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ויאיר בן מנשה הלך וילכד את חותיהם ויקרא אתהן חוות יאיר. ונבח הלך וילכד את קנת ואת בנתיה ויקרא לה נבח בשמו

Yair ben Menashe, went and conquered their villages and called them Chavos Yair. Novach went and conquered Kenas and its suburbs, and called it Novach after his own name. (32:41,42)

Yair had no children to carry on his name. Therefore, after conquering the villages, he named them after himself as a memorial. Everyone wants to be remembered. Indeed, after having lived a mortal life replete with many achievements, all that is left are memories – memories of the individual. He is gone, but his memory lives on. It is up to each and every one of us to decide, by the way we act, how we want to be remembered. Sadly, for some, when we wake up to this realization, it is too late. Novach also conquered villages. He, too,…

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ויקצף משה על פקודי החיל...ויאמר אליהם משה החייתם כל נקבה

Moshe was angry with the commanders of the army…Moshe said to them, “Did you let every female live?” (31:14,15)

Moshe Rabbeinu was angry with the officers of his army for not following his orders. They spared the Midyanite women, despite their involvement in inciting the orgies which catalyzed the plague that brought death to so many Jews. Upon reading the pesukim, one may question why Moshe’s name is repeated in his rebuke. The Torah said that Moshe became angry. Obviously, he was the one rebuking the officers. Why did the Torah mention his name again? The commentators explain that Moshe did not immediately rebuke them out of anger. He waited a short while until his anger subsided and then…

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נקם נקמת בני ישראל מאת המדינים

Take vengeance for the Bnei Yisrael… against the Midyanim. (31:2)

The Torah seems to underscore the number of soldiers involved in the war of vengeance against Midyan. It then makes a point to detail how much booty was taken after the war. Veritably, numbers do not seem to play a role in the parshios, other than the parshios which deal with the census of the Jewish nation. In this case, however, the size of the army and the amount of booty apparently maintain a significant position in the parsha. Horav Arye Leib Heyman, zl, suggests that the key to the role of numbers in the parsha is to be found…

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