Parashat Pinhas / 21 Tammuz‭ ‬5770‭ /‬ 3-Jul-‬2010

Shabbat Bulletin (July 2010)

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21 Tammuz 5770 / July 3, 2010
Triennial Cycle III: Numbers 28:16-30:1
Humash Etz Hayim, page 931
Haftarah: Jeremiah 1:1-2:3, page 968 

  1. (28:16-25) The additional sacrifices offered on Passover. This part of the Book of  Numbers details the special sacrifices for various holy days. 
  2. (28:26-31) The additional sacrifices offered on Shavuot. 
  3. (29:1-6) The additional sacrifices offered on Rosh Hashanah. 
  4. (29:7-11) The additional sacrifices offered on Yom Kippur. 
  5. (29:12-30:1) The additional sacrifices offered on Sukkot.
Drash – Martin Sherman
This week’s Torah portion describes in great detail the additional or mussaf sacrifices / offerings (in Hebrew Korbanot) to be brought and offered at the Temple for the three pilgrimage holidays – Pesach, Shavuout, and Succot – and on Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Shemini Azeret. These offerings were not voluntary, but were all required to be brought to the Temple on the specific holidays. That is the complete scope of this torah portion.

This Parsha exemplifies how Judaism ADAPTED and TRANSFORMED itself to meet changing times. The rabbis of those days adapted to the events. The forced exiles of the Jews and the destruction of the Temple precluded the universal offering of sacrifices or Korbanot.  But the rabbis did not replace sacrifices in an arbitrary way.

They replaced the sacrifices with a system that maintained the

two classes of sacrifices or Karbonot – those based on the holidays and those based on the ethical behavior or acts of the individual. The Rabbis adapted and based this transformation on verses from the Tanach. They reinforced the need for both ritual behavior and ethical behavior, just as the sacrificial system did. Ritual acts help us remember who we are and keep us focused on our mission; while ethical behavior leads to tikkun olam.

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