"Our father died in the wilderness"

374. The child, his son, opened the discussion with the verse: "Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them..." (Bemidbar 27:3). There is a cantilation mark above "Our father," MEANING 'ZARKA,' WHOSE MUSICAL NOTATION lengthens the pronunciation of the word. Aha, devout holy ones, how much the pain is drawn out when reading "Our father." There is no pain or hurt of the spirit and soul, except when it is read like that, "Our father," when it is hurting from the heart. "Died in the wilderness:" HE ASKS, Did not others die in the wilderness? Why is he marked by saying that he died in the wilderness? There were thousands and tens of thousands that died in the wilderness.

375. HE RESPONDS: It is just that so many people are naked without it. Some of them say that he was a gatherer of wood, ZELOPHEHAD, because it says, "But he died in his own sin" (Ibid.). Some say this way and some say that way. I learned on the day my father fell on his sickbed; they taught me this, and I saw that which I saw, which my father forbade me from revealing. AND I WAS TAUGHT that there were many, many who died in the desert, and not on account of the sins of Korah or on account of the sin of the spies, when the decree was pronounced THAT ALL WILL DIE OUT IN THE WILDERNESS. But THEY DIED prior to the giving of the Torah and after those who misled the world, MEANING THE MIXED MULTITUDES, and those who followed them, made the golden calf. ZELOPHEHAD COULD HAVE BEEN AMONG THOSE, BUT THERE IS NO PROOF FROM THE VERSE: "BUT HE DIED IN HIS OWN SIN," THAT HE WAS THE GATHERER OF WOOD.

376. However, the plea that these daughters pleaded was that he died in the wilderness. He, who was Zelophehad, a chief in the house of Joseph, and who was not properly versed in the manners of the Torah, was not THEREFORE a prince. And he was the one who did not watch his lips and speech against Moses, AS IT SAYS, "AND THE PEOPLE SPOKE AGAINST ELOHIM, AND MOSES..." (BEMIDBAR 21:5). ZELOPHEHAD WAS THE SPOKESMAN and about him, it is written: "And many (Heb. rav) people of Yisrael died" (Ibid. 6) BECAUSE HE WAS a man that was not versed in Torah. He was a chief (Heb. rav) of a family, a chieftain from the descendants of Joseph and an offspring of Menashe. Because he sinned in the wilderness by speaking against Moses, HIS DAUGHTERS thought that Moses harbored hatred AGAINST HIM. Therefore, they brought forward their complaints before Moses and Elazar and all the tribal heads and family chieftains. They did not speak with Moses alone but in their presence, because they were jealous of him.

377. From here, it is understood that whoever has doubts about the judge shall bring forward other JUDGES and increase the number of people to be with that judge, who will listen to the trial proceedings. And he will have fear of them and he will not have a choice but to judge properly. If he does not, they will reject him from judging. But they did not know that "Moses was very meek, more so than all the men that were upon the face of the earth" (Bemidbar 12:3). They did not know that Moses was not like that.

378. When Moses saw this, he said, I see that all this gathering of great men, from Yisrael, and all the heads of the families and the heads of the congregation approach me. Then Moses immediately disqualified himself from judging, as it is written: "And Moses brought their cause before Hashem" (Bemidbar 27:5). Other judges do not behave this way, even if there is a great gathering upon them. Those judges are considered insolent, not having any of the humility that Moses had. Praised is the lot of Moses. Rabbi Elazar and the friends were glad.

379. The child said, I am returning to the earlier topic, to talk about this pausal note, MEANING THE 'ZARKA', THAT IS ON THE WORD OF "OUR FATHER" IN, "Our father died in the wilderness." ITS SHAPE is comparable to a snake that hangs on his back and pulls his tail into his mouth. AND THIS DRAWING THAT IS on the musical note OF ZARKA that is drawn over THE WORD "OUR FATHER," CAUSED ZELOPHEHAD TO die "in the wilderness" through the words of his own mouth. The child hurried up quickly and held on to the back of the neck of his father, cried and said, This Zelophehad died through talking and you, my father, returned to this world through talking, MEANING THROUGH THE WORDS AND TEARS OF THE CHILD. His father hugged and kissed him again. Rabbi Elazar and the friends all cried, and the father cried along with them. They all took him and kissed him all over his lips, over his head and over his eyes, and his father was crying with him.

380. Rabbi Elazar said to him, My son, since you spoke about this matter, SAY, What is the meaning of: "But he died in his own sin?" The child said, Father, THEY ASK WHY one word, "HE DIED," was not enough for them. WHAT WAS THE NEED FOR THEM TO SAY THAT HE DIED IN THE DESERT AND ALSO THAT HE DIED BECAUSE OF HIS SIN? IT IS ONLY that IN THE DEPICTION OF THE ZARKA THAT IS OVER THE WORD "OUR FATHER," the snake that was wrapped around his tail above, lengthens the pronunciation. THEREFORE, IT IS WRITTEN: "In his own sin." What is "in his own sin?" It is in the sin of that snake. What is it? It is the speech in his mouth THAT HE SPOKE AGAINST MOSES. The reason "But he died in his own sin" extends from the snake that is wrapped around its tail, SINCE HE DREW THE POWER OF DEFILEMENT FROM THAT PRIMORDIAL SNAKE BY SPEAKING AGAINST MOSES. That is certainly "his own sin."

381. Rabbi Elazar took him on his lap and in his arms, and all the friends cried. The CHILD said to them, Sages, leave me with my father, because my mind has not settled down yet. Rabbi Elazar said to Rabbi Yosi, What is the age of the child in days and years? He replied to them, Friends, do not ask me this, because he still has not reached his fifth birthday.

382. Rabbi Elazar said, Heaven forbid, I am considering it only with a benevolent eye. And you mentioned five years: these are "five more years, in which there shall neither be ploughing nor harvest" (Beresheet 45:6), AND YOU TOO will never reap him. Rabbi Elazar said to Rabbi Aba, Let us stay here up to seven days, in order that THE SOUL should settle down in the house, because during the seven days after the soul left the body, it walks about naked. Now THAT THE SOUL OF RABBI YOSI LEFT AND returned it may not get settled back into its place until seven days have passed .

383. Rabbi Aba said that it is written: "You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor, and to your needy" (Devarim 15:11). We have already taught this verse, that it is imperative for a person not to abandon his poor and give to other poor. Here, Rabbi Yosi, your father-in-law is also in his sick bed. Let's go and do a kindness for him. When we return, we will enter here FOR A SECOND TIME. As long as we come and go this way, we will witness the resurrection of the dead. Rabbi Elazar said, That is certainly so. They kissed the child, blessed him and left.

384. Rabbi Aba said, I wonder about the children of this generation. How strong they are, like high and mighty mountains. Rabbi Elazar said, Praised is my father's lot, that he is the leader of this generation. During his lifetime, the Holy One, blessed be He, wishes to establish His two Yeshivot and wants to make them into a great and lofty settlement, because there will not be another generation like this until the coming of King Messiah. They left.