Human initiative and Divine command

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1. Divine Command and Human Initiative OR Why Does Matot Begin With the Laws of Women's Vows?

   Prof. Jonathan Grossman

   The sin of Baal Peor, Pinchas’s act, and the commandment to battle Midian – are separated from the actual Midian War by six seemingly unrelated episodes: The census; Zelophehad’s daughters; God’s command that Moshe should go up to Har ha-Avarim; the appointment of Yehoshua; the supplementary (musaf) sacrifices; and the vows of woman and girls. These six episodes can be divided into three pairs, with one common theme: the tension between human initiative and Divine command. The episodes can all be linked to the sin of Baal Peor, and this tension is prevalent in the Midian War as well.

2. The Daughters of Tzelofhad

   Shani Taragin |

   The story of Tzelofhad's daughters introduces five sisters who turn to the patriarchal leadership seeking to preserve the name of their deceased father. Their claim - "why should our father's name be omitted" (למה יגרע שם אבינו) parallels another claim brought in an earlier chapter of BeMidbar. The people who were impure due to contact with the dead approach Moshe with the same terminology - למה נגרע - regarding their inability to offer the Pessah sacrifice due to their impure state. The link between the two stories leads to the conclusion that Tzelofhad's daughters are correct, and their positive initiative is accepted. 

3. Rav Amital on God's Commandment and Message for Aharon

   Rabbi David Silverberg