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And let the assembly of Hashem not be like sheep that have no shepherd. (27:17)

Moshe pleads with Hashem to name his successor who would lead Bnei Yisrael.  In closing,  he entreats Hashem not to permit Bnei Yisrael to be left without  leadership.  One would think that in the desert the Jewish People  were bereft of competent leadership.  True, Moshe would be gone,  but he left behind him those who learned leadership skills directly from him: Yehoshua, his student par excellence;  Pinchas,  the zealot who had the courage to stand up to a nasi who had publicly desecrated Hashem’s Name; Elazar,  the son of Aharon HaKohen, the Kohen Gadol who was the paradigm of sanctity; …

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And one male of the goats for a sin-offering to Hashem. (28:15)

It is interesting to note that the word chatas, sin-offering, is followed by,  “l’Hashem,” to Hashem, a term  which is not used anywhere else in the Torah.  The he-goats of the Korban Mussaf were brought to atone for sins involving tumah, ritual contamination. When an individual  was tamei he either entered the Bais Hamikdash or ate kodoshim, sacrificial meat to offer his sacrifice.  Rashi explains that the addition of the word “l’Hashem”  indicates the extent of error on the part of the tamei person.  He was unaware either before or afterwards that he was tamei. Only Hashem knew of the…

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May Hashem… appoint a man over the assembly. Who shall go out before them and come in before them who shall take them out and who shall bring them in. (27:16,17)

The Jewish leader must possess the following  two qualities:  He must be strong, ready  to lead his people into battle —  not cowering  in the rear lines.  He must also take a stand on Jewish issues, even if his position is not a popular one.  When he sees the people veering from daas Torah, the perspective of Torah for our lives, then he must protest vehemently. He must  do everything within his power to prevent their deviation. He must go “lifneihem,” before them, he must lead – not be led.  He must do what is right,  even if the people…

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And it shall be for him and his offspring after him a covenant of eternal Priesthood. (25:13)

In the Talmud Zevachim 101a, Chazal tell us that Pinchas did not become a Kohen, member of the Priesthood, until he killed Zimri. Hashem gave the Kehunah only  to Aharon  and his sons, who were anointed at the same time.  The offspring to be born to these sons after the anointing would be Kohanim.  Pinchas, who was neither anointed nor born afterwards, was therefore not included in the Kehunah.  This Chazal raises a number of questions.  First, why was Pinchas not anointed?  Second, when Pinchas became a Kohen, his kedushah – sanctity – was unique.  It was not kedushas Aharon;…

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He was jealous for My sake among them. (25:11)

Pinchas’ act of zealousness was pure, motivated by his desire to avenge the desecration of Hashem’s Name.  He executed his deed, unaware of the identity of his victims or who witnessed   his zealous act.  He  focused only on one thing – to put an end to the public humiliation of Hashem and His leadership.  What gave Pinchas the courage to act in this manner?  While his intentions were certainly noble, only  a uniquely inspired person can achieve what Pinchas did.  What is the source of that inspiration? In a departure from the usual interpretation of the word, “b’socham,” “among…

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