Midrash sur L’Exode 32:3

(Numb. 25:11) “Phinehas ben Elazar […].” What reason did the Holy One, blessed be He, have for tracing the lineage of Phinehas after this act (of slaying Zimri in Numb. 25:8)?¹Numb. R. 21:3. [The reason was] that, when Zimri was pierced along with Cozbi, the tribes rose up against [Phinehas] and said, “Did you see the son (actually, grandson) of Puti? This man, whose mother's father²Thus Puti was actually Phinehas’ maternal grandfather, whose full name was Putiel. So Exod. 6:25. fattened calves for idolatry, has killed a tribal prince of Israel!” Therefore Scripture has come to trace his lineage [through his paternal grandfather] (in Numb. 25:11), “Phinehas the son of Eliezer, [who is] the son of Aaron the priest.” (Numb. 25:12:) “Therefore I hereby grant My covenant of peace.” Great is the peace that He gave, as the world only functions according to peace. And the Torah is [likewise] completely peace, as stated (Prov. 3:17), “Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace.” If someone comes from a journey, we inquire of his peace (wellbeing). So too in the morning, we inquire of his peace, and in the evening we inquire of his peace. And we read the recital of the Shema and we conclude [its blessings] with peace, “who spreads the cover of peace.” And in prayer, we conclude, “Who blesses His people Israel with peace.” (Numb. 25:12:) “Therefore I hereby grant [My covenant of peace],” as he still survives. And so it says (in Mal. 2:5), “My covenant was with him, [a covenant of] life and peace.” (Numb. 25:13:) “And it shall belong to him and to his seed after him […, because he was zealous for his God] and atoned for the Children of Israel.” Since atonement is spoken of in connection with him, did he offer a sacrifice? [The mention of atonement is] simply to teach you that when anyone sheds the blood of the wicked, it is as if he had offered a sacrifice.

(Numb. 27:1:) “Then came forward the daughters of Zelophehad.” In that generation the women were fencing¹¹On raising a fence about the Law, see Avot 1:1. that which the men were breaching.¹²Numb. R. 21:10. Accordingly you find that Aaron said to them (i.e., the men in Exod. 32:2), “Take off the gold rings [that are in the ears of your wives…]”; but the women were unwilling and protested against their husbands. Thus it is stated (in vs. 3), “So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their¹³Since “their” is masculine here, there is an implication that the men only took their own earrings. ears.” Thus the women did not take part in making the [golden] calf. So also in the case of the spies who had spread slander (according to Numb. 14:36), “when they returned, they made [the whole congregation] murmur against him.” A decree was issued against them, because they had said (in Numb. 13:31), “We are unable to go up [against this people for they are stronger than us].” The women, however, were not with them in their counsel. What is written above the matter (in Numb. 26:65)? “Because the Lord had said to them, ‘They shall surely die in the wilderness,’ not a man of them remained.” [Note that Scripture speaks of] “a man,” and not of "a woman.” Because they (i.e., the men) did not want to enter the land, but the women came forward to ask for an inheritance [in the land]; (Numb. 27:1) “Then came forward the daughters of Zelophehad.” Therefore the parashah [about the death of that generation] was written next to this parashah, because what the men broke down the women fenced in. Another interpretation (of Numb. 27:1), “Then came forward [the daughters of Zelophehad ben Hepher ben Gilead ben Machir ben Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh ben Joseph”: [Their action was] an honor to them. [It was also] an honor to their father, an honor to Machir, an honor to Manasseh and an honor to Joseph that such righteous and wise women had issued from him.¹⁴Numb. R. 21:11. But what was their wisdom? They [only] spoke up at the proper time, when Moses was busy with the parashah about inheritance (in accordance with Numb. 26:53), “To these shall you apportion the land [for an inheritance].” [So what was their wisdom? That] they said to him, “If we are like a son, let us inherit; but if not, let our mother perform levirate marriage (marry her husband's brother).”¹⁵His duty would be to rear children in the name of the deceased father. On levirate marriage generally, see Deut. 25:5-6: also Gen. 38:8-9; Ruth 4:5. Immediately (in Numb. 27:5), “Moses brought their cause before the Lord.” They were righteous, In that they had never been married to someone unworthy of them. Then why did they meet with Moses now? So that he would not [put on airs] over having abstained from his wife for forty years.¹⁶Since Moses regularly stood in the Divine Presence, he needed to preserve an unbroken state of purity. The Holy One, blessed be He, informed him through these [women], saying, “Here are women who without being commanded [remained unmarried] for forty years, until they were married to someone worthy of them.”

The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: Let gold be placed within the Sanctuary to atone for the gold with which the golden calf was fashioned, as it is said: And all the people broke off the golden rings (Exod. 32:3). Thus they atoned with gold; And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold (ibid. 25:2). The Holy One, blessed be He, said: For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds (Jer. 30:17).

(Numb. 25:2:) “And they invited the people to the sacrifices for their gods.” Thus they (i.e., daughters of Moab) were going by the counsel of Balaam, as stated (in Numb. 31:16), “Here these women at the bidding of Balaam made the Children of Israel.”⁹⁵Numb. R. 7:23, cont.; ySanh. 10:2 (28cd); Sanh. 106a; PRE 47. They made themselves curtained stalls and installed harlots in them with every object of delight in their hands. Now a girl would have an old woman as an agent, for an old woman would be in front of the shop. During the time that Israel was passing by on the way to the marketplace, the woman would say to him, “Young man, surely you want objects of linen which have come from Beth-Shean!” Then she would show them to him; and when the old woman would tell him a high price, the girl would [give him] a lower one. From then on the girl would tell him, “You are like one of the family. Sit down and choose for yourself.” Now a jug of Ammonite wine was placed by her, since the wine of gentiles had not yet been forbidden. Then out comes the girl, perfumed and adorned, and seduces him and says to him, “Why do you hate us, when we love you? Take for yourself this article gratIs. We all are children of a single man, children of Terah, the father of Abraham. So do you not want to eat from our sacrifices and from our cooking? Here are calves and cocks for you; slaughter them according to your own precepts, and eat.” Immediately she has him drink the wine, and then the Satan burned within him, so that he became a fool for her. There are also those who say [that] Balaam commanded them not to have them drink the wine, so that they would not be judged as those who are drunk, but as willful sinners. When he sought her out, she would say, “Slaughter this cock and we will cook it and eat with you, and I will be at your disposal.” When he came to slaughter it, she said to him, “I am not listening to you until you slaughter it [as a sacrifice] to Peor.” Since he had become a fool for her, he would slaughter it to Peor and eat with her. So they would be joined to each other. It is therefore written (in Numb. 25:2-3), “And they invited the people [to the sacrifices for their gods, so that the people ate and bowed down to their gods]. Thus Israel was joined (rt.: tsmd) to Baal Peor,” like bracelets (rt.: tsmd). R. Levi said, “This was more serious than the [sin of the golden] calf, [for while in reference to the calf it is written (in Exod. 32:3), ‘So all the people took off [the gold rings that were in their ears],’ here [it is written] (in Numb. 25:3), ‘Thus Israel was joined (rt.: tsmd) [to Baal Peor,]’ like bracelets (rt.: tsmd)]. Because of the calf about three thousand fell, but here (according to Numb. 25:9) [the number fallen is] twenty-four thousand.”

10 (Numb. 27:1) “Then came forward the daughters of Zelophehad”: In that generation the women were fencing⁹On raising a fence about the Law, see Avot 1:1. that which the men were breaching. Accordingly you find that Aaron said to them (i.e., the men in Exod. 32:2), “Take off the gold rings that are in the ears of your wives”; but the women were unwilling and protested against their husbands. Thus it is stated (in vs. 3), “So all the people took off the gold rings that were in their¹⁰Since “their” is masculine here, there is an implication that the men only took their own earrings. ears.” Thus the women did not take part in making the [golden] calf. So also in the case of the spies who had spread slander (according to Numb. 14:36), “when they returned, they made [the whole congregation] murmur against him.” A decree was issued against them, because they had said (in Numb. 13:31), “We are unable to go up [against this people for they are stronger than us].” The women, however, were not with them in their counsel. What is written above the matter (in Numb. 26:65)? “Because the Lord had said to them, ‘They shall surely die in the wilderness,’ not a man of them remained […].” [Note that Scripture speaks of] “a man,” and not of "a woman.” Because they (i.e., the men) did not want to enter the land, but the women came forward to ask for an inheritance in the land. Therefore the parashah [about the death of that generation] was written next to this parashah, because what the men broke down the women fenced in.

11 Another interpretation (of Numb. 27:1): “Then came forward [the daughters of Zelophehad [ben Hepher ben Gilead ben Machir ben Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh ben Joseph]”: [Their action was] an honor to them. [It was also] an honor to their father, an honor to Machir and an honor to Joseph that such righteous and wise women had issued from him. But what was their wisdom? They [only] spoke up at the proper time, when Moses was busy with the parashah about inheritance (in accordance with Numb. 26:53), “To these shall you apportion the land [for an inheritance].” They said to him, “If we are like a son, let us inherit; but if not, let our mother perform levirate marriage (marry her husband's brother).”¹¹His duty would be to rear children in the name of the deceased father. On levirate marriage generally, see Deut. 25:5-6: also Gen. 38:8-9; Ruth 4:5. Immediately (in Numb. 27:5), “Moses brought their cause before the Lord.” They were righteous, In that they had never been married to someone unworthy of them. Then why did they meet with Moses at the end [of the forty years]? So that he would not [put on airs] over having abstained from his wife for forty years.¹²Since Moses regularly stood in the Divine Presence, he needed to preserve an unbroken state of purity. The Holy One, blessed be He, informed him through these [women], saying, “Here are women who without being commanded [remained unmarried] for forty years, until they were married to someone worthy of them.”

(Numb. 4:18) “Do not cut off.” This text is related (to Nahum 1:7), “The Lord is good, a shelter in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” The nature of the Holy One, blessed be He, is unlike the nature of flesh and blood.¹³¹Numb. R. 5:3. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, when a province rebels against him, he acts against it with an indiscriminate punishment¹³²Gk.: androlempsia or androlepsia (“seizure of foreigners” in reprisal for murder committed abroad). and kills the good along with the bad. Now the Holy One, blessed be He, is not like that. Rather, when a generation provokes Him, He saves the righteous and destroys the wicked. The generation of Enosh sinned. He destroyed them but rescued Enoch, as stated (in Gen. 5:24), “And Enoch walked with God.” Why? (Nahum 1:7:) “[The Lord is good, a shelter] in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” The generation of the flood provoked Him. So He destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 7:23), “And He blotted out all existence”; but He rescued Noah, as stated (in Gen. 6:8), “And Noah found favor [in the eyes of the Lord].” And similarly with the Sodomites, He destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 19:24), “Then the Lord rained down upon Sodom”; but He rescued Lot, as stated (in vs. 29), “and sent Lot away.” He brought darkness upon the Egyptians, but (according to Exod. 10:23) “all the Children of Israel had light in their dwellings.” Why? (Nahum 1:7:) “[The Lord is good, a shelter] in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” They went forth from Egypt and came to the desert. [There] they committed that deed (i.e., the incident of the golden calf), [all] except for the tribe of Levi. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:26), “[So Moses stood up in the gate of the camp and said,] ‘Whoever is for the Lord, to me!’ And all of the sons of Levi gathered to him.” [What is the meaning of “Whoever is for the Lord?”] Whoever (in Exod. 32:3) has not given a ring for the calf, let him come unto me. [To him] the Holy One, blessed be He, said (in Nahum 1:7), “[The Lord is good, a shelter] in the day of trouble; He knows those who trust in Him.” Moshe immediately arose and killed the sinners, as stated (Exodus 32:28), “And the Children of Levi did like the word of Moses.” With reference to the tribe of Levi, however, which gave their lives for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He, He thus said to Moses and Aaron (in Numb. 4:18), “Do not cut off….” And so He says in another place (i.e., in Numb. 3:15), “Enroll the Children of Levi.” But He has also said (in Numb. 1:49), “However, you shall not enroll the tribe of Levi.” Why? In order to exclude them from the decree. As the Holy One, blessed be He, foresaw that Israel was going to provoke Him and said to them (in Numb. 14:29), “In this desert shall your carcasses drop.” Therefore, the Holy One, blessed be He, said, “The Children of Levi shall not be [part of] this decree, as stated (in Numb. 1:49, cont.), ‘nor shall you take a census of them as part of the Children of Israel.’ Why? Because they are Mine, as stated (Numb. 3:12), ‘and the Levites shall be mine.’” Thus when anyone offers (rt.: qrb) a little of himself, they advance (rt.: qrb) him a lot. Now they had offered (rt.: qrb) themselves, when Moses said (in Exod. 32:26), “Whoever is for the Lord, to me!” And not only that, but the Holy One, blessed be He, said (according to Numb. 1:50) “You shall enroll the Levites to be over the tabernacle of the testimony.” Thus when someone is tested in [one] area and found trustworthy, the Holy One, blessed be He, trusts him forever; for so you find in the case of Joshua.¹³³Numb. R. 1:12. When he was tested with Amalek, he prevailed against him according to the law and according to the commandment. It is so stated (in Exod. 17:13), “And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people….” The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him, “From your tribe (Ephraim) I am raising up one to exact punishment from Amalek, as stated (in Jud. 5:14), “Out of Ephraim came those whose root is in Amalek….” What is the meaning of out of (mny) Ephraim? He appointed (mnh) Ephraim alone to destroy the seed of Amalek. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (ibid., cont.), “’After you, Benjamin with your peoples,’ [i.e.,] leave him for Saul ben Kish, the Benjamite; he will uproot him.” Another interpretation (of Jud. 5:14), “Out of Ephraim.” Saul was tested and found untrustworthy in his commission. Rather (according to I Sam. 15:9), “But Saul and the people spared Agag.” He put him back after him (i.e., behind Ephraim, the tribe of Joshua and Samuel) and the kingdom was taken from him, as stated (in Jud. 5:14), “after you (i.e., Ephraim), Benjamin with your peoples.” And I have also tested this tribe (of Levi), and they have been found to be preserving My honor; for they have given their life for the sanctification of My name (in Exod. 32:27-28), “Let each one put his sword on his thigh [….] So the Children of Levi acted according to the word of Moses,” and they did not show favoritism. Therefore, Moses blesses them and says to them (in Deut. 33:9), “Who says of his father and mother, ‘I do not consider them […].’” And [so] I am also advancing him and making him My imperial agent.¹³⁴Lat.: frumentarius (“grain dealer”). and I am entrusting him with My house and My sanctity, as stated (in Numb. 1:50), “But you shall enroll the Levites to be over the tabernacle of the testimony….” And what was it that I told you (in vs. 49)? “However, you shall not enroll the tribe of Levi.” [This prohibition] was to exempt them from the decree which I was going to pronounce over Israel. It is simply that I am allotting them great honor. When you number them, [number them] by themselves through the Divine utterance (in Numb. 3:15), “Enroll the Children of Levi.” Now if I have honored the Levites, who bear the tabernacle, how much the more so in the case of the Children of Kohath, who bear the ark, [as stated] (in Numb. 3:31), “And their duties included the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, [….]” He therefore said to them (in Numb. 4:18), “Do not cut off [the tribe of the Kohathite families from the Levites].” The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “And if because the Children of Kohath have feared Me, I have allotted glory to them and to their children; then [I will honor] whoever stands in awe of Me and not cut off his name from the world.”¹³⁵Numb. R. 5:9. From whom do you learn this? From the children of Jonadab ben Rechab. Since they did his will, what is stated about them? (Jer. 35:19), “Someone belonging to Jonadab ben Rechab shall not be cut off from standing before Me forever.” And if in the case of those who are proselytes, because they have done My will, I have done likewise for them (i.e., what they want); in the case of Israel, when they are doing My will, how much the more shall they neither be cut off nor have their name be erased from before Me? Rather, they shall live and abide forever and ever and ever, as stated (in Deut. 4:4), “But you who clung to the Lord your God are all alive today.”

There are also those who say: Balaam commanded them not to have them drink the wine, so that they would not be judged as those who are drunk but as willful sinners. When he sought her out, she would say: I am not listening to you until you slaughter <a sacrifice> to Peor. Since he had fallen madly in love with her, he would slaughter a cock to Peor and eat it with her. So they would be joined to each other. It is therefore written (in Numb. 25:2): AND THEY INVITED THE PEOPLE <TO THE SACRIFICES FOR THEIR GODS, SO THAT THE PEOPLE ATE AND BOWED DOWN TO THEIR GODS>. Thus Israel was joined (rt.: TsMD) to Baal Peor like bracelets (rt.: TsMD). R. Levi said: This was more serious than the <sin of the golden> calf, [for while in reference to the calf it is written (in Exod. 32:3): SO ALL THE PEOPLE TOOK OFF <THE GOLD RINGS THAT WERE IN THEIR EARS … >, so here (in Numb. 25:3): THUS ISRAEL WAS JOINED (rt.: TsMD) <TO BAAL PEOR,> like bracelets (rt.: TsMD)>. Because of the calf about three thousand fell, but here (according to Numb. 25:9) <the number fallen is> twenty-four thousand.

(Numb. 4:18:) DO NOT CUT OFF. This text is related (to Nahum 1:7): THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER [IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE]. The nature of the Holy One is unlike the nature of flesh and blood.¹⁵⁶Tanh., Numb. 1:26; Numb. R. 5:3. In the case of a king of flesh and blood, when a province rebels against him, he acts against it with an indiscriminate punishment¹⁵⁷Gk.: androlempsia or androlepsia (“seizure of foreigners” in reprisal for murder committed abroad). and kills the good along with the bad without considering: This one has sinned, and this one has not sinned. Instead he kills the whole of it (i.e., the province). Now the Holy One is not like that. Rather, when a generation provokes him, he saves the righteous and destroys the wicked. The generation of Enosh sinned. He destroyed them but rescued Enoch, as stated (in Gen. 5:24): AND ENOCH WALKED WITH GOD. Why? (Nahum 1:7:) <THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER> IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. The generation of the flood provoked him. So he destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 7:23): AND HE BLOTTED OUT ALL EXISTENCE; but he rescued Noah, as stated (in Gen. 6:8): AND NOAH FOUND FAVOR <IN THE EYES OF THE LORD>. And similarly with the Sodomites, he destroyed them, as stated (in Gen. 19:24): THEN THE LORD RAINED DOWN UPON SODOM; but he rescued Lot, as stated (in vs. 29): AND SENT LOT AWAY. He brought darkness upon the Egyptians, BUT (according to Exod. 10:23) ALL THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAD LIGHT IN THEIR DWELLINGS. Why? (Nahum 1:7:) <THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER> IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. They went forth from Egypt and came to the desert. <There> they committed that deed (i.e., the incident of the golden calf), <all> except for the tribe of Levi. Thus it is stated (in Exod. 32:26): <SO MOSES STOOD UP IN THE GATE OF THE CAMP> AND SAID: WHOEVER IS FOR THE LORD, COME TO ME <….> What is the meaning of WHOEVER IS FOR THE LORD? R. Simeon ben Johay says: Whoever (in Exod. 32:3) has not given a ring for idolatry, let him come unto me. (Ibid. cont.:) THEN ALL THE CHILDREN OF LEVI GATHERED UNTO HIM. The Holy One said (in Nahum 1:7): <THE LORD IS GOOD, A SHELTER> IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE; HE KNOWS THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. <Moses was asking:> Who took part in the deed of the calf, and who did not take part? What did <the Holy One> do? He killed the sinners, as stated (in Exod. 32:35): THEN THE LORD SMOTE THE PEOPLE…. With reference to the tribe of Levi, however, which gave their lives for the Name of the Holy One, he said to Moses and Aaron (in Numb. 4:18): DO NOT CUT OFF….

The men saw that the women would not consent to give their earrings to their husbands. What did they do? Until that hour the earrings were (also) in their own ears, after the fashion of the Egyptians, and after the fashion of the Arabs. They broke off their earrings which were in their own ears, and they gave (them) to Aaron, as it is said, "And all the people brake off || the golden rings which were in their ears" (Ex. 32:3). "Which were in the ears of their wives" is not written here, but "which were in their ears." Aaron found among the earrings one plate of gold upon which the Holy Name was written, and engraven thereon was the figure of a calf, and that (plate) alone did he cast into the fiery furnace, as it is said, "So they gave it me: and I cast it into the fire, and there came out this calf" (Ex. 32:24). It is not written here, "And I cast them in," but "And I cast it in the fire, and there came out this calf." The calf came out lowing, and the Israelites saw it, and they went astray after it.