Pinhas (Num 25:10-30:1)

My Heroes Had the Heart

            Pinhas is named for a priest, who plays an integral role in saving the Israelite people from themselves. Though the parasha starts out at chapter 25, verse 10, one must begin at the beginning of chapter 25 to get the gist. The Israelites have begun having relations with the Moabite women, which led to the worship of a Moabite god. The L-rd called for the guilty heads of Israel to be impaled. An Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into his chamber in front of everyone. Pinhas then kills both the man and woman. 24,000 died in the plague, but because of Pinhas’ bravery, the Israelites were not wiped out. Readers, sometimes we have to be the change we want to see in the world.

Balak (22:2-25:9)

We Are Family

            Balak, this week’s parasha, tells the tale of a man named Baalam. Baalam is sent by Balak, king of Moab, to put a curse on the Israelites. Baalam disobeys the L-rd and attempts to depart with the Moabites. Hashem leads Baalam’s donkey to stop and speaks through it. Baalam ends up blessing the children of Israel.

            The ancient rabbis’ interpreted Baalam’s name as “without a people.” One without a people or family may seek out acceptance that could lead to camaraderie any way they can get it. This may have lead Baalam to be willing to curse a group of nomads that he didn’t know. But Hashem always has a plan; a curse became a blessing, which became the basis for the “Mah Tovu” portion in the liturgy. During Shavuot, we read the story of another Moabite, who became a blessing to our people. Without Ruth, there would have been no King David. What blessing will you bring?

Hukkat (Num 19:1-22:1)

Nefesh B’Nefesh

            This week’s parasha is Hukkat, known for the law of the red cow. Its [the cow] ashes are used for cleansing. This brings me to the point I’d like to touch on. One who is near a corpse, whether touching it or just in its vicinity, becomes unclean. In order to become clean again, another person who is clean must sprinkle the ashes and water on the unclean person on the third day and on the seventh day. The “sprinkler” will then be unclean until the evening. This parasha shows two things to me: We all need aid sometimes and sometimes we have to lower ourselves for a little to help others.

Korah (16:1-18:32)

Let It Be

            This week’s parasha, Korah, is named after a Levite, who, along with 250 other Israelites, attempted to rise up against Moses. They felt it was unfair that Moses and Aaron had the positions that they did. Moses had them take fire pans with incense and put them before the L-rd. The outcome was the earth swallowing Korah, his people, and their possessions. A fire consumed the 250 lackeys.

           We all know someone or maybe even a few people who just don’t like you, whether it be jealousy or something else. You can’t please them no matter what. But if you notice, Moses doesn’t argue, doesn’t stoop to their level. He immediately falls to his knees and goes to Hashem. We too should not let people like Korah break us, just turn to the L-rd. “Do not be vexed by evil men; do not be incensed by wrongdoers; for soon they wither like grass, like verdure fade away (Ps 37:1-2)