Hey!

Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
I’m enjoying my summer vacation,
And I hope you are, too!

This week’s parsha is Parshat Pinchas (with, as always, help from chabad.org):

– As a reward for killing Zimri and the non-Jewish woman in the previous parsha, Pinchas is given the blessing of peace, as well as the privilege of becoming a kohen (priest).

-Hashem tells Moshe to count every man between the ages of 20 and 60, because they will be the ones getting land in Israel. Hashem also tells Moshe how the land should be divided among the tribes. The tribe of Levi does not receive specific land. They serve Hashem in the Beit Hamikdash.

-A man named Tzelofchad, from the tribe of Menashe, has five daughters: Machlah, Noah, Chaglah, Milkah and Tirtzah. Tzelofchad passes away, and his daughters ask Moshe a question: Their father passed away with no sons, and according to the law they would not be entitled to land in Israel. They asked Moshe if they could have their father’s land. Moshe asks Hashem, who allows it, and adds a law that if a man dies with no sons, his daughters receive his land.

– Hashem tells Moshe to go on Mount Avarim, that overlooks Israel, before passing away. Then, Moshe puts his hand on Yehoshua, son of Nun, to show that he will take Moshe’s place.

-The parsha ends listing the daily offerings and the extra offerings that were brought on different Jewish holidays, Shabbos, and Rosh Chodesh.

 

How can Hashem bless Pinchas with peace if he just killed a man?

The Midrash tells a story to explain this: A king was traveling with his soldiers when he saw a group of men. One man insulted the king, and the king wanted to kill them all. But then, a man of the group killed the man who had insulted the king. When the king saw that there was a good man in the group, he decided to let them all live. Hashem was upset at the Jews for their sinning and that no one tried to repent. When Pinchas killed Zimri to sanctify the name of Hashem, then like the king, Hashem turned his anger into praise for Pinchas.

So here’s the question: How do you sanctify Hashem’s name?

<3 Tamar