This week's parsha

Unless otherwise noted, "This week's Parsha" comprises articles taken from contributors to the Chabad.org website. We show the original author's name here, so that proper attribution is given. For the sake of brevity, footnotes cited in the original author's writings are omitted from this website. If you need to see the citations, please refer to the original articles on the Chabad.org website.

A Timely Yahrtzeit

Published: 16 July 2012 | Written by Naftali Silberberg

In the concluding portion of the Book Numbers, Moses chronicles the forty-two journeys that the Israelites traveled in the desert -- while en route from Egypt to the Promised Land. For the most part the list is very concise -- "They traveled from X and camped in Y; they traveled from Y and camped in Z..." -- omitting the events that transpired in the areas where they camped. For example, the Sinai Desert stopover is mentioned without reference to the giving of the Torah that occurred there. There are, however, several exceptions, where the list is interrupted to point out an event that occurred at a particular location. One of these exceptions is the encampment at Mount Hor:

"They journeyed from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, at the edge of the land of Edom. Aaron the High Priest ascended Mount Hor at G-d's behest and died there, on the first day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year of the Children of Israel's exodus from Egypt" -- Numbers 33:38.

Uphill Battles

Published: 12 July 2012 | Written by Naftali Silberberg

This week's Torah portion begins with the reward which Phinehas received for his act of bravery -- meting out punishment to Zimri ben Salu who was openly contemptuous of Moses and was cohabiting with a Midianite woman. Zimri was the chieftain of the Tribe of Shimon, who were staunchly loyal to their leader. Thus Phinehas' act was fraught with danger. The Talmud speaks of the various miracles which occurred on that day which allowed Phinehas to emerge unscathed from Zimri's tent.

Phinehas' act wasn't too rational. He was the proverbial man in Tiananmen Square standing in front of the approaching column of tanks. His chances of success were minimal, but he was merely following the example of the very first Jew. Abraham was a young man in Ur, living amongst a pagan society, when he started preaching a philosophy of monotheism. This was before our Founding Fathers invented revolutionary concepts such as the freedoms of Speech and Religion, and the dictatorial tyrant Nimrod was decidedly displeased with the nuisance Abraham was creating. In fact, Abraham was called the "Ivri" (Hebrew), which means "from the other side," because the entire world was on one side while he, with his monotheistic beliefs, was on the other side. But Abraham didn't flinch because he knew that he was doing the right thing.

Balak's Bad Day

Published: 03 July 2012 | Written by Levi Avtzon

Moses was having a bad day. He was about to wage war against Og, king of the Bashanites, and he was afraid. After all, Og had long ago done a favor for Abraham, informing him of his nephew Lot's kidnapping, and Moses was afraid that this good deed would stand Og in good stead and turn the tide of victory against the Jewish people.

Although afraid "in his heart," Moses put on a brave face. "Righteous people are in control of their hearts." There was nothing to gain by sharing his worries with the people, so he kept them to himself.

The result: the Jewish people were calm and relaxed and were, indeed, victorious in battle.

On the flip side:

Balak was having a bad day. The Moab State Department had just sent him a memo that the two mighty kings in the region, Og and Sichon, had been defeated and killed by the invading Hebrews. "And Balak saw all that the Jews have done to the Emorites."