Parashat Pinchas 5783 — 07/08/2023
Beginning with Bereishit 5781 (17 October 2020) we embarked on a new format. We will be considering Rambam’s (Maimonides’) great philosophical work Moreh Nevukim (Guide for the Perplexed) in the light of the knowledge of Vedic Science as expounded by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The individual essays will therefore not necessarily have anything to do with the weekly Torah portion, although certainly there will be plenty of references to the Torah, the rest of the Bible, and to the Rabbinic literature. For Bereishit we described the project. The next four parshiyyot, Noach through Chayei Sarah, laid out a foundational understanding of Vedic Science, to the degree I am capable of doing so. Beginning with Toledot we started examining Moreh Nevukim.
Bamidbar 25:10-30:1
Rambam now turns to ideas of life and death. Interestingly, he does not mention that the terms for life and death are equivocal terms as he has with all previous chapters that deal with specific lexical items.
Living [chay] is a term denoting a being that grows and is sentient. Thus: Every moving thing that liveth (Gen 9:3). It is also a term denoting recovery from a very severe illness. Thus: And lived [i.e. recovered] from his illness (Isa 38:9). In the camp till they lived (Josh 5:8 – Artscroll: until they recuperated). Similarly in the expression: A living flesh (Lev 13:10 – Artscroll: Healthy, live flesh – this refers to the laws of tzara’at).
I imagine that Rambam didn’t use the term equivocal because the two meanings of chay are so close – something that is truly alive is healthy, the word healthy coming from a root meaning whole. Thus, something that we describe as being alive is internally whole. If it has parts, it means that all parts of the system are acting together in a completely harmonious, frictionless manner. Of course, Gd is a simple Unity, not a system that has parts that have been put together. Therefore, it is not, strictly speaking, correct to say that Gd is alive. In fact, this is the classic example of Rambam’s “negative theology,” the notion that we cannot say anything positive about Gd’s attributes, because trying to cram Gd into our finite categories is not going to end well for our understanding. Just as Gd’s Knowledge is indistinguishable from Gd’s Essence, so it is with Gd’s Life.
Rambam continues with the opposite of life:
Similarly death [maveth] is a term denoting both death and severe illness. Thus: And his heart died within him, and he became as a stone (I Sam 25:37 – Artscroll: his heart [seemed to have] died within him, and he was stunned – RAR: I wonder if “stun” and “stone” are etymologically related), which refers to the severity of his illness. On this account Scripture makes it clear with regard to the son of the woman of Zarephath — that his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him (I Kings 17:17). For if it had said: And he died, it would have been possible to interpret this as meaning that it was a case of severe illness in which the sick individual was near death, as Nabal was, when he heard the news. Some of the men of Andalusia [RAR: i.e. Spain] interpret the verse as meaning that his breath was suspended so that no breath at all could be perceived in him – as happens to people struck with apoplexy or with asphyxia deriving from the womb, so that it is not known if the one in question is dead or alive and the doubt remains a day or two.
Just as life and health are intimately interrelated, so are sickness and death. In the case of everything other than Gd, death is the loss of structure, entropy, decay. A living system is open and therefore evolving, while a dead system is closed and subject to the Second Law of Thermodynamics. When the Second Law is taking over the coordinated activity of the various parts begins to randomize, until the system is no longer really a system any more, just random pieces all acting independently. If we think of a dead body decomposing, we see very clearly the connection between death and sickness (=degeneration). Clearly, none of these considerations apply to Gd, and Rambam doesn’t get involved in the “Gd is Dead” debate. However, again using the language of negative theology, we can say that Gd is certainly not dead.
What do we mean then by an expression like Melech chai v’kayam / King Who lives and endures? Gd is Pure Life itself; He appears to us to be living in that He interacts with us, He created us, He was here before us and will continue after we are gone. To us, in the world of limitations, He appears to live without any limitations. That’s why Melech chai / Living Gd is one of those anthropomorphism that cannot be explained literally, as Rambam has shown numerous times. We might say that Gd, in His aspect of interacting with creation, appears to us, His creatures, as alive. But, as always, we are not in a position to perceive Gd’s essence, to which no adjective applies.
Rambam gives one more meaning to life and death:
The term [living] is often used also in the sense of acquisition of knowledge. Thus: So shall they be life unto thy soul (Prov 3:22); For whoso findeth me findeth life (Prov 8:35); For they are life unto those that find them (Prov 4:22). This use is frequent. In accordance with it, correct opinions are called life and false opinions death. Gd, may He be exalted, says accordingly: See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and so on (Deut 30:15). He has thereby made it clear that good is life and that evil is death and has explained these terms. I make a similar interpretation of His dictum, may He be exalted, That ye may live (Deut 5:30), analogous to the traditional interpretation of the dictum of Scripture: That it may be well with thee, and so on (Deut 22:7). Because of this figurative sense being generally known in the Hebrew language, the Sages have said: The righteous even in death are called living, [whereas] the wicked even in life are called dead (Berachot 18a-b). Know this.
As we have seen already, when Rambam uses the word “opinion” he does not mean it in the modern sense, as something that may or may not be logically sound or backed up by facts or experience. In my opinion, Rambam’s “opinion” is a kind of inner knowledge, based on experience and logic, but also supported by a level of consciousness which intuitively knows when something is correct or not. So, when Rambam equates life and good with correct opinions, I think what he means is that the closer we get to knowledge of the transcendent we get – that is, to knowledge that is eternal and unchanging – the more life we have. That is, the more our consciousness is established in the transcendent, the more we have infused Life, which is eternal, into our individual life. And when that happens, even if our body stops working, we do not fall off from this level of pure Life. But if we are not established in the transcendent, then even when our body is functioning, we are disconnected from the source of Life, and can be considered as dead. Therefore, Gd tells us through Moshe Rabbeinu, choose life!
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Commentary by Steve Sufian
Parashat Pinchas
The most upbeat and relevant meaning of “Pinchas” is “oracle,” one who can see the choices we need to make in order for the future to be good and the choices to avoid in order to prevent harm. There are other meanings given to it and an extensive discussion about whether the word is Egyptian or Hebrew in origin but since Pinchas acted as an oracle in this parshah, this seems the most appropriate.
Israel, including Pinchas was a bit slow in this parshah—it wasn’t until a plague was caused due to many Israelites being beguiled by prostitutes that Pinchas acted to slay an Israel prince and a harlot, thus ending the plague.
Gd is All: Pinchas the oracle, Balaam, the prophet-for-hire and Moses, the servant of Gd, are all roles Gd plays. Gd plays the roles of the Children of Israel of ancient times and now – all beings, including us. Playing the roles of limited beings, God Hides and Seeks while remaining Gd. As Gd, Gd Reveals.
Gd’s Ways are Known only to Gd and hidden from we limited beings but Gd Guides our seeking, Gives us Clues. Torah, on the levels of story, symbol and sound Guides us to right action that dissolve our limits and make us fully aware that our individual selves are roles Gd plays.
In this parashah, hardly a moment after Balaam recognizes Israel’s virtue by saying, “How goodly are thy tents, Oh Jacob, thy dwelling places, Oh Israel”, Balaam (Gd in disguise) arranges for beautiful harlots to go among the Israel males; many are entranced and fall for their mesmerizing beauty.
Why did Gd, as Balaam, do this? We cannot know but one guess is that Gd wanted Israel not to become complacent and vain due to the blessing but wanted them to remain humble and alert, aware that they were still dependent on Gd and needed always to keep their hearts pure
Although this parashah is named after Pinchas who stopped a plague by slaying a prince and a prostitute who openly violated the laws against adultery, the central event in this parashah is Gd fulfilling Moses’ request to appoint someone to lead B’nei Israel into the Promised Land. Gd tells Moses to lay his hands on Joshua so that some of Moses’ spirit will enter Joshua and Joshua will be able to lead the people into the physical Promised Land. According to the Gemara the elders of the generation called this a “great embarrassment”, that Joshua was like the moon whereas Moses was like the sun.
Perhaps Moses did not need to enter the Promised Land to experience Teshuvah – he already had it, being soaked in Gd’s Presence as he was.
The Children of Israel, however, including Joshua, did need to enter the Promised Land in order to be fully aware of Gd’s Presence. If all of Moses’ spirit were given to Joshua+, then he also would have no need to enter the Promised Land and the people would have no leader.
What can this mean in our lives?
The Promised Land is within us even when we are acting in the (relative) desert that is the ordinary life of human beings. The qualities of our awareness that are less than full – our thoughts, our feelings, our sensory awareness – lead us to the Wholeness, the Promised Land that transcends them and pervades them.
These thoughts, feelings, sensory awarenesses are like Joshua – they allow us, through use, through practice, to experience more and more refined levels of them and eventually (Dear Gd, Please! Now!) to experience the Promised Land, the Wholeness, the Oneness in which Torah, Gd, we humans and all creation are experienced as One.
Now, please, Now!
Baruch HaShem