Parsha Inpsired Menus - Mattot-Masei

In parsha Mattot, God instructs Moshe to assemble a band of warriors to exact vengance on Midian (who had led some of Israel astray.) Interestingly, the leader of this campaign is not Moshe, nor Joshua, the next leader of the people, nor Eleazar, the High Priest. It is Pinchas. I've

discovered two ideas for the reason for this choice. The first is that this battle is ideological in nature vs. national or land-based, therefore it makes sense for the leader to be tied to the religious leadership of the nation (Pinchas is a descendent of Aaron.) The second rationale is from Rashi who says "But why did Phineas go and Eleazar did not go? The Holy One, blessed be He, said, “He who made a beginning with this meritorious work, in that he slew Kozbi the daughter of Zur (who was a Midianitess), let him complete it” Both of these ideas point to the concept that

leaders should be selected with care and thought - what is needed and who's the right person with the right reason for this role. Since "Phineas and Ferb" (the brilliant Disney animated show) has been a staple in our house for about a decade, when I think of Pinchas, I think of Phineas and Ferb. With Phinea's triangular head, any triangular food works for Pinchas, so I suggest these Greek-Style Meat Pies (called Kimadopitakia)

And then as the parsha goes on, we get to a sort of algebra exercise. The Israelites defeat the Midianites and have the booty of the war to take back and divide.

God says:

You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads of the community take an inventory of the booty that was captured, human and animal and divide the booty equally between the combatants who engaged in the campaign and the rest of the community. You shall exact a levy for GOD: in the case of the warriors who engaged in the campaign, one item in five hundred, of persons, oxen, donkeys, and sheep, shall be taken from their half-share and given to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to GOD; and from the half-share of the other Israelites you shall withhold one in every fifty human beings as well as cattle, donkeys, and sheep—all the animals—and give them to the Levites, who attend to the duties of GOD’s Tabernacle.

Then we hear how this plays out with numbers, using the formula of if X is the number of sheep then the warriors portion = (x/2)/500 and the community portion = (X/2)/50

Moses and Eleazar the priest did as GOD commanded Moses. The amount of booty, other than the spoil that the troops had plundered, came to 675,000 sheep, 72,000 head of cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and a total of 32,000 human beings, namely, the females who had not had carnal relations. Thus, the half-share of those who had engaged in the campaign [was as follows]: The number of sheep was 337,500, and GOD’s levy from the sheep was 675; the cattle came to 36,000, from which GOD’s levy was 72; the donkeys came to 30,500, from which GOD’s levy was 61. And the number of human beings was 16,000, from which GOD’s levy was 32. Moses gave the contributions levied for GOD to Eleazar the priest, as GOD had commanded Moses.

Then we hear about the community portion.

As for the half-share of the other Israelites, which Moses withdrew from those who had taken the field, that half-share of the community consisted of 337,500 sheep, 36,000 head of cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 human beings. From this half-share of the Israelites, Moses withheld one in every fifty humans and animals; and he gave them to the Levites, who attended to the duties of GOD’s Tabernacle, as GOD had commanded Moses.

Do you notice what's different? God's portion is referenced, but not delineated. It doesn't say "that half-share of the community consisted of 337,500 sheep, and GOD's levy from the sheep was 6750."

Why was the levy for God specified for the portion taken by the warriors, but not the community portion? After thinking about this for awhile I came up with the idea that by highlighting that even the warriors, the once who took on the danger, gave of their bounty without complaining. This is an example of the way to give for us all to hear. In honor of this attitude, I would suggest these Bounty desserts (Bounty is like Mounds, but this is how they're marketed in Europe.)

Shabbat Shalom & B'Tayavon!