Pinchas - 1st Portion

Join me as we learnish for paras for Sunday the Torah reading of paras starting with chapter 25 verse 10. Last week's Torah reading we concluded where Pinhas was the one who stood up and was zealous to be able to stop the plague by killing the leader of the tribe of Shiman and as well as the Midionite princess that he was having an affair with. The Torah now tells us that because of this the reward that God has given him because of it. Verse 10 and God spoke to Moshe saying the son of Alazar the son of Aaron the Alban is diverted my anger from the Jewish people when he zealously avenged me among them and because of that I did not destroy the Jewish people because of my zeal why over here does he tell us the son of Allah desire telling us his whole lineage Because after the episode that we just mentioned where he killed the leader of the tribe of Shim, many of the people of the tribes were embarrassing him and they said, "Did you see this fellow who came from a child of idolatr father's father was an idoltor? How do we know?" And he comes along and he kills the leader of the tribe of Israel. What was he referring to being that we find in the Torah Torah in the book of Exodus, it says that Alazar married from the daughters of Putiel. Putiel was Yes Israel. Y Israel was a priest in Midan who served idolatry before becoming Jewish. And therefore they accuse him of saying who gives him the right this son of an idolatrer goes and kills a leader of the Jewish people. Therefore, therefore, the Torah says and says, by the way, he also happens to be the son of Aaron and that is his lineage. The Reb explains this and takes it even further that telling us that why does the Torah have to tell us that he was coming from Aaron is because the same way Aaron was an individual who brought peace and loved every single person. So too, Pinas inherited that love for the Jewish people. And when he killed the leader of Shim and the Midionite princess, that was to stop the plague and out of out of his love for the Jewish people, just like his grandfather Aaron when taking revenge and in the anger that I should have got angry at the Jewish people because of the plague or because of what they've done. Every time we have the word comes from like jealousy, a person who gets angry and heated up because of something that's happening to be able to take revenge about a certain situation. Verse 12, therefore say that I hereby give him the covenant of peace. What is the covenant of peace? Rashi says it's like a person who says I'm going to make a covenant which is going to be for peace. Meaning like a person reciprocates kindness to a person who has done something kind to them. So to over here God gives him his peace meaning giving thanks him for what he has done and therefore is going to give him a gift which is reciprocate that kindness that he has done that he stopped the plague and because he stood up for God's honor. If you'll notice over here, the word shalim, the vv in the word schol is a vet, which means it is a chopped vv. It's not mistaken and it's not doesn't make the tovow. In fact, according to some opinions, if it wouldn't be chopped and would be a complete v, that would be questionable if the Torah would still be kosher. And the reason why the vavv is chopped is because though he brought peace, but it came through killing some an individual. Others want to say as well the balorum brings it down because when you have ev chopped it and it looks like a yud for the 10 gifts of the kahuna that he will be given now because of this verse 13. What is the prize that he will be getting? What is that special gift? And it will be for him and his descendants after him the eternal covenant of the priesthood because he was zealous for his God. And he atoned for the Jewish people. This covenant is going to be for him of the covenant of the priesthood. The promise that his children will be in the how can that be? Weren't sons already for given the priesthood? Why over here is this considered a gift for even though it was already given the gift of the priesthood to the children of Aron? It was only given and the sons that were anointed together with him and the children that will be born eventually after that event. But was born to his father before this anointing. However, he was too young to be anointed at the time. So he so to speak missed the deadline. So therefore, he missed that opportunity to be part of the priesthood. But at the same time, he wouldn't be included in the future because he wasn't anointed. Therefore, now he becomes a track date of that was not considered a until he killed Zimle to his god meaning because of God. We find the lammed which usually means to can also be because of verse 14. Who is the person that he killed? Isra fellowed Jew that was killed that was killed and the one who was killed because with the Midionite woman Zimb was Zimra the son of Sali was a prince of a paternal house of the Shiman tribe. Rashi Vashim Ishis. Why does he mention over here who Zimry was in a place where he mentions the righteous and their merit and the praise for worthy for what they've done? He also mentions the evil for degradation and for embarrassment of what they have done. What does it mean that he was a leader of a paternal house in the tribe of Shim? Shim family had five families. He was a leader of one of those families as we know there was the family and he was one of those of the of those families. Another explanation of what it's telling us. And why does it tell it to us? This is telling us the greatness of even though this person was a leader and a respected individual. He did not withhold himself and did not stop him from stopping a desecration of God's name. of therefore the Torah lets us know who is the person that was slain because it tells us greatness that regardless of this person's stature he stood up for the honor of God. Verse 15 is the woman who was killed the midionite woman. Cosby basur was Cosby the daughter of space of who she was also a daughter of the national leader of Midionite family to a Midionite family and this was a daughter she was a princess amongst the Midionites. Shame is why does the Torah have to tell us about this woman as well to tell you the evil of the Midionite people? that the evil doings and they they hated the Jews that much that they were willing and gave their own daughters to promiscuity just that they should be able to seduce the Jewish people and get them to serve idolatry and to be able to force the Jewish people to get them to sin. One of the leaders, one of the families, there were five different families in the last two. He was the mos was the most important of all them. As it says, he was the head of all the families of all the nations because he allowed his daughter and he made that his daughter should be promiscuous and set her off to be anybody's and uh without any restriction so to speak. So therefore the Torah mentions him third and not the first even though he was the most important of all them obviously were five heads of the families as we enumerate them and this fellow was a king to one of them at this point being that the Midionites decided to go out of their way and to come and attack the Jewish people when the Jewish people had nothing to do with them. they were in a distant they weren't even going to go through their territory have anything to do with the Midionites but because they came and made their women uh promiscuous and cause the Jewish people to sin with the Balpower over here God tells Moshe to take revenge and attack the Midionite people verse 16 God spoke to Moshe saying distress the Midionites and you shall kill them directly meaning to remember be careful active. You should make sure to be their enemy and cause them distress and wipe them out. Verse 18. Why should you do this? Because they are hostile to you with their plots. because they made they were the one that contrived the incident concerning the idolatry of power and also concerning Kusby which was a princess in Midan their sister the one who was slain on the day of the plague because of the idolatry of say that they allowed their women to be their daughters to be promiscuous in order to seduce you and cause you to be negligent and serve their idolatry which was the poor idolatry. You'll notice that he doesn't tell them to wipe out the people of Moab because the eventuality of Ruth coming coming from the family of Moab. Therefore, they were not told to wipe them out as it's explained in the track of verse one chapter 26 was after the plague. and God said to Moshe and the son of Aaron. Why is it after a plague? This is now where the Torah tells the Moshe and Lazar to count the Jewish people. This is the fourth census that the Jewish people are going to be counted. And this is as for example as a shepherd that goes into his flock and sees after a wolf attacks the flock and he sees he counts them on to know how many are left. Another explanation why they're being counted now when they were taken out of Egypt and they were given to Moshe. They were given to him with a count that says how many people 600,000 people left Egypt. Therefore, so therefore now when his job is almost over and he's coming to die and therefore he also returns them by account as well. Verse two. So, count all the Jewish people from 20 years and up according to their father's home. Whoever is eligible and fit to serve in the army, they should be counted according to their father or not according to their mother. That's the tribe of Ruain based on their father's lineage. Verse three, The spoke to the Jewish people in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River saying what were they telling them? They spoke to the Jewish people that God told them to count them saying telling the people that were over 20 years old that they have to be counted. Verse four from 20 years and up like God commanded Moshe and the Jewish people who are leaving who left Egypt that their count should be from 20 years and up as it says all the people that were counted was from 20 years and up. This concludes the first Torah reading for Sunday paras.