If it looks like a grab-bag of topics in the Parasha, look again. There are five parts of the Parasha -- the reward of Pinchas, the counting of the Jews, the story of the daughters of Tzalafchad, the appointment of Yehoshua, and the run-down of the extra offerings for the holidays. They all have one thing in common: the theme of substitution, or succession. The Parasha is about the transition that has taken place in the final year...Read more...
It’s easy in this Parasha to think of Mister Ed. Or Charlotte’s Web. I’ve never spoken much about the donkey but there’s something pretty revealing in her few lines.
When Hashem opens her mouth, the donkey says what anyone would say, “What are you doing to me?” But she goes on -- “that you’ve hit me three times.” That’s how it has been translated, both in the ancient translation in Aramaic and...Read more...
One of the ways to figure out the significance of the beginning of this Parasha is to look, as with real estate, at its location. The Mitzva of the red heifer seems quite out of place. It should be among the other atonement sacrifices in the book of Vayikra and not here. There are barely any Halachic pronouncements in the book of Bamidbar, and certainly even fewer which don’t seem to be linked to anything that is happening in...Read more...
