Video Study for Parsha Pinchas : Zealous Action is Rewarded

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Shalom JTF Readers,

This week we are reading the portion of Pinchas. This is one of several portions named after individuals (Noach, Yitro, Korach, Balak, and Pinchas)... Last week in Balak we read about how Bilaam failed in cursing the nation of Israel but before he retired he advised the king to send the daughters of Midian to go profane the Sons of Israel through sexual immorality in order to lead them to idol worship (Baal Peor)... This plan did work and many Israelites were trapped in the sexual immorality of the daughters of Midian and succumbed to worshiping their idol (by defecating on it).

Hashem's anger flared against the nation and a plague once again started killing the men of Israel. Many thousands died before the hero of the story, Pinchas, resolved how to bring an end to this profanity. He took a spear and ran it through Cozbi and Zimri and Hashem was pleased, Pinchas's righteous zealous action stopped the plague.

This weeks portion starts with Hashem granting the 'covenant of peace' to Pinchas and his descendants. Although Pinchas's grandfather was Aaron HaKohen, he was born before the Priesthood was granted to Aaron, thus he was not a Kohen himself. But as a reward for his action Hashem made his bloodline a bloodline of priests of Israel.

It continues with another census of the men and instructions on how to divide the promised land between the tribes (a lottery). Also a special request from the daughters of Tzelafchad who's died without any sons, thus he had nobody to inherit his property. The daughters approached Moses who took the question to Hashem who in the end granted the daughters the right to inherit if there are no male descendants.

 

From Chabad's Portion in a Nutshell

http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2236/jewish/Pinchas-in-a-Nutshell.htm

Aaron’s grandson Pinchas is rewarded for his act of zealotry in killing the Simeonite prince Zimri and the Midianite princess who was his paramour: G‑d grants him a covenant of peace and the priesthood.

A census of the people counts 601,730 men between the ages of twenty and sixty. Moses is instructed on how the Land is to be divided by lottery among the tribes and families of Israel. The five daughters of Tzelafchad petition Moses that they be granted the portion of the land belonging to their father, who died without sons; G‑d accepts their claim and incorporates it into the Torah’s laws of inheritance.

Moses empowers Joshua to succeed him and lead the people into the Land of Israel.

The Parshah concludes with a detailed list of the daily offerings, and the additional offerings brought on Shabbat, Rosh Chodesh (first of the month), and the festivals of Passover, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret.

Let us start the videos once again with one from Rabbi Richman... He has been so busy with the turmoil in the land that he was unable to make a video this week (by my Wednesday schedule) so I am posting his video from last year:

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Very interesting. It is hard for me not to notice that the Rabbi pointed out how the women in the Torah were righteous. Today in another thread I pointed this out without even knowing it would be discussed in this video.

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Rabbi Trugman is a great rabbi of the Chassidic teachings, a student of the great Rabbi Ginsburg, and a leader of Jewish organizations in Israel (BeThereIsrael and OhrChadash)...

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I feel a bit strange posting the teacher after the student, but let us hear what the incredibly wise Rabbi Yitzak Ginsburg has to say on this portion.

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Rabbi Machlis in Jerusalem is a very warm personality. I hope he and his family are safe at this troubling time.

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Rabbi Shafiers 'The Shmuz', short and interesting thoughts on the portion.

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Let's hear Rabbi Chaim Miller of 'Kol Menachem' and 'Torah in Ten' teach some chassidic thoughts on Pinchas.

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Rabbi Spalter from Chabad giving a 40+ minute talk on the parsha.... (is it that late?)

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Baruch Hashem, Rabbi Richman posted his newest video on Pinchas today... Let us watch it and learn the lesson...

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The Torah teachings of the great Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach as related through his student Rabbi Shlomo Katz...

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Let us hear from rabbi Odze...

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A message from the Director of the website Torah.org:



Note from the Director
As Pinchas taught us, sometimes an act of violence promotes peace.

At the end of last week's Torah reading, we are told that one of the leaders of the Tribes of Israel engaged in an immoral act, deliberately violating the Commandments. He did it brazenly, "in your face," challenging Moshe and all of the Children of Israel. Everyone was crying, but Pinchas knew what he had to do: pick up a spear. And how did G-d respond? Per this week’s reading, He bestowed upon Pinchas His Covenant of Peace.

We have no prophets today, but neither are any necessary to understand that there is no evil in killing barbarians bent upon killing you.

To those offended by my use of the term barbarians, I offer no apology. These are not civilized human beings with the same values as you and me. People who target women and children, hospitals and kindergartens, are barbarians. People who loudly proclaim that they "celebrate death," are barbarians. People who bring their own children into buildings after a phone call from the IDF warning them that the building is about to be destroyed, are barbarians.

It is clear that Israel is making a maximum effort to minimize civilian casualties. When the barbarians have their families gather on top of the roof of the building, the IDF changes its mind and doesn't destroy it. When the barbarians launch a missile next to a residential or office building, the IDF waits until it can target the precise spot. Multiple times they have targeted the vehicles driven by leaders of Hamas and Islamic Jihad, waiting until no pedestrians were nearby. They have even destroyed entire buildings while barely damaging nearby residences.

So we pray for the safety of the soldiers. We pray for the safety of every civilian, on either side. And when Hamas decides to abandon the path of terrorism and join civilization, no one should try to kill them. But in the meantime, terrorism must be stopped.

As someone put it previously, "if Hamas laid down its weapons, there would be no war; if the IDF laid down its weapons, there would be no Israel." And in their effort to protect lives, the IDF is going to kill terrorists. There will be "Palestinian casualties," the majority of whom, according to all accounts, were active terrorists and others warned to leave buildings that served as operations centers or storage locations for missiles, and came inside instead. Sometimes the pursuit of peace requires waging war, and our regret at casualties must be tempered by the knowledge that the IDF is pursuing peace, not war.

You are invited to share your comments and thoughts.

Good Shabbos!
Rabbi Yaakov Menken
Director, Project Genesis - Torah.org

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While I agree with most of what Rabbi Menkin said in his address. I think he is a bit optimistic concerning peace with the general 'palestinian arab' population in Israel. But his sentiment is a step in the right direction.

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http://www.jewishamerica.com/ja/timeline/elijah.cfm


Elijah The Prophet

Eliyahu (Elijah) the Prophet appears in the Bible during the period of the Ten Tribes.

He is a very special personality in Jewish history.

The following is one of several references about Eliyahu in the Talmud, written some twelve-hundred years after he left us and was swept up into the heavens in a fiery chariot (Kings II 2:11).

Jewish law requires us to tear our clothing as a sign of mourning when a great Torah teacher passes away. The Talmud (Moed Katan 26a) bases this on a verse in Kings II which states that when Eliyahu was taken away, his disciple Elisha tore his garments.

The Talmud then records a question that Resh Lakish asked Rav Yochanan, both great scholars. Resh Lakish questioned the relevance of this verse as a source for this law because Eliyahu never really died and he is still alive.

Rav Yochanan responded that since Elisha never saw his master again, for him it was as though Eliyahu was dead and this is why he tore his clothing. We can therefore use this verse as a basis for the law in question.

According to our tradition Eliyahu is among us, somewhere and in some very special state of existence. We designate a special seat for him at every circumcision. We pour a cup of wine for him at the conclusion of our Passover Seder.

There are numerous legends about his interactions with righteous people throughout the generations. We have a book entitled "Tana D’Bei Eliyahu" which records the lessons that he gave to Rav Anan, a great scholar in the Talmud. If I may say so, he appears to take the role of a one-man Special Operations Force for Heaven.

The final verses of the Bible (Prophets) state openly that Eliyahu will be sent by G-d to help usher in the Messianic era.

"Behold I (G-d) am sending to you Eliyahu the Prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of G-d. And he will bring back the hearts of the parents toward (their) children and the hearts of the children towards (their) parents, lest I come and smite the Earth to oblivion." (Malachi 3:23-24)

The Talmud lets stand a number of difficult and complex questions in Jewish law and entrusts their resolution to Eliyahu. We have had a number of Messianic impersonators throughout history. Yet, no one has dared to impersonate Eliyahu. It is possible that this is because of these questions, because only the real Eliyahu is scholarly enough to answer them.

Eliyahu stood up to Achav (Ahab), King of Yisroel (the Ten Tribes). Achav was a very powerful monarch and he attempted to eradicate Judaism. He promoted idolatry and even boasted to have succeeded in installing an idol on every hilltop in his country. His wife Izevel (Jesebel) was a patron of Ba’al worship and she executed every prophet of G-d that she could find.

Eliyahu (Kings I 18) demonstrated to the Jewish people the falseness of idolatry and the existence of their true G-d.

He publicly challenged the priests of Ba’al to a contest to prove which religion was true. Both they and he brought an offering on Mount Carmel to let the real G-d respond with a heavenly fire.

The Ba’al’s production was a flop. .

Eliyahu prayed, "Answer me, Oh G-d, answer me," and an immense fire came down from heaven. It consumed the offering, the water that was poured on the offering, the altar, and even the earth that surrounded it

Achav was impressed but Izevel didn’t budge. She sent Eliyahu a message that tomorrow he will be dead. She didn’t want to kill him on the spot because the people were still impressed by the demonstration. She reckoned that the popular enthusiasm would calm down sufficiently by the next day so that she could get away with killing him.

As you can see, Eliyahu and his fellow prophets had their hands full.

Achav’s campaign against Judaism was so successful that there were only seven-thousand Jews in his kingdom who did not worship idolatry. Yet, the Medrash finds something very positive to say about Achav’s people.

While steeped in idolatry, the people of Achav’s generation were victorious on the battlefield. They merited this because they were careful with how they spoke about each other. As proof, Ovadia was Achav’s chief steward and he was able to hide a hundred prophets from Izevel. No one turned him into the government.

In contrast, the people in Shaul’s generation were learned and they did not worship idolatry. However, they were not careful about how they spoke about each other. We find the people denouncing David to Shaul. Shaul’s advisor Doeg is infamous for his slander. They therefore suffered setbacks on the battlefield. (Paraphrased from the words of Rabbi Shmuel Bar Nachman , as quoted in Devorim Rabbah, 5:10)

Eliyahu performed the sacrifice on Mount Carmel during a period when it was forbidden to make an offering outside of the Temple of Jerusalem. G-d authorized this exception in His prophecy to Eliyahu.

The Torah was given some thirty-three centuries ago and it provides us with G-d’s instructions for living. It is binding and relevant for every generation. The Torah provides for exceptions to its laws under very specific situations and conditions. Eliyahu’s case is cited in the Talmud as a classic example.

A recognized prophet of G-d can instruct us to act in a manner other than what is prescribed in the Torah if the exception is of a temporary nature. A prophet that directs a permanent change to the Torah of Moshe (Moses) is a false prophet by definition.

A new and temporary commandment of G-d that is give through prophecy can supersede any law except idolatry. The Torah assures us that G-d will never ask us to commit idolatry.

As an aside, we have not had any prophets for the past twenty-three hundred years.

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Pinchas 5771-2011

“‘Pinchas‘–What’s in a Name?”

Rabbi Ephraim Z. Buchwald

In this week’s parasha, parashat Pinchas, we learn that G-d praises Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aaron the Priest, for ending the public act of harlotry of Zimri and Cozbi by spearing them both to death. For turning G-d’s anger away from the Children of Israel, the Al-mighty richly rewards Pinchas with covenants of peace and eternal priesthood to him and his descendants.

The story of Pinchas and his reward, however, is only a very small portion of this week’s parasha, consisting of only ten verses out of a total of 159 verses.

Aside from the narrative concerning Pinchas, many other important themes are found in this week’s parasha: war is declared against the Midianites; a second census of the people of Israel takes place, as well as a census of the Levites; the laws of women’s inheritance are learned from the episode concerning the daughters of Zelaphchad; Joshua is appointed as the successor of Moses; and finally, there is a lengthy description of the public daily and festival sacrifices. And yet, the name of the parasha is simply “Pinchas,” a name that hardly subsumes the broad contents of the parasha. In general, throughout the Torah, the name of a parasha often reflects many, if not most, of the themes found in that particular parasha.

The issue of the appropriateness of the parasha’s name is raised in the Gutnick edition of the Chumash, which cites the views of the Lubavitcher Rebbe (Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, 1902-1994), recorded in Likutei Sichos, vol. 2, pp 342-344, based on the Rebbe’s Shabbat lecture on parashat Pinchas in 5749/1989.

The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that our sages strongly identify Pinchas with Elijah the Prophet (“Pinchas zeh Eliyahu”–Pinchas is Elijah!). In fact the Zohar (the basic work of Jewish mysticism, attributed to the 2nd century sage, R. Simon bar Yochai and his disciples), 214a/219a, maintains that the soul of Elijah the Prophet, the prophet who is expected to announce the arrival of the Messiah, transmigrated into the soul of Pinchas.* Consequently, it is not surprising that both Pinchas and Elijah the prophet share many common traits and characteristics.

Elijah was well known as a zealous prophet, who, in his efforts to transform the people into a source of great spiritual satisfaction for the Al-mighty, expressed his righteous indignation and executed passionate vengeance upon the worshipers of the Ba’al in his days. So it was that Elijah’s soul enabled Pinchas to transform the Jewish people of his time, from a state of spiritual deprivation and the worship of Ba’al P’or, to save them from the plague and transform the people into a nation that eventually provided great satisfaction for the Divine.

It is the transformation of the Jewish people from a spiritually deprived nation into a virtuous people that, according to the Lubavitcher Rebbe, serves as the unifying theme of our parasha. Thus, says the Rebbe, the census too, which is recorded in parashat Pinchas, was an expression of G-d’s affection for the Jewish people and of Divine satisfaction.

Rashi (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, 1040-1105, foremost commentator on the Bible) notes in Numbers 1:1 that the Al-mighty counts the people of Israel all the time, because of His love for the people. Similarly, the permanent inheritance of the land of Israel that was achieved through a Divinely inspired lottery, as well as the public daily and festival offerings also reflect Divine satisfaction, since they are associated with joyfulness and celebration.

The three additional themes, not mentioned by the Lubavitcher Rebbe, that are found in the parasha also meld well with the overall theme of Pinchas. Declaring war against the Midianites is an extension of Pinchas’ zealotry. A census is taken of the Levites, who were the only tribe to stand up for G-d when the people sinned with the Golden Calf. Appointing Joshua as a successor of Moses designates the leader who did battle with G-d and Israel’s mortal enemy, Amalek. Thus, we see that the two major themes of Pinchas’ life, zealotry and success in transforming the behavior of those who are resistant to achieve spiritual Divine satisfaction and virtuousness, are well represented by the name of the parasha, “Pinchas.”

The Lubavitcher Rebbe argues convincingly in support of the name “Pinchas” as an appropriate and all-inclusive name by stating:

Practically speaking, Pinchas has set an example for all of us, showing how to bring about this transformation. Mainly, that whenever it is possible to further the moral or spiritual standing of others, one should not stand back and ponder, “Surely, there are greater people than myself for this task!” Rather, like Pinchas, one must rise to the moment, without hesitation.

And just as G-d granted Pinchas the soul of Eliyahu [Elijah] to carry out his mission, likewise, G-d will infuse every one of us with the necessary spirit to transform our current exile to a state of redemption. It is our job, however, to galvanize that spirit into action.

The Rebbe further notes that it is no coincidence that parashat Pinchas is almost always read at the outset of the “Three Weeks,” which begin the mourning period for the destruction of the Temple, ending with the fast of Tishah Ba’Av. Reading parashat Pinchas during this bleak three-week period empowers the Jewish people to, as Maimonides (the Rambam, the great Jewish philosopher, codifier and physician, 1135-1204) states at the end of the Laws of Fast Days (5:18), transform these sad days into “days of feasting and rejoicing” with the true and complete redemption.

May this year mark the heralding of the greatly longed-for era of transformation and ultimate redemption.

*According to the Kabbalists, even though Pinchas preceded Elijah chronologically, Elijah’s soul was created first and implanted in the body of Pinchas.

May you be blessed.