Comentario sobre Números 31:6

אתם ואת פינחס [MOSES SENT THEM … TO THE WAR], THEM AND PHINEAS — The repetition of the word אתם, “them”, in association with Phineas’ name tells us that Phineas was regarded as equal to all of them together. — But why did Phineas go and Eleazar did not go? The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “He who made a beginning with this meritorious work, in that he slew Kozbi the daughter of Zur (who was a Midianitess), let him complete it”. — Another explanation why Phineas and not Eleazar went is that he went to take vengeance for Joseph, his mother’s ancestor, as it is said, (Genesis 37:36) “And the Midianites sold him [unto Egypt]”. And from where do we know that Phineas’ mother was of the family of Joseph? Because it is said, (Exodus 6:25) that she was “one of the daughters of Putiel” (see Rashi on that verse) — which is explained to mean that she was of the seed of Jethro who used to fatten (פטם) calves for idolatrous worship, and of the seed of Joseph who overcame (שפטפט, who talked or argued with) his passions (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 157:4; Sotah 43a). — Another explanation: Phineas went because he was the high priest anointed for war purposes (cf. Deuteronomy 20:2 and Rashi thereon) (Sotah 43a).

AND MOSES SENT THEM, A THOUSAND OF EVERY TRIBE. He did not send all the members of the army there, although the Midianites were a large people, and their cities were fortified, and very large.⁶⁴Ibid., 13:28. The reason for this is that those who had sinned with the Moabite women were many, and they were not fit to execute the vengeance of the Eternal;⁶⁵Verse 3. therefore they chose those men who were known amongst their tribes as righteous men.⁶⁶See Deuteronomy 1:13. Now Moses did not command them what to do, but merely told them to execute the vengeance of the Eternal on Midian,⁶⁵Verse 3. and he thought that they would let none of them remain or escape,⁶⁷Joshua 8:22. but [would execute the vengeance of the Eternal] like the vengeance [they were commanded] in connection with Amalek or the vengeance [they were commanded] in connection with the seven nations [of the land of Canaan]. And therefore when Moses saw that they had spared the women and children and the cattle, he was angry about [the fact that they had left alive] the women who had had sexual intercourse, because the officers of the army should have killed them as the very first thing, both as execution of the vengeance [which they were now commanded to do], and in performance of the general law of the Torah [that a living thing which causes a man to sin must be killed, as it is said], and ye shall slay the beast.⁶⁸Leviticus 20:15. And when he saw that the people wanted [to keep] the spoil, he remitted [and allowed them to keep] the female children⁶⁹Further, Verse 18. and the spoil.⁷⁰Ibid., Verse 20.
It is also possible to explain that Moses was [only] commanded to Harass the Midianites, and Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites,⁷¹Above, 25:17, and Verse 2 of this Chapter. [but was not commanded to destroy them all like Amalek and the seven nations]. Therefore he sent only a small contingent [twelve thousand men] to strike at the unwalled towns⁷²Deuteronomy 3:5. and fell every good tree, and stop all fountains of water, and mar every good piece of land with stones⁷³II Kings 3:19. as spoilers usually do, and he did not give them any specific commands except that they should execute whatever vengeance they were able to do — and G-d, blessed be He, Who controls [the course of all] battles, gave the Midianites and their [five] kings and cities into their hands. Therefore Moses was only angry about [their sparing] the women who had had sexual intercourse, and [he was] not angry about anything else,⁷⁴Thus, according to this second explanation, Moses originally did not command them to destroy everything, but only to harass the Midianites as a form of vengeance. Hence we understand why he was not angry about their sparing the children and spoil, but only about their sparing the grown-up women who had caused the sin. and his command [to kill] the male children⁷⁵Verse 17. was an [additional measure of] retributive punishment.
Now Moses was wroth with the officers of the host⁷⁶Verse 14. but showed honor to Phinehas [by not criticizing him, too], because G-d had given unto him His covenant of peace.⁷⁷Above, 25:12. And in the Sifre we are taught:⁷⁸Sifre, Matoth 157. “Phinehas said to Moses: As you have commanded us, so have we done.” But I do not know what this statement means, since according to the Scriptural verses [here] Moses did not command them anything specific, for had he commanded them something which [as Phinehas said] they fulfilled, how could he [Moses] have been angry with them? [We cannot say that he was angry because they did not do everything that he told them to,] because had he commanded them, Heaven forbid that [we say that] Phinehas would transgress his command! Saul lost his kingdom on account of such disobedience!⁷⁹I Samuel 13:14. But the [explanation of the matter] is as I have said, that Moses [merely] commanded them to execute the vengeance of the Eternal on Midian,⁶⁵Verse 3. and Phinehas told him: “We have executed great vengeance on them.” It is also possible to explain that Phinehas told Moses: “Just as you charged us with the law of the Torah given at Mount Sinai, namely, When thou shalt besiege a city etc.⁸⁰Deuteronomy 20:19. In the context of Ramban’s remarks here, it would seem that the reference is to Verses 10-14 ibid: When thou drawest nigh unto a city to fight against it … but the women, and the little ones, and the cattle … thou shalt take. It was this law which was Phinehas’ defense. so have we done to them.” And Moses was angry about [their sparing] the adult women, because, Behold, these caused the children of Israel etc.,⁸¹Verse 16. and he added [the command to kill] every male among the little ones⁷⁵Verse 17. in order to complete the retribution.

וישלח אותם משה אלף אלף למטה לצבא, he sent one thousand men of each tribe.

וישלח אותם ואת פנחס, Moses sent them…together with Pinchas, etc. The reason the Torah wrote the word וישלח, "he sent them," was to make the soldiers participating in this campaign into שלוחי מצוה, delegates charged with the performance of a sacred duty, a מצוה. We have the rule that delegates on a מצוה-mission are safe from harm while performing their task. The verse repeats the word אתם to tell us that the presence of Pinchas with these twelve thousand pious soldiers doubled their effectiveness; Pinchas was equivalent in piety to all the other 12.000 soldiers combined.

וישלח אותם משה אלף למטה, “Moses sent them on the way, one thousand men from each tribe.” Nachmanides writes that the reason why Moses did not send out the whole army of Israel, even though the Midianites were a numerous people, seeing that they had five kings governing them and they lived in well fortified cities, he could not do so, because too many of the people had become victims of the seduction and as such were hardly qualified to endanger themselves in war and become an easy target for Satan to attack. Moses therefore decided to select few men, but men whose integrity had stood the challenge of seduction, men who were truly righteous. These men were known as righteous people, each within his tribe. Strangely, Moses reversed what G’d had said to him, i.e. to avenge the wrong done to Israel, and he instructed the soldiers to avenge the wrong done to G’d’s image. He did not issue any specific instructions concerning how to avenge that wrong. He took it for granted that these soldiers would not allow any living creature to remain alive, just as Samuel later on commanded that the Amalekites all be killed men women and children as well as all their livestock. Or, at least, he thought, they would be treated like the 7 Canaanite nations of whom G’d had instructed not to allow a single soul to survive. When Moses found out that these soldiers had allowed the women and children to survive, and that they brought home an immense amount of booty, he became very angry, especially that women who had already lost their virginity had been allowed to survive, as these types of women were the ones who had seduced the Israelites. He was less upset about the children being allowed to survive, and he did not mind the booty the soldiers brought home. It is further possible to assume that Moses was commanded to harass the Midianites in order to take the vengeance of the Israelites, and he dispatched only relatively few men, intending to smite only the cities of the Perisite (one of the Canaanite tribes) planning to destroy every tree, to seal off all the wells, as was the custom by ordinary invaders. Seeing that it is Hashem Who, -in the last analysis, conducts the fortunes of war,- delivered the cities into their hands as well as their kings, Moses certainly could not be angry at any of this. The only thing he was angry at was that the very category of women who had been the seductresses had been kept alive to become slaves in Jewish homes. His demand for male “innocent” children to be killed was part of the element of “vengeance” which G’d had commanded to be taken.

אותם ואת פינחס, “they together with Pinchas.” The wording suggests that Pinchas by himself was equal to all of the twelve thousand men in moral/spiritual stature. Why did Pinchas go instead of his father the High Priest Eleazar? G’d had said: “the one who commenced by assuaging My anger and slew the first Midianite (Cosbi) shall complete the task” (Tanchuma Mattot 3). Moses, who had spent many years in Midian which had served as his refuge from Pharaoh after he had slain the Egyptian did not join the campaign so as not to give people an opportunity to say that “he threw stones into the well from which he used to drink.”

This teaches that Pinchas was equivalent to all of them. For it is written “Moshe sent them [one thousand…].” So why did the Torah repeat itself and write, “Them and Pinchas”? Rather, it was to teach that…

V. 6. וישלח אתם וגו׳ ואת פינחס וגו׳. Bei keinem der früheren Heereszüge, nicht im Kriege gegen Sichon, gegen Og, gegen Emori, steht die Anwesenheit eines Priesters mit ארון und חצוצרות so ausdrücklich wie hier. Jene waren Verteidigungs- und Eroberungszüge materieller Bedeutung. Diesem Zuge lag aber das Motiv der höchsten geistigen und sittlichen Interessen zu Grunde. Dem entspricht vor allem der Priester mit dem Gesetzeszeugnis und den Gottes, Beistand aufrufenden. זה ארון ולוחות שבו: וכלי הקדש — .חצוצרות (Sota 43 a). Galt es doch, den לוחות und dem ארון, dem Gesetze und seinen in Israel zu schaffenden Trägern und Wahrern die unangefeindete Existenz in Mitte der Völker zu sichern. חצצרות התרועה (siehe Kap. 10, 8 und 9). אין ידו אלא רשותו .בידו (ספרי).

Them and Pinchas. Rashi explained that he sought to avenge Yoseif, his maternal forefather. The explanation of this is that Moshe trusted him not to have pity on the Midianites and that he would completely eliminate them, because in any case Pinchas hated them due to their involvement in the sale of Yoseif to Egypt. Egypt was a place heavily steeped in licentiousness, and now the Midianites followed their forefathers’ footsteps and attempted to cause the downfall of Bnei Yisroel through harlotry. Moreover, Pinchas began the mitzvah, which would assist him in bringing the matter to completion. This is because since it is so that “a mitzvah brings about another mitzvah” (Avos 4:5), then certainly a part of a mitzvah will bring about the completion of it. Moshe did not want to go, because he was raised in Midian. He was afraid that if the warriors would be lax in any matter, the people would blame it on Moshe, and say that he had pity on the place in which he was raised.

וישלח אותם משה, “Moses sent them forth;” (the 12000 men making up the punitive expedition against the Midianites) You, the reader, will recall that the Lord had instructed Moses personally to head this expedition. (Verse 2 in our chapter, where He also added that after having carried out this mission Moses would die.) Why did Moses delegate others to do what he had been commanded to do himself? The reason must have been that seeing that he had found refuge there from persecution by the Egyptian secret service and had even became the son-in-law of a prominent priest in Midian, he did not think that G–d had meant for him to lead this campaign, just as he had not been ordered to strike the Nile which had sheltered him but had delegated that task to his brother Aaron at the time. He acted according to the well known proverb: “do not bite the hand that fed you.” Another interpretation suggests that the Midian of which Cosbi had been a princess was not the same Midian as that which is described in the Book of Exodus. [The Midian which Moses fled to bordered the desert of Sinai, whereas the Midian which is featured in connection with Bileam and Balak is situated in the Arabian peninsula bordering the red sea. Ed.] The reason why Moses chose Pinchas to be the leader of this expedition was that seeing he had commenced with turning away G–d’s wrath from the people, he should be given a chance to complete this good deed by punishing the seducers of his people. (Compare Bamidbar Rabbah 23,4)

וכלי הקדש AND THE VESSELS OF HOLINESS … [WERE WITH THEM] — these were the Ark and the Golden Plate (which are termed קדש, “holiness”, in Numbers 4:20 and Leviticus 8:9 respectively) (cf. Sifrei Bamidbar 157:4; Sotah 43a). — Because Balaam was with them (the Midianites) and through enchantment he made the kings of Midian float in the air and he himself floated with them, he (Phineas) showed them (held up to them) the Golden Plato upon which the Divine Name was engraved and they immediately fell to the ground. On this account it is said (v. 8) of the Kings of Midian that they were killed “upon those belonging to them who had been killed”, meaning that they fell from the air upon those who had already been killed; and similarly of Balaam it is written in the book of Joshua (13:22): “[And Balaam the son of Beor did the children of Israel slay] upon those who were slain by them” (Midrash Tanchuma, Matot 2; Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin 10:2).

אותם ואת פינחס, after the 12.000 men had all been assembled he sent Pinchas to accompany them.

וכלי הקודש, “and the holy vessels, etc.” This is a reference to the Holy Ark and the golden headband of the High Priest (Sotah 43). Tanchuma Mattot 5 relates that the Midianites employed all kinds of charms in conjunction with Bileam and that the kings were riding in the air when they saw this war. Moses had told the soldiers that if they noticed that the kings of the Midianites would employ such means against them they should show the ציץ, and the Midianites would immediately fall to the ground. This is the reason that the Torah writes (in verse 8) ואת מלכי מדין הרגו על חלליהם, “and they killed the kings of the Midianites “on, above” with their slain ones.” The Torah means that these kings dropped out of the air on top of the slain Midianites whereupon the Israelites killed them. We find something similar in Joshua 13,22: “together with the others that they slew, the Israelites put Bileam son of Beor, the magician, to the sword.”

Why did Pinchas go… It is understandable without this [previous comment], for one would have said that the reason he did not send Elozor was due to Elozor’s importance, since he was equivalent to all of them. However, now that Rashi explained that Pinchas was also equivalent to all of them, why did he send Pinchas?

The fact that Moses selected Pinchas instead of Joshua to be the leader of this expedition was also an astute move by Moses. Pinchas had already demonstrated jealousy on behalf of G'd. Who could have served as better inspiration for the task at hand than Pinchas? He radiated more destructive power against negative spiritual forces than did Joshua. It is also possible that Moses was afraid of the people who would assail these soldiers wanting to know that if they considered themselves as so pious why had they not protested the involvement of their brethren in the harlotry and thus helped prevent such sins from being perpetrated? To head off such criticism Moses sent along Pinchas who had risked his life in order to bring this harlotry to a stop. Perhaps this is what the Torah alluded to with the unusual construction אתם ואת פנחס, "they together with Pinchas." Moses hoped that by his presence Pinchas would supply the missing factor, i.e. the preparedness for self sacrifice in order to stop others from sinning, something which even the pious soldiers had not contributed at the time of the debacle at Shittim. It is possible that G'd already originally intended that only someone of the calibre of Pinchas could wipe out the shameful stain which would remain on Israel's character if the Midianites were allowed "to get away" with what they had done. G'd was grateful to Moses' choice of Pinchas as the leader of this expedition. G'd Himself had not wanted to direct Moses to appoint Pinchas in charge of this expedition fearing that such a directive might have made Moses think that he himself was not qualified to lead this punitive campaign. The result of G'd's astuteness was that His desire was carried out without Moses becoming embarassed in the process.

And Pinchas. He went to take revenge for Yoseif. He saw that the Midianites were opposed to Yoseif, and that was the reason the sale of Yoseif took place through them, because harm comes to a person through those that oppose him. Yoseif was the opposite of Midian because he restrained himself from illicit relations and, in contrast, they sent their daughters to harlotry. Thus, they received harm from the descendent of Yoseif.

בידו means IN HIS POSSESSION (not actually “in his hand”, for it was impossible for him to hold these sacred objects in his hand), similar to (21:26) “And he took all his land from his possession (מידו)” (Sifrei Bamidbar 157:4).

לצבא וכלי הקודש וחצוצרות התרועה בידו, he sent him to the army, as head, i.e. as the priest especially appointed in every war involving invasion of foreign territory. The various holy vessels, including the trumpets would be at his disposal during that period.

By executing Kozbi … Another interpretation. According to the [first] reason alone there is the difficulty that the principle mitzvah was his executing Zimri, not Kozbi. Therefore Rashi brings the other interpretation that “he sought…” However, according to the other interpretation alone there is the difficulty that [ultimately] it was for Yosef’s benefit that they sold him to the Egyptians, for he became the ruler there. Therefore Rashi brings another interpretation that he was anointed for warfare. However, according to this reason alone there is the difficulty as to why the verse specified Pinchas’ name [teaching] he was anointed for warfare regarding this war more than another war. Therefore Rashi required all the reasons. (Gur Aryeh) It appears to me that the intent of this teaching is not to say that Pinchas was a reminder for them of what the Midianites did to Yosef, for any love or hatred towards them had already disappeared, and there was no memory of them. Rather, it means that when Moshe saw that the sale of Yosef took place through the Midianites, he realized that the Midianites were his nemesis. For if this were not so, the sale of Yosef would not have taken place through their hand, given that [Hashem] only brings evil upon a person through those who are the antithesis of them. Yosef was the antithesis of Midian, for he scrupulously resisted immorality, while they abandoned their wives and daughters to promiscuity. And this is what Rashi means when he said, “From the children of Yosef who scorned his evil inclination.” Thus, because he scorned his evil inclination he was the antithesis of Midian and they received their punishment through Pinchas, one of the descendants of Yosef, who in contrast to Midian resisted illicit relationships.

This refers to the Ark and the Golden Headplate. Because both are termed “holy,” as it is written [concerning the Ark] at the end of Parshas Bamidbar (4:20), “They shall not come in to see when the holy is being covered.” And concerning the Headplate, it is written in Parshas Tetzaveh (Shemos 28:36), “Make a Headplate … holy to Hashem.”

In his possession. So that you should not wonder: How could Pinchas have carried all of this in his hand, the Ark with the Headplate and the trumpets?