Nervous Speech Parashat Pinhas

(טו) וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר מֹשֶׁ֔ה אֶל־ה' לֵאמֹֽר׃ (טז) יִפְקֹ֣ד ה' אֱלֹקֵ֥י הָרוּחֹ֖ת לְכָל־בָּשָׂ֑ר אִ֖ישׁ עַל־הָעֵדָֽה׃ (יז) אֲשֶׁר־יֵצֵ֣א לִפְנֵיהֶ֗ם וַאֲשֶׁ֤ר יָבֹא֙ לִפְנֵיהֶ֔ם וַאֲשֶׁ֥ר יוֹצִיאֵ֖ם וַאֲשֶׁ֣ר יְבִיאֵ֑ם וְלֹ֤א תִהְיֶה֙ עֲדַ֣ת ה' כַּצֹּ֕אן אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֵין־לָהֶ֖ם רֹעֶֽה׃ (יח) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר ה' אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֗ה קַח־לְךָ֙ אֶת־יְהוֹשֻׁ֣עַ בִּן־נ֔וּן אִ֖ישׁ אֲשֶׁר־ר֣וּחַ בּ֑וֹ וְסָמַכְתָּ֥ אֶת־יָדְךָ֖ עָלָֽיו׃ (יט) וְהַֽעֲמַדְתָּ֣ אֹת֗וֹ לִפְנֵי֙ אֶלְעָזָ֣ר הַכֹּהֵ֔ן וְלִפְנֵ֖י כָּל־הָעֵדָ֑ה וְצִוִּיתָ֥ה אֹת֖וֹ לְעֵינֵיהֶֽם׃ (כ) וְנָתַתָּ֥ה מֵהֽוֹדְךָ֖ עָלָ֑יו לְמַ֣עַן יִשְׁמְע֔וּ כָּל־עֲדַ֖ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

Numbers 27:15-20

(15) Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, (16) “Let the LORD, Source of the breath of all flesh, appoint someone over the community (17) who shall go out before them and come in before them, and who shall take them out and bring them in, so that the LORD’s community may not be like sheep that have no shepherd.” (18) And the LORD answered Moses, “Single out Joshua son of Nun, an inspired man, and lay your hand upon him. (19) Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and before the whole community, and commission him in their sight. (20) Invest him with some of your authority, so that the whole Israelite community may obey.

רש"י על במדבר כ״ז:ט״ו:א׳-ב׳

(טו) וידבר משה אל ה' וגו'. לְהוֹדִיעַ שִׁבְחָן שֶׁל צַדִּיקִים, כְּשֶׁנִּפְטָרִים מִן הָעוֹלָם מַנִּיחִים צָרְכָן, וְעוֹסְקִין בְּצָרְכֵי צִבּוּר (ספרי):

(טז) לאמר. אָמַר לוֹ, הֲשִׁיבֵנִי אִם אַתָּה מְמַנֶּה לָהֶם פַּרְנָס אִם לַאו (שם):

Rashi on Numbers 27:15:1-2

(15) 'וידבר משה אל ה‎‎‎ וגו׳ AND AND MOSES SPAKE TO THE LORD, [LET THE LORD … SET A MAN OVER THE CONGREGATION] — This statement serves to show the praise of the righteous: when they are about to depart from the world, they abandon all thought of their own affairs and occupy themselves with the affairs of the community (Siphre).

(16) לאמר saying (more lit., to say, i.e., that God should say, or answer him) — He said to Him, “Answer me whether You will appoint a leader for them or not”.

במדבר ט״ז:כ״ב

(כב) וַיִּפְּל֤וּ עַל־פְּנֵיהֶם֙ וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ אֵ֕ל אֱלֹקֵ֥י הָרוּחֹ֖ת לְכָל־בָּשָׂ֑ר הָאִ֤ישׁ אֶחָד֙ יֶחֱטָ֔א וְעַ֥ל כָּל־הָעֵדָ֖ה תִּקְצֹֽף׃ (פ)

Numbers 16:22

(22) But they fell on their faces and said, “O God, Source of the breath of all flesh! When one man sins, will You be wrathful with the whole community?”

If a man sees great multitudes of people he should say, "Blessed are you, O Lord our God, King of the universe, who knows their innermost secrets." For, as their faces are not like each other's, so are their temperaments not like each others's; every individual has a temperament of his own. In this strain it says, "He makes a weight for the spirit" (Job 28:25), implying that God does so for the spirit of each individual human being. There is proof that it is so from the request that Moses made of the Holy One, blessed be He, in the hour of his death. He said to him: "Sovereign of the universe, the mind of every individual is revealed and known unto you. The minds of your children are not like one another. Now that I am taking leave of them, appoint over them, I pray you, a leader who shall bear with each one of them as temperament requires; as may be inferred from the fact that it says 'Let the Lord, the God of the spirits (Elohei Haruhot) of all flesh appoint'; it is not saying 'the spirit' but 'the spirits.'" (Midrash Tanhuma Pinhas 10, Translation by V. Kurtz, Encountering Torah, p. 227.)

Questions for thought and discussion

1. This is the only time in the Torah in which we have a verse "And Moses spoke to God." Why here? Is there any special significance?

2. The only other time Moses addresses God as "Elohei Ha-ruhot" is in the Korah episode. What thread links these two texts together?

3. Why is spirits in the plural?