Pinchas
Leviticus 25:10 - 30:1

Recently I read a magazine article entitled "finishing well". It was about a clergyman who was coming to the end of a long career. He wrote about the importance of finishing well, by "passing the baton" to the next generation, without dropping it in the handoff! Certainly all of us, no matter what our occupation may be, want to finish well. This idea of "passing the baton" in a smooth way is the theme of this week’s Torah portion. There are three different transitions from one generation to another in this portion. A census is taken of the new generation in the wilderness; Moses prays for a successor and is told by God to appoint Joshua and the daughters of Zelophehad ask for their father’s inheritance, as he had no sons.

Just as there are three different episodes of transition, each represents a different "level" of transition. The census of the new generation represents the continuity of the entire people of Israel - the inheritance of a whole new generation of the promises made at Sinai to the previous generation. Notice that in the early chapters of Deuteronomy, Moses refers to this second generation as having been at Sinai. The transition from Moses to Joshua represents the "passing of the baton" from one leader to another. But it is really much more than that. That ceremonial act of transition in the passage was Moses placing his hands on Joshua. Literally it was called "the placing of the hands" or S’micha. In fact today in Judaism, the ordination of a rabbi is called S’micha. It refers to much more than the passing of power and authority to another person. It refers to the passing on of the Torah and traditions from one generation to another.

At the very beginning of the Pirke Avot, the Sayings of the Fathers it says, Moses received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Joshua, and Joshua to the Elders, and the Elders to the Prophets…" Moses may soon die but his accumulated teachings and wisdom, the very Torah that he received from God, will continue to live on, because Joshua will perpetuate it and transmit it in turn. To this very day, we have the responsibility of knowing the Torah which has been handed down from generation to generation. In addition, as a people, it is important for us to teach our young people the traditions of the Jewish people. The survival of the Jewish people depends on us transmitting the culture and heritage of our people to the next generation.

Spiritually we have the responsibility of teaching our people about the Messiah because ultimately the future of our people depends on coming to God by faith in the promised Messiah. Finally, the daughters of Zelophehad represent the individual responsibility of passing the heritage from one generation to the next. Just as these daughters wanted to perpetuate the remembrance of their father, so we need to personally pass down our tradition to our children.

May this portion of Torah remind us of the importance of finishing well; of passing the baton to the next generation - without dropping it.

Shabbat Shalom!