that a reinterpretation of laws and a development in general assumptions and values are part of our biblical tradition. I will look at three examples.
Everett Fox quotes the process of “inner-biblical interpretation” whereby passages are subject to later scrutiny and recasting (p. 834). He shows how the daughters of Tzelofhad petitioned Moshe for the right to inherit their father’s land and were granted that right (Num.27: 6). Even though the right was limited again (see Num.36:8), the establishment of the right of daughters to inherit land shows a growth of a concept within existing laws.
Another example of change is the selection of towns for asylum (Num.35: 11), as a place of refuge for individuals who have killed accidentally. This development puts limits on the ancient practice of blood revenge. The Bible here affirms the high and nonnegotiable value put on human life (Fox, p 830).
The cruelty of the military campaign against the Midianites is lessened when we learn that the numbers of people who are killed are actually exaggerations based on symbolic numbers and later interpretation (Plaut, pgs 1223,1225). Moreover, the assumption that wanton killing is acceptable is clearly changed by new limits: very young women are to be spared (31:18) and men who have killed are now required to participate in ritual atonement (Plaut, p 230). In addition we need to include the understanding that chapter 31 is not as much concerned with killing for power, but more concerned with Israel’s purity. Lack of purity, contamination from idolatry, was seen as keeping Israel from fully achieving the purposes of the Law. (Plaut, p 1231).
Each of us of course is called to the full knowledge and observance of God’s Law. We complete the book “In the Wilderness”, even as we each journey through our own wilderness of societal and individual expectations and practices. We could ask ourselves: “Are we ready for the Promised Land?” My favorite modern commentator, Ellen Frankel, uses the character of Miriam the Prophet, to speak these wise words: “If we truly remain “holy to God” and resist the temptations of our own inner demons, we do not have to demonize others and profane the faith.
We need every ally we can find to overcome the real villains in this world (p 243).
For Reflection and Discussion: Could we thoughtfully reinterpret this parable in the light of these considerations and address perhaps a similar situation in our own societies?
Bibliography: Fox, Everett, The Five Books of Moses, (New York, 1995); Frankel, Ellen, The Five Books of Miriam, (New York, 1996); Plaut (ed), The Torah, A Modern Commentary, New York, 1981)
