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He leaned his hands upon him and commanded him. (27:23)

Yehoshua merited becoming Moshe Rabbeinu’s successor – a designation that eluded the most  astute and most  brilliant of the nation’s leadership.  Apparently, Yehoshua possessed qualities which gave him precedence over the others. What was it about Yehoshua that distinguished him so? Indeed, Moshe was great from day one. His birth illuminated the entire house. There is no question that from the time of his entry into this world, Moshe was above everyone. The commentators do not seem to feel this way concerning Yehoshua. Indeed, some even feel that he was not worthy of the appellation, ben Torah. His relationship vis-à-vis…

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Only by lot shall the land be divided; according to the names of their fathers’ tribes shall they inherit. According to the lot shall one’s inheritance be divided between the many and the few. (26:55,56)

The land was divided by a system which clearly treats the land as an estate left by the preceding generation,  the yotzei Mitzrayim,  Jews who participated  in  the  Egyptian exodus. Each of the fathers of those who left Egypt was designated to receive a portion in the Holy Land equivalent to the number of grandsons twenty years of age and older who would eventually enter Eretz Yisrael. This estate could be inherited only by those of the sons who were more than twenty years old when they left Egypt. These sons, in turn, could bequeath the land to those of…

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When he zealously avenged My vengeance among them. (25:11)

Pinchas was acting according to halachah: Bo’el aramis kana’im pogin bo, “One who cohabits with  a gentile,  zealots  may strike him.”  If so, why is he referred  to  as a kanai, zealot? He was just doing what any other observant Jew would/should have done. Indeed, Chazal imply that Hashem chastised Moshe Rabbeinu for remaining passive during the moral outrage that took place. As a result, Moshe’s gravesite remains unknown to us. Chazal derive from here that one must be “bold as a leopard, as nimble as an eagle, as swift as a deer, and as mighty as a lion in executing…

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When he zealously avenged My vengeance among them. (25:11)

Kana’us, zealousness, is not a trait that one should exhibit indiscriminately. Pinchas exemplifies the true kanai, zealot. He acts definitively for the sake of the community, placing the needs of the klal, congregation, above his own safety and reputation. The kanai is not lauded; dinners  are not rendered in his honor, nor does he have  a large  group  of friends. People are actually afraid of him, never knowing where and when he will strike; what will anger him; what he will see that is wrong. The kanai lives in a select circle, revered by those who understand his value to the…

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