At the Crossroads... Again

Seems we've used this "headline" for the Lead Tidbit before - or something like it. But we come across these kinds of crossroads every so often, and this particular one is a challenge.

This Shabbat, we read Parshat Pinchas. It's a long sedra and has several topics that capture our interest. To choose two of the topics - not randomly, of course, but quite purposefully, let us look at the episode of the daughters of Tz'lofchad and at the Korbanot - the daily sacrifices and the Musafim of Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and Holydays.

The episode of the five sisters who dearly wanted a share in the Land of Israel and, not having yet been taught the Torah's laws of inheritance, thought that they would lose out on their father's share because they had no brothers. That these women were honored for their love of the Land by having G-d command the Laws of Inheritance in response to their passionate request.

And now let's look just one day beyond Shabbat Parshat Pinchas. Sunday is the fast of the 17th of Tamuz. It marks the date of the Golden Calf incident and the day that the Korban Tamid, the daily sacrifice, ceased. This, during the siege of Yerushalayim just prior to the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash., to mention just two of the five calamities that the mishna in Taanit assigns to the 17th of Tamuz.

The sinning with the Golden Calf was a major contributing factor to G-d's decree against the generation of the Midbar to wander for 40 years until the adult male population died out.

(The sin of the spies is marked on Tish'a b'Av, as the date of the actual decree, but our sources indicate that from Cheit Ha'Eigel, the eventual decree was set in motion.

So here are the crossroads we face this Shabbat:

In one direction, the path to Eretz Yisrael and love of Eretz Yisrael, and our meriting our hold and tenure of Eretz Yisrael - as symbolized by B'not Tz'lofchad. In the other direction, the continued commemoration of events and causes of destruction and Exile. The fact that we still have the four fast days means that we have not yet chosen the correct path.

In one direction is the command to bring the daily T'midim in the Beit HaMikdash. In the other direction is the reminder of the cessation of that daily commitment, which symbolizes our total commitment to G-d, His Torah, and the way of life.

(The pasuk defining the T'midim is a suggestion for the K'LAL GADOL BATORA - the great principle of the Torah, even superseding "Love thy neighbor" and "This is the Book of the History of Mankind", according to one of the Tana'im.)

This crossroads (crossroads can be used with a singular modifier - and since the two descriptions are of the same crossroads, then this is better than these) is different from the usual kind. On of the possible roads to take, has been taken repeatedly throughout Jewish History. It is hard to understand why we keep taking the wrong path, but we do. The other path - we haven't really taken it yet, but we know it just the same. We know it from prophecies and promises. We know it to be the right choice to make. we just have to do it. We as individuals and we as Klal Yisrael.

(Seems that this last idea keeps popping up, and rightly so - because each Jew is an individual and every Jew is part of the Klal, part of the whole.)

Let us look at Shiv'a Asar b'Tamuz and all it represents and say that we've had enough Exile, enough suffering, enough mourning and regret. Let's look at Parshat Pinchas and say, YES! This is the path we want to take from now on.

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