Parashat Mattot - Massei

Wednesday, July 15, 2015 · Posted in , , , , , ,

Bamidbar 30:2 - 36:13 
[Mattot - Artist Yoram Raanan]


Summary

Mattot

  • The laws of personal vows are detailed
  • Battle with Midyan
  • Moshe instructs the soldiers regarding the applicable laws of Tumah
  • The laws of how to make kosher our vessels
  • Moshe is approached by the Tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half of Menashe to acquire the Trans-Jordan territories captured from Sichon and Og
  • Moshe instructs the Benei Yisrael to clear out Eretz Yisrael from all negative influences, and sets the Biblical boundaries of Eretz Yisrael
  • New leaders are appointed to oversee the division of Eretz Yisrael
  • The laws regarding the inadvertent murderer are detailed
  • Prohibition against marrying outside one's tribe is established. This prohibition was only for the generation that occupied Eretz Yisrael.

Massei

  • Recounting of the journeys of the Benei Yisrael in the desert.
  • G‑d instructs the Benei Yisrael to eradicate all Kenaan's inhabitants and destroy their idols.
  • Division of the portion of land between the Tribal members.
  • The Leviim are provided 48 cities where they would dwell -- 42 cities plus the six cities of refuge. 
  • The Command to designate six cities of refuge. 
  • G‑d instructs Tzelafchad's daughters to marry men from their own tribe, so the land they inherit will remain in their ancestral tribe.

Vows and Oaths

"Do not think that I caution you only against swearing falsely. Not so! Do not take an oath even about what is true. Only then will you be able to swear - if you have the following exalted traits: awe of G-d, serving Him, clinging to Him, and swearing by His Name" (Devarim 10:21)

In order to fulfill the first condition of being in awe of G-d, it is not sufficient to fear G-d at the level of an ordinary person. One must become, in this regard, like one of the three great personalities, Avraham, Iyov, and Yosef, whom the Scripture recognizes as fearing G-d; about Avraham, it says, "Now I know that you fear G-d" (Bereishit 22:12); and about Iyov it says that he was "whole-hearted and upright, and one that feared G-d" (Iyov 1:2); and the Torah records Yosef as saying, "I fear G-d" (Bereishit 42:18).

The second requirement, to serve Him, is fulfilled only if one is occupied exclusively with serving G-d, by directing all his thoughts and actions towards the fulfillment of the mitzvot and good works.

The third prerequisite is that one cling to G-d. Clearly, this cannot be fulfilled literally, since "He is a consuming fire" (Devarim 4:24). It means, however, one should attach himself to Torah scholars. For instance, if one has a daughter, he should marry her to a man who is erudite in the Torah - a Torah Chacham; or if one has merchandise that can yield a profit, he should let a Talmid Chacham make the profit in order to enable him to continue occupying himself with Torah study. In general, one should try to bring pleasure to the Torah scholar whenever an opportunity to do so arises.

A man who has fulfilled all these three conditions, may take an oath to affirm the truth. But if a man has not attained this level, he has no right to pronounce an oath.

If a man makes a vow in order to fortify his resolve and improve his ways, that is commendable. For instance, if he is a man steeped in food and drink, and he makes a vow not to drink so much wine for a period of time, or else not to drink to inebriation, or to separate himself from other unseemly habits - there are vows made for the sake of Heaven and they are to be encouraged. It is then a mitzvah to make such a vow, since he does so in the service of G-d. Were he to remain with his evil habits, he would be brought to commit transgressions.

Our Sages indeed declare, concerning such vows: "Vows are a consraint for abstinence." Yet, even for such purposes, one should avoid making vows habitual; he should try to abstain without first uttering a vow. (Bereishit Rabbah, VaYetze)


The Fifteenth Day of Av

The fifteenth of Av was the day when the dying of the desert generation came to an end and the tribes were permitted to intermarry with one another. For this reason this day became a day of great rejoicing, the Talmud declaring, "no days were more festive for the Benei Yisrael than Yom Kippur and the fifteenth of Av."

In this regard, the Talmud asks, "It is understandable that Yom Kippur should be a day of rejoicing, since our sins are then forgiven; so were the second Tablets given on this day (Parashat Ki Tisa). But why did they rejoice on the fifteenth of Av" And it answers, "because on that day the tribes were permitted to intermarry."

There was another historical reason why this became a day of rejoicing. It was then that the tribe of Binyamin was again welcomed into the congregation of Yisrael. As it is explained at length in Parashat Shoftim, in the aftermath of the episode of the raped mistress (Shoftim 19-21), the Benei Yisrael separated themselves from the tribe of Binyamin by swearing to one another not to permit the men of Binyamin to marry any women from the other tribes. This ban lasted until the Benei Yisrael saw that the Tribe of Binyamin was shrinking and they resolved that "no tribe shall be blotted out from among Yisrael" (Shoftim 21:17). Whereupon they sought to circumvent the oath that they had taken to the effect that "Not one of us will give his daughter to Binyamin a a wife" (21:1). Such a way out was discovered on the fifteenth day of Av, and that day was turned into a festival.

As noted, moreover, that was the day on which the Benei Yisrael in the desert ceased to die. Throughout the forty years that they were in the wilderness, on the eve of the ninth of Av a call would go out for all them to go dig their graves, and every Israelite would do so lest he die without having prepared a grave for himself. That night each man would sleep in his dug-out, and when in the morning another call would go out, "Let the living separate from the dead," all who were still alive would emerge.

In the case of anyone who was going to die, a worm would emerge from his mid-section and enter his mouth, killing him - and he would be buried. The pattern was repeated year after year.

But then, at the end of the fortieth year when the call went out for them to dig graves, and subsequently that the living emerged, they all came out alive. Astonished, they wondered if perhaps they had made a mistake in the day of the month, and that night they again spent in the dug-out, and continued to do so until the fifteenth of Av. When they saw the full moon and that not a single one of them had died, they knew that they had not erred as to the day, and that the decree had been lifted. That generation of Benei Yisrael thereupon fixed the date as a festival. (Taanit, Chapter 4. See Bava Batra, Chapter 8; Eicha Rabbah; Yerushalmi, Taanit, Chapter 4; Rashbam)

The decree had lasted thirty-eight years out of the forty which they spent in the wilderness - from the second year after the Exodus, when the episode of the spies took place, until the thirty-ninth year - and altogether 600,000 died, on the average between 15,000 and 16,000 men died every year. (Ritva, Bava Batra, loc. cit.)

Not only did they cease to die on that day, turning the fifteenth of Av into a festival, but also, a direct divine communication with Moshe was then resumed. For while any of those who were meant to die in the desert were still alive, divine transmission to Moshe was not effected directly, "mouth to mouth" (Bamidbar 12:8) at any time that he disired; but rather, through a vision in the night. Since all those years the Benei Yisrael were in a state of reproach before G-d, and G-d's love for Moshe was derived entirely from the merit of the Benei Yisrael, He did not communicate with him unless it was absolutely necessary.

Therefore the Torah says, "It was at this time that all the men of war among the people ceased dying, G-d then spoke to me, saying" (Devarim 2:16, 17). (Rashi ibid)

- Me'am Lo'ez

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Parashat Pinchas

Sunday, July 12, 2015 · Posted in , , , ,

[Pinchas - Artist Yoram Raanan]

Summary

Bamidbar 25:10 - 30:1

Pinchas is rewarded for killing the Hebrew and the Midiani woman who cursed G-d. Yisrael fights a war against the Midianim. A second census is taken. The daughters of Tzelafchad force a change in the laws of property inheritance. Yehoshua is chosen to be Moshe's successor.  The sacrificial ritual for all festival occasions is described in detail.


25:10 Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying,
11 Pinchas (a son of Ele'azar and grandson of Aharon the Kohen) was the one who zealously took up My cause among the Benei Yisrael and turned My anger away from them, so that I did not destroy them in My demand for exclusive worship.

Since the plague had felled 24,000 Benei Yisrael, the people might have contended that the plague was finally arrested not because Pinchas had slain Zimri, but because G-d's anger against the Benei Yisrael for their transgression was cooled and His vengeance satisfied by the 24,000 victims. The Torah therefore tells us that it was the zealous action of Pinchas, solely, which turned away G-d's anger and saved them from destruction. If not for him nothing would have remained of the Benei Yisrael. (Toledot Yitzchak)


The New Census

Following the plague that struck the Benei Yisrael, G-d told Moshe and Eleazar to count them. When a wolf attacks a flock of sheep killing some of the, the shepherd wants to take their tally in order to see how many are left.

One reason for the present census, therefore, was to determine how many remained alive. But G-d bit the Benei Yisrael to be counted also for another reason - because the time was nearing for Moshe to leave this world. Moshe may be compared to a shepherd who was entrusted by the owner with a flock of sheep. When the time came the sheep to be returned, they were first tallied, just as they had been when they were entrusted to the shepherd.

Thus, when the Benei Yirael left Egypt, G-d had them counted, and He had instructed Moshe to lead them along direct pathways where they would not get lost. Now that the time had come for him to return that which been in his trust, G-d instructed him to count them before passing them to Yehoshua. G-d di not involve Yehoshua in the census taking, however, out of consideration for Moshe. Had it been necessary for Moshe to report the results of the census directly to Yehoshua, it would have been a painful reminder of his approaching end. So G-d arranged for him to communicate directly with Ele'azar, who would then naturally pass on the information to Yehoshua.

There were also other reasons for conducting a census of the Benei Yisrael at this time. When they had stood at Mount Sinai to receive the Torah, the nations were envious, an they complained why out of all the nations G-d had chosen Yisrael to be close to him and to have conferred upon them so much honor and prestige. Whereupon G-d replied: "These enjoy one distinction that you lack. They possess an impeccable lineage, while you are illegitimate offspring of illegitimate offspring."

Hearing this, the nations began to praise and acclaim the Benei Yisrael for their purity of line, as it is written, "The daughters saw her and called her happy; and the queens and the concubines praised her" (Shir HaShirim 6:9).

The "daughters" are the nations of the world who, when they beheld the people of Yisrael in its purity, devoid of all blemish, of immorality or illegitimacy, exclaimed: "Happy is this people that is untainted by vice!"

That, however, was true at the time of the giving of the Torah. Now that the Benei Yisrael had come into this desert [of the plains of Moav] and it was said of them that they began to behave immorally, these very nations rejoiced, declaring, "The crown of chastity and freedom from taint with which this people had been garlanded in Egypt has not departed from the, and we and they are one multitude, equally steeped in immorality."

Accordingly, after G-d had cleansed the Benei Yisrael of sinners by means of the plague, He told Moshe to count them and establish their familial and tribal pedigrees. "Then I will place upon each family My signature - My Holy Name י׳ה."

"These two letters of My Name would be affixed to the names of the individual tribes, so that Re'uven will be written as haReuveni, and Shimon, will be written as haShimoni, symbolizing that henceforth the nations of the world and the scorners among the Benei Yisrael would know that the Jewish people had been purified once again of every taint of immorality and illegitimacy. Those who are stamped by immorality will become extinct while these shall bear G-d's Name upon their names as proof of their impeccable ancestry." (Yalkut Shimoni; Rashi; Alshech)

Given the symbolic function of G-d's seal in relation to the paternal line, two questions arise. Why is it that only in three instances is this seal affixed to the tribal names: Re'uven - Re'uveni, Shimon - Shimoni, Zevulun - Zevuluni - while for all other tribes the seal is affixed to the family names but not to the tribal names? The second [and related] question in why G-d's seal consists of the Name Yud Heh (י׳ה) specifically?

The Name י׳ה (Yud, Heh) is encompassed by the Hebrew words for man - ish (אִיש) and woman - ishah (אִשָה), whereby we are taught that when a husband and wife live a life of sanctity in accordance with the Will of G-d, the Shechinah abides with them; if not, the Yud and the Heh, respectively, are symbolically lost from their names, turning them into esh (אֵש) - two mutually consuming fires.

This explains why G-d placed [upon the Benei Yisrael] the Name Yud Heh (י־ה) specifically. It symbolized that they were free of all taint, and that because there was sanctity in the way they lived, He did not depart from them.

Moreover, since the women were even more circumspect than the men in sexual matters - no women at all having been involved in the present lapse into immorality, as further evidenced by the fact that the Torah publicized the lone instance of such a lapse by a woman in Egypt - the Torah here records that the letter Heh (ה) of the word ishah, (אִשָה) was placed at the head of the corresponding name, and the letter Yud of ish (אִיש), at the end; Ha'reuveni (הָ׳רְאוּבֵנִ׳י); Ha'shimoni (הַ׳שִמְעֹנִ׳י).

Explained also is why the Name was affixed to the aforementioned three tribal names. Re'uven had compromised in the matter of Bilhah, and although he had not done anything wrong, there remained an aura of suspicion. So, to remove any doubt, and to silence those said that Re'uven had actually cohabited with Bilhah (Bereishit 35:22), [G-d affixed His seal to the tribal name of Re'uven].

In the case of the tribe of Shimon, too, this was necessary, for there was room for suspicion on account of what Zimri, its leader, had done.

[The name as testimonial was associated as well to] the tribe of Zevulun, because they would be traders, and thereby absent from their homes most of the time.

Accordingly, G-d associated His Name to these three tribes in order to silence gossip and to bear witness that, notwithstanding suspicious circumstances, they were free of the slightest taint of immorality and that their family lines were distinguished and pure. (Alshech)

- Me'am Lo'ez

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Parashat Balak - Curses Turned into Blessings

Wednesday, July 1, 2015 · Posted in , , , , ,

Bamidbar 22:2 - 25:9
[Balak - Artist Yoram Raanan]

Summary

Balak, the king of Moav, summons the prophet Balaam to curse the people of Israel. On the way, Balaam is berated by his donkey, who sees, before Balaam does, the angel that G‑d sends to block their way. Three times, from three different vantage points, Balaam attempts to pronounce his curses; each time, blessings issue forth instead. 

Balaam also prophesies on the end of the days and the coming of Mashiach.

The people fall prey to the charms of the daughters of Moav, and are enticed to worship the idol Peor. When a high-ranking Israelite official publicly takes a Midiani princess into a tent, Pinchas kills them both, stopping the plague raging among the people.

The Ten Wondrous Creations

According to our Sages, the phenomenon of the talking donkey was one of the ten things created at the twilight hour before Shabbat. These included: 

- the mouth of the earth that swallowed Korach and his band; 
- the opening of Miriam's well that accompanied the Benei Yisrael in the desert; 
- the mouth of Balaam's donkey which had been predetermined to speak at this time; 
- the manna that the Benei Yisrael ate in the desert; 
- the staff of our teacher Moshe; 
- and the shamir - a thread-like worm, which when placed upon any rock would split it, and could thus be used for breaking up and dislodging giant boulders, or even mountains. When King Shlomo was building the Holy Temple, the shamir was used for this purpose, rather than using iron implements whose clang was forbidden to be heard during the building of the Temple.

The other things created included the lettering and the words that were engraved in the Tablets, which could be read from all directions, and the stone Tablets themselves. These Tablets constituted two blocks of translucent material whose dimensions, each, were six handbreadths long by six handbreadths wide by three handbreadths thick.

There is also tradition that also included were the destructive agencies ("demons" or shedim), the burial place of Moshe, and the ram sacrificed by Avraham in place of YItzchak. (Avot, Chapter 5)

A further tradition relates that the cave where our teacher Moshe, and later the prophet Eliyahu hid, was also created as well as the staff of Aharon, and the "garments" of Adam. (Halachot Gedolot 148c) There is also an opinion to the effect that the Clouds of Glory were created at the same time. (Targum Yonatan)

The Curses Turned into Blessings


The Talmud informs us that the blessings which Bilaam invoked upon the Benei Yisrael had actually been intended as curses. However, G-d transformed the ten curses that he wanted to utter and replaced them by ten corresponding blessings. (Sanhedrin, Chapter 11. See Rabbi Yoshia Pinto (Riph) ad loc.)

The first of his intended curses was that the Benei Yisrael should have no houses of worship and no academies. Whereupon G-d caused him to say, instead, "How good are your tents, Yaakov, your tabernacles, Yisrael" - and thus, wherever Jews are to be found, there is never a lack of synagogues and houses of study. The designation "tents of Yaakov" appears, since about him it was said: "Yaakov was a scholarly man who remained with the tents" (Bereishit 25:27). That is, the name Yaakov is specifically stressed, rather than the name Yisrael, for the Torah wants us to know that by "tents" are likewise meant tents of study. (Maharsha ad loc.)

We have a tradition that because G-d wanted to enhance the prestige of the Benei Yisrael in Balaam's eyes, He showed him the Throne of Glory, and that inscribed upon it was the likeness of our patriarch Yaakov. Influenced by this heavenly vision, Balaam exclaimed: "How good are your tents, Yaakov." That is, how remarkable and glorious is the tent of Yaakov thus to be with the Throne of Glory. (Yalkut Reuveni)

Balaam's second curse was meant to prevent the Divine Presence from resting upon the Benei Yisrael. Whereupon G-d had him say, "your tabernacles, Yisrael." That is, "I see that the Shechinah will affect Yisrael."

Thirdly, he meant to curse them that their sovereignty should not be perpetuated, but come to an abrupt end. And G-d made him say, "(they) stretch out like streams"; Just as a river flows on without interruption so too will their kingdom never be terminated.

It is for this reason that whenever a king was anointed, the ceremony would take place by a river, as we find recorded in the case of King Shlomo's anointment. It was meant to symbolize that just as a river never stops flowing, so might the reign of the anointed one continue.

The fourth intended curse was that the Benei Yisrael should have neither olives nor vineyards, nor gardens. So G-d made him say, "like gardens by the river"; not only should they own gardens, but their gardens should be located near streams and hence forever be flourishing.

The fifth curse was meant to say that the fragrance of good deeds not exude from them. G-d made him say the opposite - "like aloes G-d has planted"; Just as these divinely planted spices emit aromas, so shall the effects of commandments fulfill flow from them. (Rashi on Sanhedrin, loc. cit. See Maharsha ad loc.)

His intended sixth curse was that the Benei Yisrael should be frail rather than men of might. So G-d had him say, "like cedars by the water"; They should be as mighty and powerful as the cedars planted by the water that grow daily.

The seventh intended curse was that their monarchs should not be succeeded by their own sons. Whereupon G-d made him say (24:27), "his dipper shall overflow." The water that he draws should be from his own dipper and not from somewhere else; that is, one king should be descended from another king of his own family.

The eighth curse would have said that the kingdom of Yisrael should not be able to survive among the nations. Whereupon G-d made him say, "and his crops shall have abundant waters." The nations are denoted as abundant waters - as in, "many waters cannot quench love...." (Shir HaShirim 8:7); the nations will not succeed in their efforts to quench G-d's love for Yisrael.

The ninth intended curse meant to say that the kingdom of YIsrael should not have the power to overcome the other nations. So G-d had him say, "Their king shall be greater than Agag," referring to the Amalaki king Agag who was subdued by a Jewish king and killed. 

The tenth curse was meant to eliminate any fear the nations might have of a Jewish kingdom. G-d made him say, "Their kingdom shall be exalted," causing everyone to fear them.

Of these ten curses that Balaam wanted to invoke against the Benei Yisrael, the first one was intended to make it impossible for them to have houses of worship and study. For he knew that when the Benei Yisrael frequent their synagogues and houses of study where the Shechinah is present among them, they can, with their study and prayers, reach on high and have their pleas answered. So first of all, Balaam wanted to eliminate this possibility. But G-d in His great mercy turned everything into a corresponding blessing; in this case, that they should possess houses of prayer and houses of study.

Accordingly the Torah says in Parashat Ki Tavo: "Of course, G-d did not consent to listen to Balaam, and Hashem your G-d transformed the curse into a blessing for you, since Hashem your G-d loves you" (Devarim 23:6). The Torah does not say that He transformed the curses (plural) into blessings, but the curse (singular) - the first curse. The other curses remained in force in the face of Yisrael's transgressions. (Sifetei Kohen)

It is a reflection of G-d's compassion that He preserved this particular blessing. He knew that by remaining in possession of this blessing, the Benei Yisrael could always hope to attain the other blessings, since G-d does not shut the gates of repentance before any sinner. Indeed, when anyone wants to do penance, he is helped from on high. Chazal declare that whosoever comes to be purified, is helped to do so. By G-d providing them with this blessing to have houses of worship and houses of study where a would-be penitent could direct himself in prayer to the Almighty and plead for forgiveness, He made it possible for them to repent and thus to merit the good of the World to Come.

Houses of study are necessary so that the Benei YIsrael do not forget the Torah and hence are guided in their conduct by knowledge of its laws. Without Torah supervision, even synagogues are meaningless and all the curses may go into effect. (Rabbi Yoshia Pinto [Riph] ad loc.)

"How good are the tents," Balaam exclaimed, "the houses of study where Yaakov is to be found; and the Mishkan in the midst of the camp of the Benei YIsrael. Like streams that stretch out and increase are the encampments of Benei Yisrael, competing and vanquishing each other in contests of Torah knowledge - and vanquishing their enemies. Like gardens planted by the river are gathered the students of the academies in assemblies, their faces aglow with the light of the Torah like the brightness of the sky, formed by the creation on the second day. Like the tents G-d has planted - the seven heavens He expanded as an external dwelling place for His Shechinah - will the Benei Yisrael also exist forever. They will always be acclaimed, towering like the cedars planted by the water. Their king and sovereign will arise soon enough and gather the dispersed of Yisrael from the lands of their enemies, and the seed of Yaakov will then have dominion over all the nations. (Targum Yerushalmi; Targum Yonatan)

The Messianic Age Foreseen

In veiled language, Balaam now began to speak of what was to happen to the Benei Yisrael in the end of days. As was usual with him, however, he first launched into self-exultation: "This is the word of Beor's son, Balaam, the word of the man with the enlightened eye. It is the word of one who hears G-d's sayings and knows the Highest One's will, who sees a vision of the Almighty while fallen [in a meditative trance] with mystical insight" (24:15, 16].

Bamidbar 24:17 I see it, but not now; I perceive it, but not in the near future. A star shall go forth from Yaakov, and a staff shall arise in Yisrael, crushing all of Moav's princes, and dominating all of Shet's descendants.

"The prophecy that I see is not for now for for the near future, and what I see is that a king will arise from the House of Yaakov, a ruler over Yisrael who will crush the mighty warriors of Moav and annihilate all the descendants of Shet - the armies of Gog and Magog who in the future will make war upon Yisrael but fall to the Jewish king." (Targum Yonatan; Targum Yerushalmi)

Another interpretation of, "dominating all of Shet's descendants," is that it refers to the nations of the world, all of whom are descended from Adam's offspring Shet, since after the flood there remained only Noach and his sons, who stemmed from Shet. In other words, it is presage that the messianic king would vanquish all the nations.(Rashi; Abarbanel)

24:18 Edom shall be demolished, and his enemy Seir destroyed, but Yisrael shall be triumphant.

Edom and Seir will pass over into possession of the Benei Yisrael, who will triumph over everyone.

24:19 Out of Yaakov shall come an absolute ruler who will obliterate the city's last survivors.

It is prophesied that the Mashiach, who will descend from the House of Yaakov, will be an absolute ruler, and he will demolish the last vestige of the city of Rome, the city which epitomizes Esav, leaving no survivors. Thus the prophet says in the Book of Ovadya 1:18 "And the House of Yaakov shall be a fire and the House of Yosef flame, and the House of Esav stubble and they should kindle in them and devour them; and there shall not be any remnant of the House of Esav; for Hashem has spoken it."

24:20 When [Balaam] saw Amalek, he proclaimed his oracle and said, "First among nations is Amalek, but in the end he will be destroyed forever."

When Balaam saw the affliction that would descend upon Amalek in the future, he prolaimed: "Amalek was the first to make war upon the Benei Yisrael and his end will be that when together with other nations they go to war at the time of the Mashiach, they will fall into the hands of Yisrael and the name of Amalek will be obliterated forever." (Targum Yonatan; Targum Yerushalmi)

24:21 When he saw the Keni, he proclaimed his oracle and said, "You live in a fortress and have placed your nest in a cliff. 22 But when the time comes to destroy the Keni, how long will Assyria hold you in captivity!"

The Keni were the people of Yirtro's family, and referring to Yitro, who had converted to Judaism, Balaam speaks symbolically.

"I am astonished to find you so grand and favored a position. For had you not been together with me, a counselor to Pharaoh, when he proclaimed, "We must deal wisely with them, otherwise, they may increase so much that  if there is war, they will join our enemies and fight against us, driving [us] from the land" (Shemot 1:10)? Then we were both on the same side, but now you have merited to be in a powerful position, close to YIsrael, a nation obdurate in strength like a cliff that no nation can touch. Even if in the future you stand to be exiled together with the Ten Tribes and depart for the captivity of Assyria, that will only be a temporary exile, since in the end they will be redeemed, even as in the time of the Messianic king all the other exiles will be redeemed." (Ibid; Rashi)

24:23 He then declared his oracle and said, "Alas! Who can survive G-d's devastation?"

"Woe is to that nation that will be present at the time when G-d delivers YIsrael? When a lion and a lioness are about to mate, who will dare cast his garment at them to draw them apart? So too will it be when the hour of Yisrael's redemption comes. What nature will dare intervene to stop their deliverance?

Analogously we an say, woe to those who incline after the lusts of this world and allow themselves to be drawn to its pleasures without concern for the World-to-Come, for fulfilling the commandments, and for doing good deeds! Woe to them that throw off the yoke of Torah and its commandments! Woe to them in that hour when G-d rewards the righteous for having fulfilled the Torah and its commandments, and when He seeks retribution from the wicked!" (Yalkut Shimoni; Sanhedrin, Chapter 11)

24:24 Warships shall come from the ports of the Kittim, and they will lay waste Assyria and Ever. But in the end they too shall be destroyed forever.
25 With that, Balaam set out and returned home. Balak also went on his way.

"G-d will cause great warships of Kittim, located near Rome, to come and do battle against the other nations. They will reach and lay waste as far as the city of Assyria, and continue on to the city of Ever, which they will capture. But in the end they will all perish and only Yisrael will remain." (Rashi ad loc. See Targum Yonatan)

So it was that when Balaam was blessing the Benei Yisrael, his voice penetrated to all the encampments across a distance of 60 mil (30 km.) (Yalkut Shimoni) and was magnified so that they would all hear his words and fall under an evil spell. As a result, they succumbed to a terrible sin for which they paid dearly - all in accordance with Balaam's evil scheme that he had proposed to Balak. (Kesef Mezukak)

The Twelve Miracles

25:1 Yisrael was staying in Shittim when the people began to behave immorally with the Moavi girls. 2 [The girls] invited the people to their religious sacrifices, and the people ate and worshiped the [Moavi] gods. 3 Yisrael thus became involved with Baal Peor, and G-d displayed anger against Yisrael 4 G-d said to Moshe, "Take the people's leaders, and [have them] impale them before G-d, facing the sin. This will reverse G-d's display of anger against Yisrael. 5 Moshe said to Yisrael's judges, "Each of you must kill your constituents who were involved with Baal Peor." 6 [The judges] were still weeping [in indecision] at the Tent of Meeting entrance, when a man of Yisrael brought forth a Midyani woman to his brethren before the eyes of Moshe and the community of Yisrael.7 When Pinchas, a son of Ele'azar and a grandson of Aharon, the Kohen, saw this, he rose up from the midst of the assembly and took a spear in his hand.8 He followed the man of Yisrael into the tent's inner chamber and rammed them through, [driving the spear] through the man of Yisrael and the woman's groin. With that, the plague that had struck the Benei Yisrael was arrested.9 In that plague, 24,000 people had died.

Our Sages list a total of twelve auspicious circumstances involved in connection with the action of Pinchas.
  1. They did not draw apart when Pinchas approached them. Had they done so, he could not have executed them without himself then being executed.
  2. Zimri and Kazbi were turned speechless, and so could not call out to the Shimonim outside, who would have rushed in and torn Pinchas to shreds.
  3. They remained locked together on the spear that passed through his and her genitals. It was thus clear to everyone that they had been joined carnally, and no one could claim that Pinchas had invented the story of finding them together.
  4. The handle and the blade did not separate when he rammed them through.
  5. When he was dragging them outside, the tent lifted up, enabling him to emerge upright with the spear in its original vertical position. Had it been necessary to lower the spear, the two bodies would have slipped off.
  6. G-d gave him the strength of arm to hold on to them as he traversed the entire camp of Yisrael - a distance of three parsangs.
  7. He twirled them about on his right arm directly in front of their relatives, and they could not harm him.
  8. The metal part of the spear was hardened so that it did not break under the combined weight.
  9. This metal part was elongated, moreover, so that both bodies stayed on without slipping.
  10. By divine intervention the woman remained on the bottom and the man on top, just as they had been positioned during copulation.
  11. they both remained alive until he had taken them through the entire camp of Yisrael; otherwise, Pinchas, who was a kohen, would have been contaminated.
  12. Their blood was congealed and did not drip downward. (Bamidbar Rabbah; Targum Yonatan; Sanhedrin, Chapter 9; Yalkut Shimoni) There is also the view that by divine agency Zimri's fellow Shimonim were slain to prevent them from killing Pinchas. (Sanhedrin 9; Rashi; Maharsha)

When Pinchas saw the terrible plague that had spread, killing 24,000 men, mostly from the Tribe of Shimon, he cast them off from the spear before G-d, exclaiming: "Is it right that on account of these two cadavers 24,000 Benei Yisrael should perish? Although it is true that whenever sexual immorality becomes prevalent, the innocent fall no less than the guilty, that happens only if the acts of depravity are committed publicly. But the Midyani women had sinned with the Benei Yisrael in seclusion, and so did the daughters of Moav; it was only Zimri who had flaunted his transgression publicly. Why then should so many have had to die on account of one wicked man?

In response to this plea of Pinchas, the plague was halted. Thus the Scripture writes elsewhere: "Then Pinchas stood up and prayed; and so the plague was arrested" (Tehillim 106:30; Sanhedrin 9; Kesef Mezukak)

- Meam Loez

Haftarah: Micha 5:6 - 6:8

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