Day: July 22, 2022

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By Rabbi Shimmy Sternfield

פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמתי מעל בני ישראל בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם
(פרק כ”ה, פסוק י”א)
Pinchas turned back My wrath from upon B’nei Yisrael when he avenged My vengeance among them…

When בני ישראל sinned with the daughters of מואב, Hashem punished them with a plague. Only after פנחס risked his life to defend Hashem’s honor did the plague end. The פסוק in תהלים states, “פנחס stood up and executed justice, and the plague stopped. It was considered as צדקה for him.” The Vilna Gaon asks, what is the connection between what פנחס did and the מצוה of giving charity? Why does the פסוק choose to compare it specifically to צדקה? The Vilna Gaon offers the following insight: The Jews in the desert were instructed to each give a מחצית השקל- half a שקל- “as atonement for their souls.” One reason they were instructed to give a מחצית- half- is because the word מחצית alludes to the idea that the merit of giving צדקה can save someone from death. The letter צ in the center represents צדקה, charity. The letters on either side of the צ spell the word חי- “Live”. The pair of letters further away from the צ (the first and last letter of the word) spell מת- “Die”. This shows us, that through the merit of giving צדקה one brings life closer and pushes death away. Through avenging Hashem’s honor, continues the Goan, פנחס accomplished a similar thing: He stopped the plague, saving people from death. This is hinted to in the words השיב את חמתי used to describe what פנחס did. Literally, those words mean פנחס “returned My [Hashem’s] anger.” The word חמתי contains the same two words as מחצית, only reversed. The word for death- מת- is in the center, and the word for life- חי- is split and is the first and last letter. This shows us, that when Hashem is angry, death is near, while life remains at a distance. פנחס succeeded not only in reversing חמתי, Hashem’s actual anger, but in reversing the message of the letters of חמתי as well. חי became the center, and מת was pushed back. We may now understand, concludes the Gaon, why the פסוק compares what פנחס did to צדקה. Just as צדקה brings life closer and distances death, so too, פנחס brought the plague to a close and saved בני ישראל.

פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן
(פרק כ”ה, פסוק י”א)
Pinchas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon the Kohein

The פרשה opens with mention of the paternal lineage of פנחס, namely that he descended from אהרן. We are told by חז”ל that when פנחס killed זמרי, members of the other שבטים said, “Do you see this man, whose grandfather fattened calves for עבודה זרה? He killed a נשיא!” To silence them, the פסוק notes that פנחס descended from אהרן. How does mentioning אהרן address the taunts of the other שבטים? Reb Yaakov Kamenetsky, זצ”ל, explains, that when one acts out of zealousness, one’s motives may always be challenged. Often, one’s zeal is fueled by a faulty מדה, such as anger, rather than complete devotion to Hashem. If פנחס would not have acted entirely for the sake of serving Hashem, it would be fair to call him a murderer. This was the intention of those who taunted פנחס about his grandfather. They claimed that his actions were not rooted in defending Hashem’s honor, but that they were simply an angry reaction. In response, the Torah testifies that these were the actions of a grandson of אהרן. As חז”ל teach, אהרן “loved peace and chased after peace.” פנחס, who followed in the ways of אהרן, could only have killed זמרי out of pure devotion to Hashem.

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By Rabbi Naftoly Bier

In במדבר כז:טז we find a unique פסוק, verse; in fact only once in the whole Torah is it mentioned “וידבר משה אל ה’ לאמר” “And Moshe spoke with sharpness, demand to Hashem, asking for a reply.” The word וידבר is used to connote demand, authority, position of power etc. How can Moshe Rabbeinu be so brazen to speak to Hashem in such a manner?

The בעל הטורים quotes a ספרי זוטא, “There is no פסוק, verse like this in the whole Torah.” Moshe said to Hashem: don’t You remember / know how many times You addressed me וידבר?” It seems that Moshe was equating at that critical juncture of Klal Yisroel’s narrative, that he was obligated to demand a true and competent successor for he had been informed that he will die. For forty years he was the נשמה, soul of כלל ישראל, he lived every moment selflessly for them; now I can demand from You, ‘ה, to take care of them, just as You demanded I teach them Your Torah day and night! That is my grave responsibility, anything less would be a wrong manifestation of my lack of total dedication.

A lesson; of how a leader has to recognize that one has to completely, selflessly function as a vigorous dynamic laborer and spokesman for all.

Moshe Rabbeinu initially asked Hashem to appoint his son as his successor. Hashem told him that he does not qualify but rather יהושע, Joshua, would be the next leader.

Didn’t Moshe Rabbeinu know he wasn’t the most qualified? It is true that a son should be a natural replacement as we see by the כהן גדול, High Priest and the מלך, king.

We can derive a most important idea of חנוך. It’s not what a parent says, it’s how a parent acts; a parent has to be a model to his family. Consequently, he thought the most natural successor would be the one who through watching and following him would unconsciously assimilate and be inculcated with the proper manner of superior, selfless and dedicated leadership.

The בעל הטורים points out that the verses טז-יז, 16-17 have 28 words, יהושע led the Jewish people for 28 years; an intimation to the lesson וזכרת כי ה’ אלקיך הוא נותן לך כח לעשות חיל And you should remember that Hashem, your G-d, He is the One that gives you the acumen, ability to earn your wealth.

Yehoshua epitomized selfless dedication to Hashem and His Klal Yisroel due to his absolute unequivocal recognition that he was but an agent of Hashem, created solely for the purpose of sanctifying His Name; all his talent, leadership skills, intellect solely to be utilized for this purpose.

The אורח חיים explains that יהושע was איש אשר רוח בו, a person who could relate and understand in depth every individual. But he was granted an added dimension; “מהודך עליו” And Moshe would give of his “crown on him.” Moshe Rabbeinu was unique in this sense that his נשמה, soul, was the root of all of Klal Yisroel’s souls; he partially contained the essence of all of Klal Yisroel. This gift was imparted to יהושע.

This ideal of unmitigated selflessness was exhibited by פנחס, Pinchas. Though many people derided him when he killed Zimri, he nevertheless only contemplated the need to sanctify Hashem’s Name. It’s no wonder that when Yehoshua selected two spies, it was two people who were completely focused on one’s true mission; to selflessly dedicate themselves to Hashem, כלב & פנחס.

The Chazon Ish (of Bnei Brak) once asked a distinguished תלמיד חכם, a scholar of repute, to take time and expend effort to assist an ailing person. After a duration of four weeks, the person was once again well and active. The חזון איש profusely thanked him. The scholar demurred and said, “But I hardly learned Torah all that time.” The Chazon Ish replied, when one exerts oneself to selflessly help another, one creates for oneself a larger בית קיבול, an ability to absorb and understand Hashem’s Torah. The true deep understanding of Torah is a gift from Hashem; when one emulates Hashem by dedicating oneself to others, one’s similarity to Hashem connects one to Hashem’s Torah in a profound manner.

The Alter from Slabodka, HaRav Nosson Tzvi Finkel זצל is known for his constant teaching, exhortation and as a model of גדלות האדם, the lofty noble dignified essence of every human being. Rav Aryeh Finkel זצל, a great-grandchild and former משגיח of the Mirrer Yeshiva, taught that this guidance was secondary to his main teaching. That was חסד, chessed! All of one’s focus must be how can one make Hashem’s world to be the most satisfying place for everyone. The idea of גדלות האדם is a progression from being active in constantly selflessly asking how can I assist others to feel valued, to be secure financially, to have שלום בית, to be healthy, to learn Torah…. Only then is a person gifted by Hashem to truly feel the inner nobility that everyone naturally possesses.

The ילקוט שמעוני says that Hashem told Moshe Rabbeinu, “You are aware of how diligently Yehoshua served you, how much he engendered adulation, admiration and reverence for you, and he awakened early and stayed late in your place of study and teaching to arrange the chairs and to spread the מחצלאות, “mats” and therefore he should be your successor! A person who selflessly takes care of a מקום תורה, arranging what every person who uses the place of study should be doing – he due to his selfless relentless dedication to Moshe Rabbeinu should succeed him. The ultimate overriding principle that governs one’s ability to lead and teach Torah – both gifts from Hashem – is how unselfish, benevolent, compassionate, sympathetic, attentive and altruistic one is. This was Moshe Rabbeinu, Yehoshua, Pinchas, Calev… and many more. The one who established the paradigm was Avrohom Avinu!