B”SD
PINCHAS
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Every letter in the Torah is a lesson, no crown or word
or letter should be ignored, incredibly Hashem has also left messages coded in
the size of the print of the letters in the Torah in Pinchas we have a tiny
yud, a broken vav and a long big nun, let’s explore some apparent reasons that
may exist for some of these. If you want
to find out about the broken Vav I suggest a reading of the Baal Haturim – as homeworkJ!
Numbers
refer to chapter 25 v 11
Pinchas, the son of Elozor, son of Aharon the Kohein,
has turned my anger away from Bnei Yisroel by his vengeance for Me among
them, so that I did not destroy Bnei Yisroel in my vengeance.
The
small yud
We notice in Numbers chapter 25 v 11 Pinchas is spelt
with a tiny yud: a yud is ten – which I read is also an indication of
complete/peace or perfect. I know this is the case with some sporting events scores,
maybe that is where they got the idea…but I would like to explore another idea:
The act of Pinchas brought a greater peace and resulted
in the cessation of deaths of the Israelites. 24000 Israelites had died as a result of the
depravity that occurred with the Medianite women and worshipers of the false
idol Baal Peor. The way of worshiping
this idol was detestable it was an act of total permissiveness with no
boundaries or limitations, the worshippers used to defecate in front of each
other and in front of the idol as a way of worship prior to being intimate. What an
abomination these people took what is meant to be the most holy act between a
man and women and made it totally mundane and disgusting. This was the appeal, how people hate rules
and limitations, if we are not careful this illustrates how low a human being
can fall. There is a proof that Hashem in this rare case approved of this
life saving, but violent act carried out by Pinchas, aside from the direct
statement as proof i.e. that Pinchas was awarded the covenant of peace for averting G-d’s
wrath, I read another vort by Rabbi
Moshe Bogomilsky who brings down the word Chumoti (My wrath), if read in the
Hebrew has the word Mot in the middle (means death) and this is surrounded by a
chet in front, and a yud at the end which spells the word Chai (Chet + yud) – Life in Hebrew,
through these deaths the wrath of G-d was abated and the greater Israel community was saved.
G-d forbid we should learn that one can simply kill in the name of G-d, we
learn Life is sacred and must be cherished. Any aggressive violent act taints
an individual and causes lasting soiling on the soul, to destroy a life force
is to destroy a peace of the divine spark in this world. It was only through a
Brocha of Peace from Hashem that this act did not impact Pinchas, why because
he did it for the sake of peace, to save lives, not to destroy them, the rabbi
highlights the words in v11 … turned my anger away from Bnei Yisroel by his
vengeance for Me “among them”,he
indicates the words ‘among them’ seem superfluous, but we have learnt a letter
is not wasted in the Torah, and we are taught these words indicate Pinchas act
was for the sake of the community he had them in mind he was among them, he was
halting a true evil, he was not a person who enjoyed violence – his act was one
to halt evil that would lead to many deaths, to bring peace back into the world,
to allow it to function towards perfection as G-d intended it to!
This interpretation is confirmed in another vort I read
by Rabbi Mayer Friedman that stated if the yud which is small, is not read -
the word without the yud, broken up into two words spell Pen Chas “do not have
mercy”, an illusion to the great deed of Pinchas, he instinctively had feelings
of mercy and compassion that would prevent him from doing what had to be done,
but he did it despite it being against his natural tendencies. Pen Chas – indicates he had to force himself
not to have mercy due to the situation, so it makes a lot of sense then why his
violent act was rewarded with Peace. He
only acted out of love and care for a greater good, with no intention to hurt
for the sake of hurting his thoughts were that of unity not destruction. Today people kill as they have lost a sense
of the gift of life, Pinchas had to kill to save many …
SHALOM
What is this Brocha of Shalom that Pinchas was awarded,
we pray for Shalom at the end of our Amidah Prayers, they say it is the most
important blessing you can give someone, as we learn where there is no Shalom
there is no Blessing. Shalom is needed to contain all other Blessings. When Jacob left Laban to return to Canaan the
first place he stopped was a city called Shalem – it is the same root as Shalom
which comes to teach us he was still intact and complete despite residing with
Laban who was an Idol worshiper. That is
why when we greet people in Hebrew we use the word Shalom which is a
recognition towards the other that they carry a divine spark within them, a G-dly soul capable of elevating and
changing the world for the better, in its pursuit of unity, perfection and
completion.
You may like this definition of Shalom too it was sent
to me by a dear friend of mine, it gives a powerful and clear indication of the
words true meaning:
Shalom means more than peace from the Almighty that
destroys the force that brings Chaos into our lives. It also means to be
complete, nothing missing nothing broken. To be in harmonious unity with [the
creator] G-d and our fellowman – to be content, faithful, whole and
balanced. To experience satisfaction with life and the absence of
strife. As well as prosperity, loyalty,
justice, mercy and peace. Tranquility of heart and mind continually. Shalom
what a beautiful and meaningful word.
Abraham comes from two Hebrew words Av (father) ham (the
nations) Am is a nation. Abraham earned this name as he recognised the true
source of creation the cause of all causes was apparant albeit hidden in nature. He saw it was pointless to worship any physical visible forces in the world and in doing so he brought Monotheism (Belief in one all powerful creator who is maintaining and overseeing all events in the world) and
spreading love of G-d’ s world to all of the nations and mankind. He saw patterns in the world, a harmony and
a unity. His desire was to bring all the worlds people to serve the creator as a
collective, to bring completeness and perfection he wanted Shalom for the world.
OHR SOMAYACH WEBSITE LINKS:
Insights
Processed
Peace
"My covenant of peace"(25:12)
Everyone wants peace. Every person wants to sit under his fig tree, secure that no one will come and take away his family and his money. Yet almost since the beginning of time, peace has been elusive, and often, illusory.
If there’s one Hebrew word that everyone knows, it’s shalom. "Peace." Shalom is the Hebrew form of greeting. Why do we greet others with shalom?
The Talmud tells us that it is forbidden to say shalom in a bathhouse, because Shalom is G-d’s name, and thus not fitting to be uttered in a bathhouse.
What does it mean that G-d’s name is Shalom?
Real shalom doesn’t exist in this world because shalom means perfection, completion. This world was created lacking. That’s the way it’s meant to be. This world strives to arrive somewhere beyond itself for its completion.
The Hebrew word for the "earth" is aretz, from the root "ratz,""to run," because this world is always running, moving towards its completion. However its completion can come only from above, from Heaven. The word "Heaven" in Hebrew is shamayim, from the root "sham" which means "there." This world is always "running" to "there" — outside and beyond itself.
This world contains many wonderful things, but perfection isn’t one of them. Perfection is beyond the scope of creation.
This is why G-d’s name is Shalom. G-d is the Perfection of all the lacking of this world. Every single thing in this world finds its perfection, its fulfillment, in Him. It’s not here. It’s above. It’s "there."
The Peace
Connection
In the Book of Ruth, Boaz greets the harvesters by using the name of G-d. From here we learn that a Jew may use G-d’s Name as a greeting, and it is not considered taking Heaven’s Name in vain. In fact, there is an opinion that we are obliged to greet each other with G-d’s name by saying "Shalom." Why should we be obliged to greet each other using G-d’s name? What’s wrong with "Good Morning!" or "Have a nice day!"
Sometimes we look at other people and we think that we are a million miles from them. But no man is an island to himself. When two people meet, the essence of their meeting is to make each other more complete. The fundamental principle of interpersonal relationships is that when I meet my fellow being, I am coming to effect his or her shleimut (completion). That’s what I’m doing in this world.
G-d placed us in a world which demands to be perfected. Our whole relationship with the world and everything in it is a "Peace Process" — a process of bringing every person and every blade of grass to a state of shleimut — the true definition of peace.
In Parshat Vayetze, Yaakov lays his head down to sleep on some stones. The stones all vie to be the stone on which Yaakov will sleep. The result is that all the stones gather together and became one stone. What do we learn from this? The message of the stones is that completion results from the connection of disparate entities into a single whole.
When we connect with other people on whatever level, whether in business or in love, whether in school on the bus, our entire connection between ourselves and our fellow beings must be with the intention to bring the other person to a state of completion. That’s why a Jew is obliged to greet others with "Shalom!" For when we seek to bring each other to a state of completion, to shalom, the world reaches its ultimate fulfillment.
And that’s the real peace process.
http://ohr.edu/5217
Insights
Make Mine
A Screwdriver, Please!
"Harass the Midianites and smite them" (25:17).
Imagine yourself sitting on an airplane.
The person next to you smiles at you and then pulls out a screwdriver, places the sharp end into his ear and leisurely starts to turn the screwdriver into his brain.
You’d try and stop him, wouldn’t you? You’d knock the screwdriver out of his hand and kick it away from him.
Wouldn't you?
How about if you found yourself sitting on a plane next to someone who is Jewish? They serve the food and you see him starting to eat a pork cutlet. Would you suggest that there was enough food for both of you, and that he join you and eat your kosher food? How about if he refuses? Would you knock his plastic tray to the ground and kick the food away from him?
Ideas don’t frighten us.
We are only frightened by what we see.
The greatest proof is that we don’t fear G-d.
We may know and believe that there is a G‑d, but how many of us walk around feeling that He is in front of us at every moment, watching us and listening to our every thought?
If we saw G-d, we would never sin. We don’t see Him, and that’s why we are able to pretend He's not really there. In Hebrew, the word for fear and the word for sight are almost identical - “yirah”. We are only frightened by what we see.
When we see someone murdering, it evokes in us a horror and a revulsion that is beyond words. But when we see someone encouraging a Jew to break Shabbat or eat non-kosher food, we don’t have anything like the same reaction. And yet, logically, our reaction to the latter should be far greater than the former.
If someone tries to murder you, he's trying to take away your life in a world where everyone eventually dies. Someone who encourages you to transgress the Torah, however, is trying to take away your life in a world that you could live in forever.
As far as our eyes can see, this world is but a brief walk between two darknesses. However, we know that this world is no more than an antechamber before the great palace of light. We don’t see the light, but we know it’s there.
The Midianites incited the Jewish People to sin. It is for this reason that G-d commanded us to take such harsh measures against them. It was not enough for us to attack them; rather we must maintain a constant enmity against them, a constant mindset to remind ourselves that they tried to implant in us a lust for immorality.
They tried to remove us not just from this world but also from the next as well.
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The Big long
Nun in Mishpatan-Mishpatan means Law.
Numbers Ch 27 V 5
Moses brought their case (Mishpatan) before Hashem.
In dispute is whether the final nun of mishpatan (Num
27:5) 'and Moses brought their cause before the L-rd is large (or perhaps just
written longer - the notation is nun aroch (long nun)). The cause in question
is that of the daughters of Zelofchad and this increase in length may be
emphasising the Torah bestowing rights to women in equal measure.
http://ohr.edu/1763
Knowing What You Dont Know
"The
daughters of Tzelafchad" (27:1)
I
once asked my Rabbi an important and difficult personal question. When I
finished the question, he looked at me with a puzzled look and said "What
makes you think that I could answer such a question? You must go to Rabbi
Shlomo Zalman Auerbach and ask him. This is a question that I am not qualified
to answer."
A
similar occurrence took place when someone I know took their son to a leading
Israeli cardiologist with a rare heart complaint. He took one look at the child
and told them that the problem was out of his league and they would have to
take the child to The Boston Childrens Hospital.
Nothing
inspires confidence more than someone saying they dont know. Because if they
know, what they dont know, then what they know, they know.
In
this weeks Torah portion, Tzelafchad passes away and leaves five daughters.
They are all righteous, intelligent and learned. So much so that at the age of
forty, none of them can find a spouse that is her intellectual equal.
When
they hear Moshe say that Eretz Yisrael is to be divided according to the number
of male children in the family, they realize that, under this ruling, their
fathers name will be forgotten. They decide that they themselves will claim
their fathers inheritance so that his name will be perpetuated.
Moshe
had instituted a system whereby there were judges appointed over ten people,
judges over fifty, judges over a hundred, and judges over a thousand people.
The
daughters approach the judges over ten people with their claim. The judges
realize that this is an unprecedented case and immediately refer the daughters
to the judges appointed over fifty. They too refer the case to those above
them, and they in turn to the judges over a thousand people. These judges tell
the daughters that only Moshe is qualified to address their claim.
Although
reluctant to appear in public, they overcome their natural modesty and when
Moshe starts to explain the laws of Yibum (Levirate Marriage), they enter the
court and seek to present their claim.
They
present their case in a clear and forceful fashion; however Moshe replies that
according to Torah Law only the males can inherit. The daughters reply using
the exact same law of Yibum that Moshe himself was in the middle of
explicating, that if, as women, they are not considered to be their fathers
heirs, then their mother should marry one of the late fathers brothers as
mandated by the law of Yibum. For Yibum requires that when a man dies without
issue, one of his brothers should marry his widow.
Moshe
replies, "Once there are daughters, Yibum does not apply, and she is
forbidden to marry one of her late husbands brothers."
"Moshe,
our teacher," reply the daughters, "How can that be logical? If we
are considered our fathers progeny as far as the law of Yibum is concerned, why
may we not be considered his heirs in regard to inheriting his portion in the
Land?"
Seeing
that their logic is impeccable, Moshe then turns to the Almighty and asks Him
to confirm the claim of the daughters of Tzelafchad.
Why
did Moshe rather than acknowledge the truth of their argument, defer his
judgment to that of G-d? G-d taught Moshe all of the Torah, surely Moshe knew
that their claim was a just one?
In
truth, Moshe knew the correct ruling, but when he heard that every court from
the judges of ten upward had deferred their judgment in favor of a higher
authority, he too wanted to defer his judgment to the Ultimate Higher
Authority.
Moshe
wanted to teach every judge throughout the generations that, when necessary,
one should never hesitate to consult a higher authority.
- Source: The
Midrash
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WHY WAS YEHOSHUA APPOINTED SUCCESSOR TO MOSES?
How great is Moshe, he is told after Hashem agrees to
allocate land to the daughters' of Tzelafchad (and the other tribes aside from
the Levites) that he still will not be able to enter Israel due to his sin,
what does he do, he does not get bitter, on the contrary - he shows care about
the community and requests Hashem to appoint a Leader for them to continue to
Shepard his flock, his people in Israel. What an individual our Teacher was, he cared so
for his students Israel, despite his personal fate, that is unity and total
selflessness, indeed he was truly the most humble of all men!
Ch 27 V 16
Let Hashem of the spirits, appoint a man of the
community, who will go forth before them, and who will come back before them,
and who will lead them out and bring them in, so the community of Hashem shall
not be like a sheep that have no shepherd.
http://ohr.edu/2677
Insights
Numbers ch 29 v 35 “on the eighth day shall be a day of
restraint for you”
Rabbi Tanchuma tells of an incident where Rabbi Akiva was
challenged on the need for the Israelites to continue to want and the need to bring offerings
based on the Prophets words “My soul detests your new moons and your appointed
festivals” (Yeshayohu ch 1 v 14) the man was answered by the holy Rabbi “If the verse had
stated “My soul detests MY new moons and MY appointed festivals, I would agree
with you [they should be abolished], but the verse stated “Your” New moons and “Your”
Appointed festivals, implying it is only about those sinners to whom the
prophet referred. But these festivals and
New moons will never be abolished as attested to in many sources, Why?! Because
they belong to the Holy one blessed be He. As it states in Psalms 111 v 8 “They
are established forever, for eternity; they are achieved in truth and
uprightness.”
http://ohr.edu/3175
Insights
The Last
Laugh
“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month shall be a pesach-offering to G-d.” (28:16)
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch was arrested once for organizing a Torah education network in Russia. A KGB officer put a gun to his head and demanded that he name his collaborators.
The Rabbi laughed.
Laughter would not seem the most appropriate response to one’s imminent departure from this world.
Why did he laugh?
The twenty-one summer days between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av are the saddest days of the year.
During these three weeks, we remember the destruction of our land, of our people and our Holy Temple, our pipeline to spirituality.
We are still living in that world of destruction. Little that we see gives us hope, surrounded as we are from without and within by forces that try unceasingly to uproot and destroy us.
That’s the gloomy picture that we face on a daily basis.
It’s all too easy to become despondent and fall into depression.
Then comes along our parsha, Parshat Pinchas (which usually falls within the three weeks) with its message of hope amongst the ruins.
That hope is expressed by the Festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur and Succot, which are all mentioned in the parsha.
All the festivals share a common element – simcha. “And you will have simcha on your holidays.”
Happiness has many expressions, and in Hebrew there is a word for each. Simcha is the happiness that expresses itself in laughter.
Laughter is a funny thing.
What causes this distinctive physical response that can vary anywhere from a subtle widening of the mouth to fully-fledged convulsions?
When we suddenly see through layers of falsehood to self-evident truth, that flash of revelation generates the physical reaction we call laughter.
In the Book of Psalms, King David says, "Light is sown for the righteous, and for the straight of heart, simcha..."
Simcha, laughter, is the product of straightness of heart, of the heart’s connection to true reality.
"G-d's commandments are 'straight,' they bring simcha to the heart..."
G-d's commandments bring simcha because they are 'straight'; they are reality itself.
Why did Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak of Lubavitch laugh?
Every believing Jew lives in this world — but not for this world; we live for the World to Come.
However, like most spiritual realities, this awareness floats around the back of our consciousness without taking up too much airtime.
Until something like a loaded gun brings the World-to-Come into crystal clarity.
Then this world and its illusions are instantly reduced to absurdity.
Once, Rabbi Elazar ben Azaria, Rabbi Yehoshua and Rabbi Akiva were approaching the Temple Mount. They saw a fox coming out of the place where the Holy of Holies had once stood and they began to cry – except for Rabbi Akiva.
Rabbi Akiva laughed.
They asked him how he could laugh and he asked how they could cry. They replied that the Torah says that, “’Any unauthorized person entering the Holy of Holies shall die.’ And now foxes stroll there. Should we not cry?”
He replied, “It is (also) written, ‘Zion will be plowed over as a field’."
Since the prophecy of the utter destruction of Jerusalem had been fulfilled, Rabbi Akiva had no doubt that prophecy of its ultimate rebuilding would also come true.
And so Rabbi Akiva laughed.
He laughed because his supreme straightness of heart allowed him to penetrate beneath the surface to an intense perception of truth.
“Akiva, you have comforted us,” they said.
And so it is with our holy festivals.
The festivals are also called moadim — which means an appointed time of meeting. At the moadim, we ‘meet’ G-d; and even though that simcha may last for but a few days a year it reminds us that the darker our dark world becomes, so much brighter will be the blinding flash of revelation at our ultimate meeting when the redemption finally arrives.
May it come speedily in our days!
Sources: Based on Rabbi Saadia Gaon, Bnei Yissaschar in Iturei Torah, Rabbi Reuven Subar
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Have a good week
Michael
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