וירא בלק... את כל אשר עשה ישראל לאמרי... וירא פינחס... ויקם מתוך העדה...
Our parsha begins with one re’iyah, observation, and closes with another re’iyah. Balak opens the parsha with Va’yaar Balak ben Tzippor, “And Balak ben Tzippor saw.” Pinchas, heir to the Priestly throne of his grandfather Aharon HaKohen, concludes the parsha with his re’iyah, Vayaar Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen va’yakom mitoch ha’eidah, va’yikach romach b’yado, “And Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen saw, and he stood up from amid the assembly and took a spear in his hand” (25:7).We understand that, whenever the Torah states that someone “saw,” it is important to explain what in particular caught his attention….
