Bamidbar / Num. 25:10 – 29:40 (30:1)
Haftarah of affliction: Yermiyahu / Jer. 1:1-2:3
Brit Hadashah: Yohanán / Jn. 2:13-22
Pinchas means “snake’s mouth”.
Summary of the Parashah Bamidbar / Num. 25:10-30:1
The grandson of Aaron, Pinchas, is rewarded for his act of lattice by killing the prince of the tribe of Shimon, Zimrí along with the Princess Madianita, Cazbí.
HaShem granted him a peace covenant and the Kehunah / Priesthood.
A second census of the people is made that has 601,730 men between 20 and 60 years old.
Moses is instructed on how he should divide the Land among the tribes and families of Israel through a lottery.
The five daughters of Tzlafjad ask Moses to grant them the portion of land that belongs to their father, who dies childless.
HaShem accepts your request and incorporates it into the inheritance laws of the Torah.
Moses bequeaths power into the hands of Yehoshua to succeed him and introduce the people, to the Land of Israel.
The section concludes with a detailed list of daily offerings (Chap.28-29).
The additional offerings brought in Shabbat, on Rosh Chodesh/head or beginning of the month, and the festivities of Passover/Passover, Shavuot/Pentecost, Yom Teruah or Day of Sounding the Shofar, also called Rosh Hashanah/head or beginning of the Year, Andom Kippur/Day of Atonement, Sukkot / Tabernacles and Shemini Atzeret / literally the “Eighth Day of Assembly”.
Thus begins our parashat this week, Bamidbar / Num 25:10-11:
וַיְדַבֵּר יְהוָה אֶל־מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹֽר׃
פִּֽינְחָס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן הֵשִׁיב אֶת־חֲמָתִי מֵעַל בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקַנְאֹו אֶת־קִנְאָתִי בְּתֹוכָם וְלֹא־כִלִּיתִי אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקִנְאָתִֽי׃
Vayedaber Adonay el-Moshe lemor.
Pinjas ben-El’azar ben-Aharon hakohen heshiv et-jamati me’al beney-Yisra’el bekan’o et-kin’ati betojam velo-jiliti et-beney-Yisra’el bekin’ati.
10 The Lord said to Moses, 11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites. Since he was as zealous for my honor among them as I am, I did not put an end to them in my zeal.
1st Commentary (Bamidbar / No. 25:17-18)
“Harass the Midianites and wound them; for they have been hostile to you with their deceptions, with which they deceived you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cazbí, daughter of the chief of Midian, his sister, who was killed on the day of the plague because of Peor.”
Why so much radicalism?
The Midianites had committed a more serious sin than the Moabites because they lived farther away and had no logical reason to get into the matter.
The fact that the Moabites had tried to harm the people of Israel is understandable from their fear (22:3).
That is why HaShem did not command the children of Israel to attack the Moabites.
But the Midianites had harmed the people of Israel for no reason.
That is why this revenge of HaShem came upon them through his people.
We do not know how many, of the sons of Israel, had fornicated with the daughters of Moav and Midian.
It is not only the fact of sinning that produces Hashem’s judgment on the people but also the silence and passivity of others.
Passivity in the face of the sin of the brethren is one of the most harmful things for the people.
If we do not rebuke those who insist on sinning, we will be considered accomplices with them, and the judgment will also reach us by our silence.
With those who defend their sin, you must be very severe, but with those who repent, you must be very merciful.
We cannot take lightly the sin of fornication.
It is a very serious matter.
It is forbidden to have intimate relations outside the marriage covenant.
He who commits these sins has no inheritance in the coming Kingdom.
If we allow people living in fornication into our communities, we will also be judged for our passivity in the face of sin.
In 1 Corinthians 10:8, it is written that 23,000 fell in one day because of fornication.
Obviously, the sin of fornication was more widespread than idolatry itself.
The people of Israel lived with very high morale.
Family purity was very important, and no acts of fornication or adultery were committed in the village.
That is not done in Israel (B’reshit / Gen. 34:7).
The minds and consciences of the Israelites were programmed to reject fornication.
That is why when a chief comes and presents an idolatrous foreign woman, in public and introduces her into his shop, to fornicate with her in front of the whole town, it was something extremely very serious.
That is not done in Israel or among the elect from among the nations.
If one gets used to fornication and does not consider it a grave sin, it is because one’s mind and conscience have been perverted by the spirit of this evil world.
How are you going to allow your daughter to sleep with her boyfriend before marrying her?
And if at any point you think you can live together without being married, you need to regret having accepted something that HaShem doesn’t.
It is not allowed to have intimate relations without a marriage pact between man and woman!
If we do not consider good, just, and correct what Pinchas did when he pierced Zimri and Cazbi with a spear, then our minds have not been renewed according to the Torah and we think the opposite of what HaShem thinks.
What Pinchas did was good in Hashem’s eyes, and he was greatly rewarded for his act of having executed idolatrous fornicators with the zeal of Heaven.
Why so much radicalism?
To save the people from destruction.
A little yeast, leaven all the dough (Gal.5:9) and you must cut with these things so that the righteous do not disappear from the world.
We are talking about how to deal with the sinner who insists on his rebellion.
Another thing is when one falls out of weakness and then abhors sin and repents.
HaShem is very merciful to the weak and forgives those who repent.
Even if we fall many times and repent again, he forgives us.
However, if we fall into fornication, it is usually because we do not understand the gravity of sin.
If you knew you would get AIDS when you committed fornication, would you?
We see that fear of consequences prevents sin.
If there is no fear, the sinner keeps falling and falling, thinking that his sin is not so serious.
Fornication is serious!
Severe judgment comes upon those who do not truly repent of their fornication, as written in Colossians 3:5-7:
“Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to fornication, impurity, passions, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry. For the wrath of HaShem will come upon the children of disobedience because of these things, in which you also walked in another time when you lived in them.”
In Ephesians 5:3-7 it is written:
“But let immorality, and all impurity or greed, not even be mentioned among you, as befits the saints; no obscenities, no foolishness, no rudeness, which is not appropriate, but rather thanksgiving. For you certainly know this: that no immoral, unclean, or miserly, who is idolatrous, has an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and HaShem. Let no one deceive you with vain words, for because of these things the wrath of HaShem comes upon the children of disobedience. Therefore, do not be involved with them.”
In 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 it is written:
“Or do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of HaShem? Do not be deceived: neither the immoral, nor the idolaters, nor the adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor the homosexuals, nor the thieves, nor the misers, nor the drunkards, nor the slanderers, nor the swindlers will inherit the kingdom of HaShem. And this was some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Adon Yeshua the Messiah and in the Ruach of our Elohim.”
2nd Comment Bamidbar / Num. 26:44
“The sons of Asher according to their families: of Imna, the family of the Imnites; of Isui, the family of the Isuites; of Beria, the family of the Beriaites.”
What is the secret of the preservation of the Jewish people?
In the parashah – פרשה, section – of this week the word Mishpoja – משפחה, family, clan – appears more than 80 times.
The people of Israel are the people of families.
The family is the basis for its preservation.
Every culture and people that have introduced corruption into the family has disappeared into history.
The preservation of the family and fidelity in the marriage covenant is one of the most fundamental things in the holy people.
As the family disintegrates, the village will disappear.
The Hebrew text introduces a repetition after the main names of each family (Chap. 26).
26:5 Re’uven bejor Yisra’el beney Re’uven Janoj mishpajat haJanoji le-Falu mishpajat haPalu’i.
5 The descendants of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were: through Hanok, the Hanokite clan; through Pallu, the Palluite clan;
26:6 Le-Jetsron mishpajat haJetsroni le-Jarmi mishpajat haKarmi.
6 through Hezron, the Hezronite clan; through Karmi, the Karmite clan.
First comes the name and then the letter hey –ה – is added at the beginning and the yud – י– at the end of each name.
The hey is the definite article and the final yud transforms the noun into an adjective.
The two letters yud and hey are the first two letters of the Sacred Name.
Sometimes only these two letters appear as an abbreviation of the Sacred name.
We find an example in the word hallulla, which is composed of the two words hallellu – meaning praise, and yá or yah – which are the first two letters of the Holy Name.
By putting his Name around every family in Israel, HaShem wanted to show that each of them belonged to him.
But not only that, His Name is placed behind and in front of each family name, giving us to understand that He kept each family in, or within His Name.
He was behind and in front of them and put his own stamp on each of them.
This is also a sign, as the Midrash says, that the Egyptians had not raped women when they were slaves, but that each family had maintained its purity so that it could be counted as children of every father in the holy people.
The letter yud represents the masculine and the letter hey represents the feminine.
The two letters at the beginning and end of each family name show the union between the father and mother for the formation of that family.
The fact that the hey – the feminine – comes at the beginning of family names can be interpreted, according to the Talmud, as mothers were put first to highlight their merits for having been faithful and maintained sexual purity in Egypt.
In Psalm 122:4b it is written: “the tribes of Adonai”
Where only the first two letters of the Sacred Name appear, “the tribes of YAH (יה)”.
The tribes of Israel were dedicated to HaShem by families and so Su Name has been put as an ornament around the name of each family.
The name Imana, or Yimna – ימנה – that appears in this verse, already has the two letters of the Sacred Name at the beginning and at the end from its birth.
That is why the Torah does not add the two letters in the name of the family, but only hey it at the beginning – הימנה – to honor the faithfulness of his mother.
HaShem camps around the person and family who have given themselves to him, as written in Mizmor/Psalm 34:7:
“The angel of Adonai camps around those who fear him and rescues them.”
In the Mizmor / Psalm 139:5 it is written:
“Behind and in front you have surrounded me, and your hand you put on me.”
In Yohanan / Jn. 17:12 it is written:
“When I was with them, I kept them in your name, the name you gave me; and I kept them and none was lost, except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.”
Blessed be Adonai who has put his Name around our family!
3rd Comment Bamidbar / Num. 27:5)
“And Moses presented his case before Elohim.”
Why did Moses consult with the Eternal?
The four daughters of Tselofjad had no brother who could obtain the inheritance in the promised land that corresponded to their father, according to the first census.
That is why they presented the case to Moses and the other heads of the congregation requesting the right of the plot that would correspond to their father.
Instead of passing a sentence directly, Moses went to consult with HaShem.
You knew that the rabbis discuss whether he knew the answer or whether he had forgotten the halacha or simply whether he presented the case to HaShem so as not to embarrass the lower judges who had not been able to answer the sisters.
In any case, consulting HaShem was a sign of humility.
The proud wants to give an answer, even if it is not correct, only to appear wise.
The shameful, who does not know what to answer, answer anything so as not to have to acknowledge his ignorance.
The humble recognizes that he does not know, and if he knows, he does not mind asking once again and appearing ignorant, because he does not seek the approval of men, nor is he moved by the shame of not knowing or by the desire to show how much he knows, but by a deep love for the truth and the care of others.
Yehoshua made the grave mistake of not consulting with HaShem before making an important decision (Josh. 9).
If he had followed the example of Moses’ humility, what happened to the Gibeonites would not have happened.
We must learn to consult with HaShem before making decisions, even if they are trivial.
Let us humble and present everything before our heavenly Father, asking for the right impulses and the right inspiration and the wisdom and intelligence necessary to be able to make the right decisions and do things right.
“For all who are guided by the Ruach of Elohim, such are sons of HaShem.” Rom. 8:14
4th Comment Bamidbar / Num. 27:18
Y Adonay dijo a Moisés: Toma a Josué, hijo de Nun, hombre en quien está el Ruaj / Espíritu, y pon tu mano sobre él”.
“And Adonai said to Moses, Take Joshua, son of Nun, a man in whom is the Ruach / Spirit, and put your hand on him.”
Joshua, son of whom?
Moses was the first redeemer who with the help of HaShem managed to bring the people out of the slavery of Egypt.
But he could not complete the work and introduce the people to the promised land.
Su sucesor Yehoshúa tenía que terminar la obra que Moshé había empezado.
His successor Yehoshua had to finish the work that Moses had begun.
Lo que Moshé no podía hacer Yehoshúa lo hizo.
What Moses could not do, Yehoshua did.
El nombre Yeshúa es la abreviación de Yehoshúa.
The name Yeshua is short for Yehoshua.
Para la redención final Moshé no es suficiente, hace falta también Yeshúa.
For the final redemption, Moses is not enough, Yeshua is also needed.
He who only follows Moses /Torah will come to the tomb, but he who follows Moses /Torah and Yeshua, who continued Moses’ work, will pass from this world to the world to come with eternal life.
Yehoshúa was the son of Nun – נון.
Nun means to sprout, sprout, propagate, remain, and continue.
His father’s name is also the name of the letter nun – נ.
Nun is the 14th letter of the Hebrew.
The meaning of the letter nun is spermatozoon, and its number is 50.
The number 50 is the number of redemptions.
There were 50 days between the departure from Egypt until the giving of the Torah at Sinai when the first part of the first redemption was completed.
The number 50 also speaks of the jubilee year which is the great feast of the final redemption.
The numerical value, that is, the sum of the numerical value of each letter, of the Hebrew word ha-gueulá – הגאולה, redemption – is precisely 50.
The letter nun is the letter of the Messiah.
One of the names of the Messiah is Yinon, which comes from the letter nun and means, “he will reign.”
It is taken from the Mizmor / Psalm 72:17 where it is written:
“Let his name be forever; may his name be enlarged as long as the sun lasts, and men may be blessed by him; call him blessed all nations.”
The Hebrew text literally says: לפני שמש ינון שמו – lifnei shemesh yino shemo – before the sun his name will remain (existed), or: before (d) the sun his name is Yinon.
Each Hebrew letter has a number and when writing a word numbers are also written.
The three Hebrew letters of the name David – דוד – add up to 14 (dalet, vav, and dalet, 4+6+4=14, cf. Matt. 1:17).
That way there is a relationship between Yehoshua son of Nun and David.
The Messiah son of David is the future redeemer and eternal Rey of Israel, and his name is Yehoshua/Yeshua.
The name Nun – נון – has two nuns, one at the beginning and one at the end.
The first redemption is represented by the first nun and the final redemption is represented by the final nun.
Between the two nuns there is a vav, which is the letter 6 and symbolizes man, who was created on the sixth day, and which is the main purpose for the two redemptions.
The final nun goes down below the line which teaches us that the final redemption will come below the earth causing the resurrection of the dead.
Yehoshua ben Nun was the one who finished the work in the first redemption.
His name holds the secret of the second Redeemer who will bring about the final and complete redemption for the people of Israel and the entire world.
Blessed are those who await you in him!
Shabbat Shalom Mishpochah!