Curses and Blessings
Focal Point
How fair are your tents, O Jacob,
Your dwellings, O Israel!
(Numbers 24:5)
D'var Torah
Passion and Fanaticism
This Shabbat's Torah portion, Parashat Pinchas, begins by referring to an event that occurred at the end of the prior one, when Pinchas, Aaron's grandson, killed Zimri, a scion of the Simeonite ancestral house, and Cozbi, daughter of a Midianite chieftain.
Thwarting Evil, Saving Lives
The narrative of Parashat Pinchas is disturbing: the grandson of the High Priest Aaron slew two people, and was rewarded. Was he a zealot or not? He took lives. Did he save lives?
The Politics of Just Protest
This is one of a few select parashiyot coveted by bat mitzvah girls, by adult b'not mitzvah , and by all who seek opportunities to learn more about the role of women in Torah.
Determining the Qualities of an Ideal Political Leader
This week's parashah, Pinchas, is all about succession and inheritance. Who will succeed Aaron in the priesthood? To whom will the land pass as the Israelites enter it? Who can claim a man's land if he has no sons? Who will succeed Moses and lead the people into the Promised Land?