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Parashat Pinchas - פָּרָשַׁת פִּינְחָס
Pinchas opens with God’s promise of a “covenant of peace” for the zealot Pinchas, followed by a census. The daughters of Tzelofchad request and receive new laws regarding inheritance. God instructs Moses to prepare Joshua for leadership, and God describes sacrifices brought daily and on special occasions.
Torah Portion: Numbers 25:10-30:1
Parashat Pinchas is the 41st weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading. Next read on July 24th, 2027 / 19 Tamuz 5787
- Annual Reading
Read Annually
1:
25:10 - 26:4· 14 p’sukim
2:
26:5 - 26:51· 47 p’sukim
3:
26:52 - 27:5· 19 p’sukim
4:
27:6 - 27:23· 18 p’sukim
5:
28:1 - 28:15· 15 p’sukim
6:
28:16 - 29:11· 27 p’sukim
7:
29:12 - 30:1· 29 p’sukim
Maftir:
29:35 - 30:1· 6 p’sukim
Haftarah:
I Kings 18:46 - 19:21· 22 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 1
July 4th, 2026
1:
25:10 - 25:12· 3 p’sukim
2:
25:13 - 25:15· 3 p’sukim
3:
25:16 - 26:4· 8 p’sukim
4:
26:5 - 26:11· 7 p’sukim
5:
26:12 - 26:22· 11 p’sukim
6:
26:23 - 26:34· 12 p’sukim
7:
26:35 - 26:51· 17 p’sukim
Maftir:
26:48 - 26:51· 4 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 2
July 24th, 2027
1:
26:52 - 26:56· 5 p’sukim
2:
26:57 - 26:62· 6 p’sukim
3:
26:63 - 27:5· 8 p’sukim
4:
27:6 - 27:14· 9 p’sukim
5:
27:15 - 27:23· 9 p’sukim
6:
28:1 - 28:10· 10 p’sukim
7:
28:11 - 28:15· 5 p’sukim
Maftir:
28:11 - 28:15· 5 p’sukim
- Triennial Year 3
July 15th, 2028
1:
28:16 - 28:25· 10 p’sukim
2:
28:26 - 28:31· 6 p’sukim
3:
29:1 - 29:6· 6 p’sukim
4:
29:7 - 29:11· 5 p’sukim
5:
29:12 - 29:16· 5 p’sukim
6:
29:17 - 29:28· 12 p’sukim
7:
29:29 - 30:1· 12 p’sukim
Maftir:
29:35 - 30:1· 6 p’sukim
About Parashat Parashat Pinchas
Beyond its narrative beats, Pinchas wrestles with the uneasy relationship between zealotry and peace: the very act of violent zeal is rewarded with a divine "covenant of peace" (brit shalom), inviting reflection on when, if ever, zeal serves God's purposes. The portion also reads as a study in orderly transition — Israel takes a second census and prepares to allot the Land, Moses is told he will not enter it and must commission a successor, and worship itself is fixed into a regular calendar of offerings. Threaded through these episodes is a striking moment of legal advocacy: the daughters of Tzelofchad secure a change to inheritance law, making the portion an early biblical model of women petitioning for and winning justice. Taken together, Pinchas is about structuring a community — its leadership, its laws, and its sacred time — on the threshold of nationhood.
The Haftarah
In most Ashkenazi communities the printed/default haftarah for Pinchas is I Kings 18:46-19:21, the Elijah narrative, chosen for its thematic link to zealotry: Elijah, like Pinchas, is one of Scripture's great zealots "for the Lord," and rabbinic tradition even identifies the two as one figure. Commentators note a pointed contrast — Pinchas's zeal earns a covenant of peace, while Elijah's zeal is gently rebuked through the "still, small voice." In practice, however, Pinchas usually falls after the 17th of Tammuz, during the Three Weeks of mourning before Tisha b'Av, and in those years the haftarah is replaced by Jeremiah 1:1-2:3, the first of the three "haftarot of affliction/rebuke." Because the portion typically lands after 17 Tammuz, the Jeremiah reading is the one most congregations actually hear. The sources consulted indicate both Ashkenazi and Sephardi communities follow this same calendar-based substitution, but exact verse ranges and rite-specific customs can vary, so confirm against your community's practice.
Notable passages and verses
The portion's most-cited passage is God's grant to Pinchas of "My covenant of peace" (brit shalom) and an eternal priesthood (Numbers 25:12-13), a verse perennially invoked in debates about religious zealotry versus peace. Equally famous is the episode of the five daughters of Tzelofchad — Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah (Numbers 27:1-11) — a landmark text on women's legal rights and a model of a successful petition for justice. Pinchas also contains the Torah's canonical catalog of the daily (tamid) and additional (musaf) offerings for Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh, and the festivals (Numbers 28-29); these very passages are read aloud throughout the year as the maftir readings for Rosh Chodesh and the holidays. Pinchas is the 41st weekly portion and the 8th in Numbers, with its core text generally given as Numbers 25:10-30:1 (versification can differ slightly by edition).
Frequently asked questions
What is Parashat Pinchas about?
Pinchas (the 41st Torah portion and 8th in the Book of Numbers) opens with God rewarding the zealot Pinchas with a "covenant of peace" and an eternal priesthood, then moves through a second census of the people, the daughters of Tzelofchad winning new inheritance rights, God's commissioning of Joshua as Moses's successor, and a detailed list of the daily and festival sacrifices. Its broad themes are zealotry versus peace, the orderly transfer of leadership, justice in the law, and the structuring of sacred time. On TropeTrainer you can hear and practice this reading with its trope (cantillation).
What is the haftarah for Pinchas?
The default haftarah is I Kings 18:46-19:21, the Elijah story, linked to Pinchas by the shared theme of zealotry. But because Pinchas usually falls during the Three Weeks (after the 17th of Tammuz), most years the haftarah is instead Jeremiah 1:1-2:3, the first "haftarah of rebuke" leading toward Tisha b'Av — so that Jeremiah reading is the one most communities actually hear. Customs and exact verse ranges can vary by rite, so check your community's practice. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice both haftarah readings with trope.
What are the themes of Pinchas?
Central themes include the tension between zealotry and peace (Pinchas's violent zeal is rewarded with a "covenant of peace"), the divinely sanctioned succession of leadership from Moses to Joshua, justice and legal advocacy (the daughters of Tzelofchad securing inheritance rights), and the ordering of communal worship through fixed daily and festival offerings as Israel prepares to enter the Land. You can hear and practice the chanting of this portion with trope on TropeTrainer.
Who were the daughters of Tzelofchad in Pinchas?
They were five sisters — Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah — whose father died without sons (Numbers 27:1-11). They approached Moses arguing their father's name and inheritance should not be lost, and God affirmed their claim as just, establishing a new law allowing daughters to inherit when there is no son. It is one of the Torah's landmark passages on women's legal rights. TropeTrainer lets you hear and practice this reading with trope.
Where to go next
Open a sample Torah reading with full Hebrew text, trope marks, and audio to see how TropeTrainer works.
See the complete list of weekly parashot with links to every reading and detail page.
Work through guided lessons on Torah trope cantillation, from basic symbols to advanced phrase patterns.