Masei: conclusioin

Masei, the last parsha of Bamidbar is the conclusion of the Torah.(The book of Dvarim is a coda.) Masei forms the closure of the Torah. It echoes back to the early stories of Breshith.

Masei deals with the exile of the negligent (murderer). Cain is a negligent murderer, he does not know (or understand) the law. The law, in Masei, is presented as an element of nature.

לג וְלֹא-תַחֲנִיפוּ אֶת-הָאָרֶץ, אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם בָּהּ, כִּי הַדָּם, הוּא יַחֲנִיף אֶת-הָאָרֶץ; וְלָאָרֶץ לֹא-יְכֻפַּר, לַדָּם אֲשֶׁר שֻׁפַּךְ-בָּהּ, כִּי-אִם, בְּדַם שֹׁפְכוֹ.	33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are; for blood, it polluteth the land; and no expiation can be made for the land for the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.

The solution to this problem is exile. Cain is exiled.
Adam and Eve are also exiled from from the garden of Eden for taking of the tree of knowledge and thus , negligently, bringing death to the world.

The story of Adam and Eve is also echoed in the very last item in the parsha, the last story in the Bamidbar, the acquisition of a portion in the land by the daughters of Zelophchad. In this story the women lay claim to a precious item. But ultimately, the men husband it. Eve brought the knowledge and her penalty was her husband’s mastery over her. The daughters of Zelophchad successfully argued for a portion of the land, but they were forced to marry within the patriarchal tribe. Are women the origin of action?

Matos: matrilineal inheritance

The end of the parsha, involves the assignment of Gilad and its environs to the tribes of Reuben and Gad ( and Menashe, who did not ask for it). This is the territory of Lavan, the border that Jacob promised he ( and his descendants) would not cross.
Genesis 31:

וַיֹּאמֶר לָבָן, לְיַעֲקֹב: הִנֵּה הַגַּל הַזֶּה, וְהִנֵּה הַמַּצֵּבָה, אֲשֶׁר יָרִיתִי, בֵּינִי וּבֵינֶךָ.	51 And Laban said to Jacob: 'Behold this heap, and behold the pillar, which I have set up betwixt me and thee.
נב עֵד הַגַּל הַזֶּה, וְעֵדָה הַמַּצֵּבָה: אִם-אָנִי, לֹא-אֶעֱבֹר אֵלֶיךָ אֶת-הַגַּל הַזֶּה, וְאִם-אַתָּה לֹא-תַעֲבֹר אֵלַי אֶת-הַגַּל הַזֶּה וְאֶת-הַמַּצֵּבָה הַזֹּאת, לְרָעָה.	52 This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm

There was a prior oath that this land would be for the children of Lavan!

Now, of course , Reuben, Dan and all the tribes of Israel are the descendants of Laban on the maternal side. It is interesting that this claim to the matriarchial land comes juxtaposed to the claim of the daughters of Zelophchad.

The parsha is filled with power politics. The power of men over the vows of women is stated and limited. The conquest of the Midian, the people of Moshe’s wife, Elazar’s wife, Pinchas’ mother and the division of the spoils is described. The power of Reuben’s wealth succeeds in obtaining the land that the tribe desires.

A mixture of Yaakov and Lavan?

Pinchas: heritage

Pinchas starts with the reward for defending Gd’s honor. The eternal bestows a blessing of priesthood that is passed down through generations.
The daughters of Zelophchad successfully protest their exclusion from the [commonly] heritable entity - the land. They are granted a reward for defending their own honor.
The parsha ends with celebratory days. These days are a reward for our continued engagement with our Gd and our people.

The parsha also tells of the impending death of Moshe. His single failing to honor Gd and self, at the water-rock, costs him a heritage. Nor is the next leader his descendant.

I just finished Songs of Experience [Blake]. The penultimate poem is To Tirzah. Tirzah is one of the daughters of Zelophchad. [editied]

TO TIRZAH

Whate’er is born of mortal birth Must be consumed with the earth, To rise from generation free: Then what have I to do with thee? The sexes sprung from shame and pride, Blowed in the morn, in evening died; But mercy changed death into sleep; The sexes rose to work and weep. Thou, mother of my mortal part, With cruelty didst mould my heart, And with false self-deceiving tears Didst blind my nostrils, eyes, and ears, Didst close my tongue in senseless clay, And me to mortal life betray.

prior years

Balak: Omens

Bilam, prophet for hire, has already been informed that Balak’s mission to curse Israel does not meet with Gd’s approval. But after appealing a second time, he receives limited permission to travel. The journey is obstructed by an angel. To Bilam, it appears that his beast has become obstinate and rebellious because Bilam does not see the true nature of the danger. The work of the angel is revealed only to the [initially] mute beast. But Bilam [should] know[s] that the beast is heeding another master, the master that was reluctant to allow Bilam to make this trip.
Thus, that which appears to the person as an omen may be a true obstruction that should be heeded. Unless one is careful with the “thus” this can be bad advice. Overcoming obstacles is usually a part of any achievement. “Thus” means that omen should awaken a re-examination of the task, not necessarily a rejection.

Today’s , July 8, 2011, New York Times has a story about the medical use of omens: How Bright Promise in Cancer Testing Fell Apart By GINA KOLATA. The article describes the [mis]use of gene expression arrays, complex “fingerprints” of cancer cells, to try to determine the best therapy for patients with cancer. The story is one of fraud and greed and luddism. Really, it is about the modern [ab]use of omens. These cancer fingerprints are omens, predicting the future of the patient, abused by modern prophets for hire. .

Thus, when Bilam goes to do his dirty work, he always EXits from the PERIMeter of Balak to ENTer a place of revelation.

past years

Chukath: Succession

In Chukath, this week’s parsha, The new generation replaces the old. The old generation dies. That is what puts the suck in succession.

A little Whitman: [Chanting the Square Deific]

As the Earth, the Father, the brown old Kronos, with laws,
Aged beyond computation, yet never new, ever with those mighty laws rolling,
Relentless I forgive no man—whoever sins dies—I will have that man's life;
Therefore let none expect mercy—have the seasons, gravitation, the
appointed days, mercy? no more have I,
But as the seasons and gravitation, and as all the appointed days
that forgive not,
I dispense from this side judgments inexorable without the least remorse

The giants die. The good giants [Miriam and Aaron] and the bad giants [Sichon and Og]. They are not replaced by people of equal stature .

The new generation recognizes that the old is reduced to ashes. We celebrate death with both burial and cremation.

The cow is the symbol of accomplishment. Ordinarily, she pulls the plow [ not the parah adumah] . She is trained and produces and is slaughtered and becomes meat.

The story of the Nachah HaNachoshes, the copper image of the serpent made by Moshe to cure the complaining Israelites from snakebite [the Caduceus?] is also in the parsha.

The Daf Hayomi [Chulin 6B] says:

And he [Hezekiah] broke in pieces the brazen serpent that Moses had made; for unto those days the children of Israel did offer to it; and it was called Nehushtan. Now, is it at all likely that Asa did it destroy it? Or that Jehoshaphat did not destroy it? Surely Asa and Jehoshaphat destroyed every form of idolatry in the world!
Talmud - Mas. Chullin 7a
It must therefore be that his ancestors left something undone whereby he [Hezekiah] might
distinguish himself; so in my case, my ancestors left room for me to distinguish myself.

Make good use of your space!