Musar zu Bamidbar 27:24

There is no wisdom, and there is no counsel, and there is no understanding, and they have no shepherd.

The Talmud Berachot 31a relates that when Rabbi Hamenuna the Younger was asked to sing for the assembled guests at a wedding party of the son of Ravina, he said to them: "woe to us that we have to die, woe to us that we have to die!" They responded by asking what kind of a refrain they were supposed to sing to that. He answered: "there are Torah and the commandments which protect us." The Rabbi meant that the whole justification for lightheartedness at a wedding is to inspire fulfillment of the commandment to be fruitful and to multiply. Were it not for this, the fact that we are headed for death does not really encourage any merriness at all. This statement in the Talmud is followed by Rabbi Yochanan's comment that one must not fill one's mouth with laughter in this world. This indicates that we have correctly understood Rabbi Hamenunah's meaning. Whereas Rabbi Hamenunah justified merriment by the fact that man, at least as a species, is eternal, his colleagues added that seeing that each individual soul lives on by the merit of having performed the Torah's commandments, there is additional justification for such merriment. The true "wedding" of body and soul will take place in the future, as we say daily when putting on our phylacteries: וארשתיך לי לעולם, "I shall espouse you forever" (Hoseah 2,21). The prophet continues that this will be a faithful union, "באמונה." At that time, body and soul will have achieved a partnership of infinite duration. The Torah next legislates the procedures for inheritance, something described as משפט, social legislation. It tells us that, notwithstanding the original sin of man induced by the serpent, which brought mortality into the world, the property which mortal man leaves behind on this earth is transferred to his nearest surviving relative. Death notwithstanding, the bonds of blood relationship are not severed by a person's death. This proves that there is a "relationship" between the נפש of the deceased and the נפשות of his survivors. The various souls involved may be viewed as branches of the same tree. The closer the branch is to the root the more nourishing sap it receives from it. The Torah introduces the laws of inheritance with the words: "When a man dies and does not leave behind a son" (27,8), to teach us the order of priorities in which other surviving family members are viewed relative to the soul of the deceased. Since the rules mentioned apply to instances where there is no surviving issue of the deceased they are described by the Torah as חוקת משפט, legislation that contains elements that are not arrived at through logic.

ותעמודנה לפני משה ולפני אלעזר הכהן ולפני הנשיאים וכל העדה . TheZohar on Parshat Balak queries the peculiar statement of the daughters of Tzelofchod who said (27,3) "our father has died in the desert." Did not hundreds of thousands of that generation die in the desert? Why did the daughters of Tzelofchod use such a preamble in their request for a share in the land of Israel? There are a variety of answers to this. Some say that they were asserting that their father's sin and cause of death had been associated with a particular activity in the desert, namely that he had collected firewood on the Sabbath (Numbers 15,32). They try to prove this by pointing out that his daughters had added the words כי בחטאו מת, "he died due to his personal sin" (not the collective sin of refusing to go up to the land of Canaan). Others claim that their father had been one of the people who had gone to war against the Canaanites after the episode of the spies, something that Moses had specifically prohibited (14,40-45). It is actually more likely that the argument of the daughters of Tzelofchod was that though their father was a head of the ancestral tribe of Joseph (ראש בית אב), he had never risen to the position of prince of that tribe due to his not possessing sufficient Torah knowledge. He had not been discreet enough and had spoken out in the presence of Moses. Concerning this, the Torah says "a great many people of Israel died" (21,6). The construction of that verse i.e. וימת, (singular) instead of וימותו (plural) is strange. We are entitled to assume therefore, that one important man, (רב) is the subject in this verse. It refers to Tzelofchod, who, because he was relatively ignorant, i.e. an עם הארץ, is described by the Torah as עם רב. The word רב may also refer to the fact that the man in question was a member of Menashe [of the tribe of Joseph], a tribe that is described elsewhere as particularly numerous. (Joshua 17,14) Tzelofchod's daughters were afraid that since their father had sinned in the desert by unseemly remarks, Moses would hold this against his family at the distribution of the land of Israel. This is why they made a point of appealing not only to Moses, but to all the other notables. They did not actually address Moses. Rather, they addressed all the other notables in Moses' presence. The lesson to be learned from the conduct of the daughters of Tzelofchod is, that if someone is afraid that a certain tribunal of judges may be prejudiced against him, he should ask for additional judges to be co-opted to that tribunal. Tzelofchod's daughters had been unaware of Moses' extreme humility and had no need to submit their argument to any additional judges. As soon as Moses realized what bothered the daughters of Tzelofchod, he immediately excused himself from the hearing. This is the true meaning of: ויקרב משה את השפטן לפני השם, "Moses brought their case before the Lord" (27,5). Whenever a litigant requests additional judges to hear his case, the judges who feel that they do not enjoy the confidence of the litigant must voluntarily disqualify themselves. Any judge who fails to do so is considered an עזות פנים, an arrogant person, one who displays the very reverse of Moses' qualities.

ותעמודנה לפני משה ולפני אלעזר הכהן ולפני הנשיאים וכל העדה . TheZohar on Parshat Balak queries the peculiar statement of the daughters of Tzelofchod who said (27,3) "our father has died in the desert." Did not hundreds of thousands of that generation die in the desert? Why did the daughters of Tzelofchod use such a preamble in their request for a share in the land of Israel? There are a variety of answers to this. Some say that they were asserting that their father's sin and cause of death had been associated with a particular activity in the desert, namely that he had collected firewood on the Sabbath (Numbers 15,32). They try to prove this by pointing out that his daughters had added the words כי בחטאו מת, "he died due to his personal sin" (not the collective sin of refusing to go up to the land of Canaan). Others claim that their father had been one of the people who had gone to war against the Canaanites after the episode of the spies, something that Moses had specifically prohibited (14,40-45). It is actually more likely that the argument of the daughters of Tzelofchod was that though their father was a head of the ancestral tribe of Joseph (ראש בית אב), he had never risen to the position of prince of that tribe due to his not possessing sufficient Torah knowledge. He had not been discreet enough and had spoken out in the presence of Moses. Concerning this, the Torah says "a great many people of Israel died" (21,6). The construction of that verse i.e. וימת, (singular) instead of וימותו (plural) is strange. We are entitled to assume therefore, that one important man, (רב) is the subject in this verse. It refers to Tzelofchod, who, because he was relatively ignorant, i.e. an עם הארץ, is described by the Torah as עם רב. The word רב may also refer to the fact that the man in question was a member of Menashe [of the tribe of Joseph], a tribe that is described elsewhere as particularly numerous. (Joshua 17,14) Tzelofchod's daughters were afraid that since their father had sinned in the desert by unseemly remarks, Moses would hold this against his family at the distribution of the land of Israel. This is why they made a point of appealing not only to Moses, but to all the other notables. They did not actually address Moses. Rather, they addressed all the other notables in Moses' presence. The lesson to be learned from the conduct of the daughters of Tzelofchod is, that if someone is afraid that a certain tribunal of judges may be prejudiced against him, he should ask for additional judges to be co-opted to that tribunal. Tzelofchod's daughters had been unaware of Moses' extreme humility and had no need to submit their argument to any additional judges. As soon as Moses realized what bothered the daughters of Tzelofchod, he immediately excused himself from the hearing. This is the true meaning of: ויקרב משה את השפטן לפני השם, "Moses brought their case before the Lord" (27,5). Whenever a litigant requests additional judges to hear his case, the judges who feel that they do not enjoy the confidence of the litigant must voluntarily disqualify themselves. Any judge who fails to do so is considered an עזות פנים, an arrogant person, one who displays the very reverse of Moses' qualities.

The Talmud Berachot 31a relates that when Rabbi Hamenuna the Younger was asked to sing for the assembled guests at a wedding party of the son of Ravina, he said to them: "woe to us that we have to die, woe to us that we have to die!" They responded by asking what kind of a refrain they were supposed to sing to that. He answered: "there are Torah and the commandments which protect us." The Rabbi meant that the whole justification for lightheartedness at a wedding is to inspire fulfillment of the commandment to be fruitful and to multiply. Were it not for this, the fact that we are headed for death does not really encourage any merriness at all. This statement in the Talmud is followed by Rabbi Yochanan's comment that one must not fill one's mouth with laughter in this world. This indicates that we have correctly understood Rabbi Hamenunah's meaning. Whereas Rabbi Hamenunah justified merriment by the fact that man, at least as a species, is eternal, his colleagues added that seeing that each individual soul lives on by the merit of having performed the Torah's commandments, there is additional justification for such merriment. The true "wedding" of body and soul will take place in the future, as we say daily when putting on our phylacteries: וארשתיך לי לעולם, "I shall espouse you forever" (Hoseah 2,21). The prophet continues that this will be a faithful union, "באמונה." At that time, body and soul will have achieved a partnership of infinite duration. The Torah next legislates the procedures for inheritance, something described as משפט, social legislation. It tells us that, notwithstanding the original sin of man induced by the serpent, which brought mortality into the world, the property which mortal man leaves behind on this earth is transferred to his nearest surviving relative. Death notwithstanding, the bonds of blood relationship are not severed by a person's death. This proves that there is a "relationship" between the נפש of the deceased and the נפשות of his survivors. The various souls involved may be viewed as branches of the same tree. The closer the branch is to the root the more nourishing sap it receives from it. The Torah introduces the laws of inheritance with the words: "When a man dies and does not leave behind a son" (27,8), to teach us the order of priorities in which other surviving family members are viewed relative to the soul of the deceased. Since the rules mentioned apply to instances where there is no surviving issue of the deceased they are described by the Torah as חוקת משפט, legislation that contains elements that are not arrived at through logic.

Yalkut Shimoni item 177 on Exodus 6,12, where we have another instance in which Moses uses the word לאמור when speaking to G–d, says that there are altogether four such instances. Rabbi Eleazar ben Azaryah claims that Moses demanded that G–d reply to him, i.e. “לאמור, whether He would redeem the Children of Israel or not. G–d responded in Exodus 6,1: "Now you will see what I shall do to Pharaoh, etc." A similar incident occurred when the Torah reported Moses as using this expression in Numbers 12,13 when he wanted an immediate answer whether G–d was going to heal Miriam or not. There, too, G–d is reported as responding to this outcry in verse 14, indicating that Miriam would be healed after a week. We also have such an instance in Numbers 27,15 where Moses wanted a reply from G–d to his request that He appoint a suitable leader in his stead. G–d responded in verse 18 that Joshua would be the new leader of the people. Lastly, the Yakut quotes the verse in our portion where Moses supposedly demanded an immediate response to his request to enter ארץ ישראל.

We find that Moses was most insistent that G–d personally proclaim who would look after Israel's temporal needs; the Torah quotes Moses as using strong language in this regard in Numbers 27,15. Moses' request is introduced with the most unusual wording: וידבר משה אל ה' לאמור, Both the word וידבר, and the word לאמור are unusual. To whom did Moses expect G–d to relay his words? The Ari zal suggests that Moses was adamant that all the various layers of the heavens be informed who Israel's פרנס, economic leader would be.

However, it would be doing Moses a grave injustice to believe that he erred in the language he used vis-a-vis G–d, especially to have made the same mistake on four separate occasions! I therefore believe that what Moses wanted to know on those four occasions did not concern something in the future, but he wanted to make sure that G–d would explain something to him which He had told him previously but which Moses was not sure he had properly understood. When Pharaoh had decreed that the workload of the Jewish people be increased (Exodus 5,9) Moses suddenly entertained doubts whether he had properly understood G–d previously when He had told him to take the people out of Egypt. He thought that possibly G–d had not referred to a process that would take place immediately but only after some considerable time. He therefore wanted to know from G–d when this redemption would occur. G–d reassured him that he had understood quite correctly, i.e. that the redemption would occur עתה, now. When G–d suddenly afflicted Miriam without even telling Moses anything about the cause of it all, i.e. "G–d suddenly told Moses Aaron and Miriam: go to the Tent of Meeting," Moses was not sure why he had become involved in all this. There could have been two reasons for this: 1) They (Aaron and Miriam) were not considered fit to receive prophetic communications due to their ritual impurity, as suggested by Rashi on Numbers 12,4, and that on account of this they could hear a communication from G–d only through the mouth of Moses. 2) G–d meant to put down Aaron and Miriam, and by having Moses present at that time their embarassment would be commensurably greater. If that had been G–d's purpose their very embarassment would constitute part of their atonement. We have an example of such a consideration in Exodus 32,14 when the very fact that G–d had said that He would wipe out the Jewish people and replace them with a new nation based on Moses was part of the Israelites' atonement. The shame of having been found so unworthy compared to Moses was part of their punishment. As soon as Moses saw that Miriam had become afflicted with לפניהם he asked G–d to explain why he had been called out also, seeing that G–d was not satisfied with merely shaming Miriam in his presence. Once G–d told Moses that Miriam had to remain quarantined for seven days Moses realized that he had erred in his earlier assumption that maybe his presence was Miriam's atonement, but that the first possibility, Miriam's ritual impurity at the time, was the reason Moses had to be called out to be the intermediary for a communication from G–d to her and Aaron. Something of a similar nature took place when Moses appealed to G–d regarding his successor. In Exodus 21,1 G–d had told Moses to place the various laws before the Jewish people. The word לפניהם used by the Torah there is understood to refer to legal experts, Torah scholars, as opposed to laymen. If the process was initiated by G–d giving Moses סמיכה, ordination, then it could be presumed that from that time on this ordination would be conferred by one scholar on his disciple, etc. On the other hand it was possible that just as G–d had chosen Moses to be ordained for this task in his generation, so G–d would ordain other leaders each in their respective generations. Now that the time had come for Moses to pass from the scene he wanted to know from G–d how this process of ordination of a future leader would be handled. G–d therefore told him in Numbers 27,18 that he, Moses, was to confer this ordination on Joshua by placing his hand on him. In our פרשה, too, Moses had thought that there were indications that G–d had rescinded His decree that Moses would not lead the Jewish people into the Holy Land. Moses therefore asked G–d for clear guidance as to the true state of affairs. We note that in all the instances when Moses used the word לאמור when addressing G–d there was a perfectly legitimate reason.

The following Midrash will illustrate what I have in mind: "Moses said to G–d that the man who would be appointed his successor should "possess" the mind of all six hundred thousand Jews, since each one of them must be ready to accept him as his personal leader, seeing that no two Jews are of the same mind. G–d said to Moses: "Since you have spoken thus, I will show you all the future leaders of the Jewish people, all the Judges and Prophets I shall appoint for them from this time until the time of the Resurrection. Rabbi Simon said that this is the meaning of Deut.34,1: ויראהו ה' את כל הארץ, "G–d showed him the whole earth." He showed him Joshua who stood beneath him, Othniel who took over leadership of the Jewish people from Joshua, etc. G–d told Moses that all those people were of one mind and one spirit. Concerning what Moses had demanded at the very beginning however, namely, a man whose mind would evoke a 100% positive response from every Jew, such a man would not arise until the arrival of the Messiah of whom Isaiah (11,1) has written: "But a shoot shall grow out of Yishai, a twig shall sprout from his stock. The spirit of the Lord shall alight upon him, a spirit of wisdom and insight." This is also what is referred to in Job 28,25: לעשות לרוח משקל, "who can determine the weight of the spirit" (evaluate correctly the mind of every person). The Midrash describes Moses as saying to G–d that only He knows the minds of all His creatures. Since G–d is aware that each Jew has a mind of his own, seeing that he, Moses, is about to depart from the scene, he asks G–d to appoint someone who is able to put up with all these opinions represented by the Jewish nation. It is puzzling why such a well-meant request should be answered by G–d in the manner described by the Midrash. Why did G–d post-pone fulfilling Moses' request until the coming of the Messiah?

Our sages in Baba Batra 75a comment on Numbers 27,20: ונתתה מהודך עליו, "you will invest him with some of your glory" (when Moses is told to appoint Joshua), that Moses was to invest Joshua only with part of his glory, not all of it. The elders of that generation are reported there as having compared Moses' face to that of the sun, whereas they compared Joshua's face to that of the moon. The change in the quality of leadership of the Jewish people was felt by these elders to be a shame and an affront. Why did G–d withhold some of His goodness from the people at that time? In the Midrash Shocher Tov 21, the author elaborates on the verse in Numbers 27,20 that Joshua experienced that part of Moses' glory granted to him on the occasion of the miraculous crossing of the river Jordan. We read in Joshua 4,14: "On that day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all of Israel, so that they revered him all his days as they had revered Moses." The Midrash continues that the glory of the Messiah will equal that of teacher and disciple (Moses and Joshua), since it is said of him in Psalms 21,6: הוד והדר תשוה עליו, You have endowed him with splendor and glory." This statement obviously needs clarification. Besides, since "one hundred" is part of "two hundred," how does the addition of Joshua's glory increase the glory of the Messiah?

Rashi as well as other commentators also explain the words רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה "Enough for you; do not continue to speak to me about this subject" in a variety of ways. Seeing that so many commentators have had their say on this subject, I will add something of my own. This was part of the wars of conquest. The fact that Moses distributed these lands to some of the tribes who made their homes there proved that it was part of the land of Israel. If G–d did not allow all the land to be conquered by Joshua surely this was because He had relented from the decree in Numbers 20,12! Moses had good reason to believe this. When Moses quoted G–d (3,27) as having said to him: "You will not cross this Jordan," he was guilty of an inaccuracy. The Torah had not mentioned this. When he quoted G–d as saying: "instruct Joshua, imbue him with strength and courage, for he shall go across at the head of the people, and he shall allot to them the land that you only see," this too is something that seems quite irrelevant at this juncture. Moses said: "You have begun," i.e. the beginning of conquest and distribution of the land of Israel has been carried out by me. Why did You not let Joshua do the whole thing seeing that he is prepared for this task? Moses' reasoning here is similar to what he had said to G–d (Exodus 4,13) at the burning bush: שלח נא ביד תשלח, which the Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel understands as a reference to Pinchas, i.e. the prophet Elijah who will proclaim the advent of the final Redemption in the future. Moses had felt then that Pinchas was the suitable candidate to lead the Jewish people into the Holy Land also on the first occasion. When considering the fact that he had been allowed to commence the conquest and the distribution of the land we understand why Moses thought that the decree to deny him this task had been lifted. Although Moses had been told the exact boundaries of ארץ ישראל in Numbers 34,3-12, and these boundaries did not include the lands formerly occupied by Sichon and Og, Moses thought that there had been no need for the Torah to list those boundaries as the lands had already been distributed Moses was convinced that these lands were part of the Holy Land, and he was proven right when the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile sanctified them. Moses surmised that the reason that G–d had rescinded His decree against his leading the Jewish people in the conquest could only have been to enable him to acquire still greater insights into the phenomenon of a G–d who rules in Heaven and on Earth as described in 3,24. As a result of such considerations he prayed: "Please let me cross and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, the good Mountain and the Lebanon" (3,25). He prayed to remain the leader. The expression אעברה is basically the same as when Moses said in Numbers 27,17 that the leader of the Jewish people should be at their head when going to war and should be the last one to return from war. Moses' major concern was not that he wanted to continue to exercise authority, but that this authority would be the means whereby he would gain greater insights. As a result of Moses, Israel's leader, gaining greater spiritual insights, the spiritual level of the whole people would also be raised. When we look at Moses' request in this light we appreciate that he asked not only for himself but also for his people.

Rashi as well as other commentators also explain the words רב לך אל תוסף דבר אלי עוד בדבר הזה "Enough for you; do not continue to speak to me about this subject" in a variety of ways. Seeing that so many commentators have had their say on this subject, I will add something of my own. This was part of the wars of conquest. The fact that Moses distributed these lands to some of the tribes who made their homes there proved that it was part of the land of Israel. If G–d did not allow all the land to be conquered by Joshua surely this was because He had relented from the decree in Numbers 20,12! Moses had good reason to believe this. When Moses quoted G–d (3,27) as having said to him: "You will not cross this Jordan," he was guilty of an inaccuracy. The Torah had not mentioned this. When he quoted G–d as saying: "instruct Joshua, imbue him with strength and courage, for he shall go across at the head of the people, and he shall allot to them the land that you only see," this too is something that seems quite irrelevant at this juncture. Moses said: "You have begun," i.e. the beginning of conquest and distribution of the land of Israel has been carried out by me. Why did You not let Joshua do the whole thing seeing that he is prepared for this task? Moses' reasoning here is similar to what he had said to G–d (Exodus 4,13) at the burning bush: שלח נא ביד תשלח, which the Targum Jonathan ben Uzziel understands as a reference to Pinchas, i.e. the prophet Elijah who will proclaim the advent of the final Redemption in the future. Moses had felt then that Pinchas was the suitable candidate to lead the Jewish people into the Holy Land also on the first occasion. When considering the fact that he had been allowed to commence the conquest and the distribution of the land we understand why Moses thought that the decree to deny him this task had been lifted. Although Moses had been told the exact boundaries of ארץ ישראל in Numbers 34,3-12, and these boundaries did not include the lands formerly occupied by Sichon and Og, Moses thought that there had been no need for the Torah to list those boundaries as the lands had already been distributed Moses was convinced that these lands were part of the Holy Land, and he was proven right when the Jews returning from the Babylonian exile sanctified them. Moses surmised that the reason that G–d had rescinded His decree against his leading the Jewish people in the conquest could only have been to enable him to acquire still greater insights into the phenomenon of a G–d who rules in Heaven and on Earth as described in 3,24. As a result of such considerations he prayed: "Please let me cross and see the good land on the other side of the Jordan, the good Mountain and the Lebanon" (3,25). He prayed to remain the leader. The expression אעברה is basically the same as when Moses said in Numbers 27,17 that the leader of the Jewish people should be at their head when going to war and should be the last one to return from war. Moses' major concern was not that he wanted to continue to exercise authority, but that this authority would be the means whereby he would gain greater insights. As a result of Moses, Israel's leader, gaining greater spiritual insights, the spiritual level of the whole people would also be raised. When we look at Moses' request in this light we appreciate that he asked not only for himself but also for his people.

We read in Chronicles I 16,27: הוד והדר לפניו, עז וחדוה במקומו, "Glory and majesty are before Him, strength and joy are in His place." This verse contains a lesson about the exiles of the Jewish people, i.e. that they are for the good of the Jewish people. The chapter quoted describes an ongoing activity, i.e. בשרו מיום אל יום ישועתו, that even the redemption that has not occurred yet should be spoken of daily, or better still, it refers to a period of over one thousand years. Considering that in our eyes G–d's day is equal to a millenium, it follows that this is why Adam died on the day he ate from the tree (as he was warned he would in Genesis 2,17), though he lived close to one thousand years, the verse quoted in Chronicles, clearly refers to a period of exile. Lamentations 1,13, which describes the exile as already lasting כל היום,-at least one thousand years,- prompts the Zohar to comment that "my very glory," הודי, has proven to be my ruin." When you re-arrange the letter of the word הוד, you get דוה, as in כל היום דוה, "suffering constantly" (ibid.). I have already elaborated on this elsewhere, where I wrote that the word "הדר," is derived from "היפוך, i.e. "turning something around, reversing it," similar to the meaning of the expression "הדרן עלך," i.e. הפוך בה והפוך בה," (keep reviewing it, keep busy with it). What the Zohar meant was that the original "הוד," glory, will eventually lead to an even greater degree of "הוד" in the messianic future, just because that "הוד" had been converted to "דוה." We are told of that day in the future that ישמח ה' במעשיו, "that G–d will delight in His works" (Psalms 104,31). When you re-arrange the letters of the word ישמח, you have the word משיח, a reference to when that time will come. Concerning that day, the Midrash says that the Messiah will be given the combined “הוד, glory of Moses and הדר (its reversal) of Joshua, meaning that from the time of Joshua the spiritual decline set in, and the glory, הוד, kept turning into progressively more דוה, suffering. The הדר, decline would then reverse itself, i.e. the meaning of that term would no longer be negative. This process will lead to the cessation and disappearance of the iniquity due to the pollutants that the serpent spread throughout the world, and will enable the Messiah to make his appearance, and the new dimension of "light," the glory of the Messiah to manifest itself. The הדר (reduced measure of majesty in relation to Moses) of the new leader Joshua will be reversed at that time, a time described in Ezra 2,63 as the period when there is once again a High Priest who can stand in front of the אורים ותומים, the time when Elijah will have appeared. This period is alluded to when the Torah tells us in Numbers 27,21 that the new leader of the Jewish people will have to consult G–d by means of the אורים ותומים, i.e. the Ineffable Name worn by the High Priest Elazar in his breast plate. We also find an allusion to messianic times when the Jewish people are counted in our portion; the name of the son of Dan is given as שוחם (26,42), whereas in Parshat Vayigash, (Genesis 46,23) it is given as חשים. I have found that the Ari comments on this that the reason why the letter ו is missing in the spelling of that name in Genesis is to allude to the letters in the word משיח. In the time immediately preceding the arrival of the Messiah, one of the descendants of Dan will conduct a great battle. All this is mentioned in the Zohar's commentary on Parshat Balak (page 68-69, Sullam edition). It is based on Genesis 49,17: "Dan shall be a serpent (נחש) by the road, a viper (שפיפון) by the path, that bites the horse's heels so that its rider is thrown backwards." According to the Zohar, the "serpent" is a reference to Shimshon whereas the "viper" is a reference to Elijah who rescued Tzaliah a descendant of Dan when the latter "flew" in pursuit of Bileam. The latter, escaped by means of sorcery and Tzaliah was at a loss what to do. When Numbers 23,3 describes Bileam as וילך שפי, this is a reference to Bileam's profound identification with the negative forces in this world as symbolized by the serpent. Jacob's blessing to Dan referred to above and resulted in two descendants of Dan referred to as Tzaliah and Ira asserting mastery over the evil forces of this world. Ira was one of David's warriors. This is what is alluded to in Samuel II 8,4: "David hamstrung all the horses (of his adversary)…"The רכב referred to in that verse alludes to Genesis 49,17, i.e. an exploit of Dan. The words ויפול רוכבו אחור in that same verse refer to someone called Shalyah from the tribe of Dan who will assist the משיח בן יוסף in the war preceding the coming of the Messiah. The verse in Genesis concludes with the word לישועתך קויתי השם, to indicate that looking forward to imminent redemption at that time will be justified. The reason why the son of Dan here is referred to as שוחם is to express the hope that this descendant of Dan at the time mentioned will be equivalent to the משוח מלחמה, the Priest whose special task it was to accompany Israel in battle (Sotah 42 on Deuteronomy 20,2). [Active participation in war was certainly not the Priest's normal function. In fact any priest who had killed a person was no longer fit to perform Service in the Temple. Ed.] Pinchas too, seeing that he was descended maternally from the tribe of Joseph, whose descendants will play the leading role in the battle preceding the coming of the Messiah, was such a משוח מלחמה. At a later stage this very שוחם is "transformed" into a חומש. When someone has inadvertently used sacred property, i.e. Temple property, for personal or mundane purposes, he must make restitution of the principal amount plus twenty per cent so that the total amount paid back is twenty percent (חומש) larger than the original. The people of Israel are considered as קדש לשם "sacred to the Lord," as Rashi explains on Song of Songs 8,12: האלף לך שלמה, ומאתים לנוטרים את פריו. Israel is considered G–d's vineyard, and anything stolen from it must not only be replaced, but the חומש, in this case מאתים, must be added to make the restitution legal.

When Moses, the man described as the most humble man who ever lived, permitted himself to say: "Any matter which is too difficult for you bring to me," G–d reacted by proving that he could not even deal with a problem that women knew the answer to, i.e. the problem presented by the daughters of Tzlofchod (Deut. 1,17, concerning Numbers 27,4-5).

Let us now return to these four groups of people who entered the פרדס. Joshua accomplished more in the פרדס than Rabbi Akiva; the Talmud in Chagigah 14 reports that the angels were about to attack Rabbi Akiva, and only G–d's intervention enabled him to re-emerge from there spiritually unharmed. Joshua, on the other hand, had been endowed with some of Moses' glory (Numbers 27,20), and Moses had demonstrated his power to prevail over the angels while he had been in the Celestial Regions and had brought down the Torah to the Jewish people from those regions in spite of the angels' objections. The elders deserted Moses on his first mission to Pharaoh (cf. Rashi on Exodus 5,1). G–d paid them back for this at the time of the revelation at Mount Sinai when they were not allowed to come close to the Mountain, as distinct from Aaron (Exodus 19,24). G–d had said to Moses: ועלית אתה ואהרון, "you and Aaron (alone) will ascend."