Pinchas: Confrontation

Stories of confrontation stand out in Pinchas. Two prominent stories are those of Pinchas and the daughters of Zelophchad. These two stories have an interesting point in common: Moshe is dumbfounded by the situation

In the story of Pinchas, Moshe, as the leader should have been the  one to act upon the outrageous licentious idolatry, but he was too ambivalent. Moshe is clearly uncomfortable with capital punishment. We see that both the violator of th Sabbath (possibly Zelophchad) (Bamidbar 15;32) and the blasphemer (Vayikra 24;10) required consultations with the Almighty before a death sentence was handed down.  The course of action is not clear enough to Moshe; to Pinchas it is!
Pinchas kills both parties - the man from his father's people, and the woman from his  mother's.  Nachath from Pinchas.

How this story confronts the American in us is left for the reader.

Another major confrontation involves the daughters of Zelophchad (DoZ). Their father's name means shadow of fear.  I can imagine the fear that these women overcame to present their case, to inherit the land along with their male relatives, before the (all male) elders. Here again, Moshe doesn't know, he has to look it up - consult Gd.  Gd tells  Moshe that the cause of the DoZ is just. They have a right to the legacy of their father. Assertiveness is rewarded. Assertiveness is always in the shadow of fear.