Parshas Pinchas

"It's terrible that those people cheated like that!"
"Why didn't you tell them not to do it?? They would have listened to you."

G-d said to Moshe "Therefore, say: Behold ! I (G-d) give him (Pinchas) My covenant of peace". (After Pinchas stopped the Jews from sinning, and consequently, G-d stopped the plague against them.) Rav Yitzchok Volozhin zt"l , quoted by the Netziv, said that G-d had Moshe tell this to Pinchas, as a subtle rebuke to Moshe for not stopping the sinning himself.

"All Jews are responsible for each other." (Gemara Shavuos 39a)

Have a great Shabbos !!

Rabbi Chaim Flom

Dear Rabbi Flom,
What are the ramifications of "all Jews are responsible for each other"?
Thanks,
Mark

Dear Mark,
Regarding 'What are the ramifications of "all Jews are responsible for each other"?'that you asked, there are 2 basic areas. 1)There are very specific, non-"gray", areas that are affected. Since we say "kol Yisroel areivim zeh bezeh" (all Jews are responsible for each other)if you didn't hear kiddush and I did, I could still say it for you, because even though I fulfilled my own obligation (and theoretically couldn't say it again), since you didn't say it, I still have an "obligation". (My English teacher would have fainted seeing such a long run-on sentence) 2)The other idea is less specific and quite gray.That is my obligation to help any Jew who needs my help. Obviously, I can't spend 24/7 helping others, and that is why it is quite gray. It needs thought and sometimes asking a sheilah (question to a Rabbi), but certainly we see the direction and values that Hashem wants from us.
Take care.
Chaim Flom

Dear Rabbi Flom,
By the way,who is Rav Yitzchok Volozhin zt"l?
Sincerely,
Mark

Dear Mark,
Rav Yitzchok Volozhin was the Netziv's (Rav Naftoli Tzvi Yehuda Berlin) father-in-law, (from the Netziv's first marriage, from whom they had Rav Chaim Berlin. After she passed away, he married the daughter of Rav Yechiel Michel Epstein, the author of the Aruch HaShulchan, and had Rav Meir Berlin-Bar Ilan.)He was a son of Rav Chaim Volozhin, the great student of the Vilna Gaon and founder of the Volozhin Yeshiva. In the back of the Netziv's commentary on the Torah, Haemek Davar, there is the commentary on the Torah called the Peh Kodesh written by Rav Yitzchok Volozhin. However, it is only printed on Biraishis and Shemos.I am not sure if the Netziv heard what I quoted from his father-in-law, or there was more to the Peh Kodesh than we have today.
The Netziv was the last Rosh HaYeshiva of Volozhin for 40 years.
I hope this answer was informative.
Take care.
Chaim Flom

I actually had a question on this inyan. I remember learning in the Torah Temimah and Rashi that Moshe Rabeinu forgot the halacha of being with a goya, and could therefore not stop Zimri. Only Pinchas remembered the halacha and could kill Zimri. So where does the opinion of R' Yitzchok of Volozhin fit in here?

Dear Rebecca,
Your question is incredible, and I must say the answer I discovered I never knew before.
your quote
"I actually had a question on this inyan. I remember learning in the Torah Temimah and Rashi that Moshe Rabeinu forgot the halacha of being with a goya, and could therefore not stop Zimri. Only Pinchas remembered the halacha and could kill Zimri. So where does the opinion of R' Yitzchok of Volozhin fit in here?" [That Hashem rebuked Moshe for not stopping Zimri.]

Let me quote the Rashi that you are referring to: Rashi(Bimidbar 25:6) says "The law (one who commits harlotry with an Aramean woman, zealous people have the right to kill him) was hidden from Moshe, so the righteous people of Israel started crying. At the time of the golden calf Moshe stood against 60 myriads (600,000 people) as it says "and he (Moshe) ground it (the golden calf)to powder etc." and now his hands became weak !! However it was in order that Pinchas should come and take what was his (become a Kohen)"

I would like to strengthen your question first. Rashi, by Bnos Tzelofchad (Bimidbar 27:5), Rashi brings an opinion that Moshe was punished for his anger and therefore Hashem concealed the law from him. Then Rashi brings a second opinion that seems to say that Moshe did no wrong, and Hashem just wanted to give a reward to Bnos Tzelofchad for being righteous. Here, Rashi seems to just say that this was Hashem's way of having Pinchas become a Kohen and Moshe did no wrong. If so, your question is, how could Rav Yitzchok Volozhin say Hashem was chastising Moshe?
Rashi's explanation is found in the Medrash Tanchuma, Balak 20 and the same thing is with slightly more elaboration in the Medrash Rabbah 20:24. Both of them say basically what Rashi quotes and then says "and since Moshe was lazy,we don't know where he is buried" !!!!!! We see that the Medrash DOES say that Moshe did something wrong!!! (It seems to be a bit of a contradiction in the Medrash. On one hand it says that Moshe "forgot" the halacha in order for Hashem to reward Pinchas and then it says that Moshe was lazy and therefore punished?? It means something to the effect of, Hashem wanted to give Pinchas an opportunity to be a Kohen. Since Moshe was "lazy", Hashem used that as the opportunity to have Pinchas become a Kohen and had Moshe "forget" the law.[Moshe's "lazy" wasn't like our laziness. We see that Hashem not have had hidden the law from Moshe, he would have done it. It was laziness on a very small level.]) Bottom line is that we see that Moshe did do something wrong !!
I hope this answer is satisfactory, even though it differs than the conventional understanding of Rashi.
Thanks again for the great question.
Take care.
Rabbi Flom

Dear Rabbi Flom,
It is amazing answer to say that Moshe did something wrong in the case of Pinchas. But why did Rashi leave out that important fact?
Sincerely,
Mark

Dear Mark,
While I was learning this I had the same question and I asked Rabbi Menachem Diamond, a rebbe in Chofetz Chaim Yeshiva in Yerushalayim. He said that maybe from what Rashi DOES write, we can see there was a complaint against Moshe.
"At the time of the golden calf Moshe stood against 60 myriads (600,000 people) as it says "and he (Moshe) ground it (the golden calf)to powder etc." and now his hands became weak !! " Rabbi Diamond said that it is only comparable to the eigel, golden calf, if he was expected to act and didn't, and if he originally didn't know, why would it say that his hands became weak (that's only a good expression if they expected him to do it).
This seems like a pretty good answer.
Take care.
Rabbi Flom

In your response to RebbecaH

[QUOTE!! However it was in order that Pinchas should come and take what was his (become a Kohen)"

[/QUOTE]
Dear Rabbi Flom
I thought that you can't BECOME a Kohen. Does that mean there's hope for me yet?
Sincerely,
Mark

Dear Mark,
I didn't see anyone who asks your question, but as the old joke goes, maybe Hashem made him a Kohen, because his father was one!!!
Let me explain. As Rashi says (25:12)"even though the Kehuna (Priesthood) was given to Aharon and his sons who were annointed with him, and afterwards their offspring would automatically be Kohanim, since Pinchas was already born but not annointed, he wasn't a Kohen." ie. You had to be annointed as a Kohen (which he wasn't) or born to someone who was annointed (and he was born before his father was annointed).The question is WHY wasn't he annointed? There are a number of answers, I'll mention the Gur Aryeh's (the Maharal of Prague's commentary on Rashi).Since Pinchas was under Bar Mitzva at the time of the annointing he was ineligible to be annointed. Since we see that Hashem never rewarded anyone else with Kehuna, I would imagine that Pinchas got that reward since the rest of his family were Kohanim. If your father wasn't a Kohen, even if you do great things, don't expect to become a Kohen.
Besides the Kohen jokes, did you hear the story of Rav Shimon Schwab zt"l and the Chofetz Chaim zt"l? The Chofetz Chaim asked Rav Schwab if he was a Kohen. When Rav Schwab said "no" the Chofetz Chaim asked "why". He said because his father wasn't, to which the Chofetz Chaim asked "why". When Rav Schwab said that his father wasn't, the Chofetz Chaim said, "I'll tell you why I am a Kohen--after the sin of the golden calf--when Moshe said (Shemos 32:26)'Who will join with me for the sake of G-d', my great grandfather said "Me".(Hashem made the tribe of Levi, the special tribe, when all of them joined Moshe.)
Take care.
Chaim Flom

quote:

(Hashem made the tribe of Levi, the special tribe, when all of them joined Moshe.)

Can we not trace back the special status of the Tibe of Levi further back?

For example in Egypt, wasn't Levi exempt from servitude to Pharoah?

Does the Midrash also report that Levi maintained Bris Milah even while leaving Egypt (with a mention of the "healing East wind"), and in the desert (but which would be after this event quoted)?

Dear Rob,
Thanks for your question.You are correct, the tribe of Levi was "special" even before the golden calf. I used the word "special" because I didn't want to say "priests", but you are right, I should have said "born with special sanctity to do certain Temple related jobs".
Getting down to your real point, what was special about shevet Levi before the golden calf? According to the Daas Zekainim (Shemos 32:26) and Ramban (Shemos 5:4) the tribe of Levi wasn't subject to slavery in Egypt because they were just involved in learning and teaching Torah. (And therefore all the work incentives that Bnai Yisroel did that was the forerunner of their slavery, never involved Shevet Levi.}
Because of their involvement with Torah, that is (one possible reason) why they had the strength to keep away from the golden calf and have the mesiras nefesh to do Bris Milah in the desert when others didn't. After the golden calf, they had a special born holiness and were given the "job" of working in the Temple, which would have been done by the first-borns (bechor). (It could be that the sacrifices brought before Matan Torah was brought by the first-born.)
Thanks again for your very excellent observation. Take care.
Chaim Flom

quote:

Originally posted by Rabbi Flom:
Parshas Pinchas

"It's terrible that those people cheated like that!"
"Why didn't you tell them not to do it?? They would have listened to you."

G-d said to Moshe "Therefore, say: Behold ! I (G-d) give him (Pinchas) My covenant of peace". (After Pinchas stopped the Jews from sinning, and consequently, G-d stopped the plague against them.) Rav Yitzchok Volozhin zt"l , quoted by the Netziv, said that G-d had Moshe tell this to Pinchas, as a subtle rebuke to Moshe for not stopping the sinning himself.

"All Jews are responsible for each other." (Gemara Shavuos 39a)

Have a great Shabbos !!

Rabbi Chaim Flom

There is a Chidush that I hearad in a Shiur, that allways catched my attention in regrads to Parshat Pinchas.

We know that Pinchas, as a result of his zelous act got the "Berit Shalom" from "Bore Olam" but
you don't give a peace prize to somebody that killed two human beeings, you can dispense punisment if he was justified but to give him a peace price!

The explanation is that in the episode of Pinchas, Zimri and Cosbi a disagreement was evident. Zimri that was no other than Shelumiel Ben Shurishaday, the Nasi of the Tribe of Shimon, -not precisely a young and inexperienced man-, commited this lujurious act not because of passion, but because he sincerely tought that a way to make "Kidush Hashem" was marrying gentile ladies and convincing them to profess our Jewish belives.

Obviously Moshe and Aron where angry and Pinchas showed his disagriment through his behaviour, but Hashem was very angry too, and Pinchas through his act was able to calm the anger of Hasem and the Plague stoped, we see then, that Pinchas made peace between Hasehem and Clal Israel, that is why the "Berit Shalom was given to him.

But the fact that makes us derive a tremendous learning is that if we see close we have in one side the Nasi of the Tribe of Shimon -Zimri- and Pinchas from the Tribe of Levy.

Shimon and Levy where partners in Schechem, when they took revenge against the violator of Dinah and his people, an act of zelousness, that was coursed by Jacob Avinu, and here we find them again in the same zelous context.

But now there is a difference, Levy -Pinchas- is in the right side and Shimon =Zimri- in the wrong one, Why?

We now that the the tribe of Levy during the Egipt enslavement was devoted to Torah Study and it was precisely this fact that made Pinchas react accuratly winding in the right side, leaving Zimri in the wrong one.

This shows us that Torah study makes the hole difference on life and of course in Olam Haba.

The only thing that I regret is that I can remember who was the autor of this Chidush if somone knows please, give Him the credit that He deserves.

Dear Mousa,
Quote "The explanation is that in the episode of Pinchas, Zimri and Cosbi a disagreement was evident. Zimri that was no other than Shelumiel Ben Shurishaday, the Nasi of the Tribe of Shimon, -not precisely a young and inexperienced man-, commited this lujurious act not because of passion, but because he sincerely tought that a way to make "Kidush Hashem" was marrying gentile ladies and convincing them to profess our Jewish belives."
end quote
The law of " haboel aramis", which Zimri violated and Pinchas killed him for, means having "physical relations" in front of 10 Jewish males over Bar Mitzva: It doesn't sound like he was giving her an Ohr Sameach lecture!!
Take care.
Rabbi Flom

Quote
"The explanation is that in the episode of Pinchas, Zimri and Cosbi a disagreement was evident. Zimri that was no other than Shelumiel Ben Shurishaday, the Nasi of the Tribe of Shimon, -not precisely a young and inexperienced man-, commited this lujurious act not because of passion, but because he sincerely tought that a way to make "Kidush Hashem" was marrying gentile ladies and convincing them to profess our Jewish belives."
end of quote
Dear Mousa,
I wrote you yesterday that it certainly doesn't seem like Zimri acted "lishma" (for the sake of Heaven). I never found a Chazal or Rishonim who say that he acted lishma,[we DO find ideas in Chazal and Rishonim about the "spies", Tzelophchad, and the "golden calf" being lishma, but not by Zimri] but today I found out that the "Ishbitzer" (the author of the Mei Shiloach) DOES say that Zimri was lishma. Rav Chaim Sanz wrote very strong words to the Ishbitzer against this pshat, but he stuck with it.
Since I didn't read the Mei Shiloach itself, but another sefer that "brought it down", I don't really know what the lishma was.
Take care.
Chaim Flom