Transcript
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Hello children. In the previous Torah
portion, we told you about the Jewish
people who began to associate with
Moabitete women and worship idols. And
because of that, a terrible plague broke
out that killed thousands of people. And
thanks to the brave act that Pinhas did,
the plague stopped. Pinhas, the son of
Alazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw
how Zimri from the tribe of Shimon, took
a Midianite woman in front of everyone
and wanted to marry her. Pinhas could
not tolerate this great desecration of
God's name. He took a spear and killed
them both at once. It's important to
understand that Pinhas didn't just kill
Zimry and Cosby for no reason, but
because the Torah commanded that anyone
who commits a sin with a Midianite woman
should be punished. And therefore back
then when there was a bait den a court
that's exactly what needed to be done.
God was very pleased with Pinhaza's act
of zealatry. Why? Because Pinhaz did it
not out of anger or a desire to harm but
because he couldn't stand to see God's
honor being disgraced. This is called
seal for the sake of heaven. And what a
wonderful reward Pinhaw received from
God. God said to him, "Behold, I give
you my covenant of peace." He was
granted a covenant of peace because his
goal was to bring peace to the Jewish
people. Eli Yahu the prophet is
considered the angel of the covenant and
is present at every circumcision
ceremony held among the Jewish people.
After the plague stopped, God said to
Moshe and to Elazar the priest, "Let's
count the entire Jewish nation again
because soon they will enter the land of
Israel, and we need to know how many
people are in each tribe in order to
divide the land fairly."
What a huge census that was. They
counted all the men aged 20 and above
who were able to go out to war. And what
did they find out? Altogether there were
601,730
men. The tribe of Yehuda was the largest
tribe with 76,500
men. The tribe of Shimon was the
smallest with 22,200
men. Why was the tribe of Shimon so
small? Because many of them took part in
the sin with the Moabitete women.
Something very interesting. The entire
generation that left Egypt had already
died in the desert just as God had
decreed after the sin of the spies. Now
there were only two people from that
generation that remained alive. Yahosua
and Khalv. They both didn't participate
in the sin of the spies. Now I'll tell
you about one of the most moving events
in the portion. Five wise and brave
sisters from the tribe of Manasha came
to Moshe with a problem. Their names
were Makla, Noah, Hogla, Mila, and Tsa.
The five girls were the daughters of
Sloth Hadad. Sloth had died in the
desert, and he had no sons, only
daughters. According to the law at that
time, only sons could inherit a portion
in the land of Israel. So, what would
happen to the five daughters? They would
be left without an inheritance. Though
the daughters didn't give up, they came
to Moshe and said, "Why should our
father's name disappear from the family
just because he had no sons? Give us an
inheritance in the land of Israel."
Moshe didn't know how to answer. He
hadn't received any instruction from God
about such a case. So, what did he do?
He asked God directly, and God said that
the daughters were absolutely right. And
from then on, a new law was established
in the Torah. If a father has sons, they
inherit. If there are no sons, but there
are daughters, the daughters inherit. If
there are no children at all, the
father's brothers inherit. And if there
are no brothers, the closest relative in
the family inherits. After the census,
God told Moshe something sad. Go up to
Mount Aarim and look at the land I have
given to the Jewish people. When you see
it, you will be gathered, dear people.
This means that Moshe will soon have to
leave this world just as his brother
Aaron already passed away. What did
Moshe do? Did he become saddened? No. He
immediately cared for the Jewish people.
Moshe asked God to appoint a new leader
to lead the nation into the land of
Israel. He compared the people to sheep
who need a shepherd and said that the
people should not be like sheep without
a shepherd. And which leader did God
choose? Yahihosa, son of Nir. Why him
specifically? Because Yihosua had been
Mosha's loyal student for many years. He
was one of the two good spies and most
importantly a person who had the spirit
of God within him. Moshe appointed
Yahosua through a special ceremony. He
placed his hand on Yahosua, gave him
some of his authority and honor, and
commanded him in front of the entire
congregation. It's important to remember
Yahosua did not receive all of Mosha's
power. He would have to cooperate with
Elazar the priest so that Elazar could
consult the Urim and Tum for him. I'm
sure you remember that we learned about
this. The next part of the Torah portion
tells us about all the sacrifices that
the Jewish people need to offer when
they are in the temple. It's like a holy
schedule that teaches us how to live
with God throughout the year. How many
sacrifices are brought each day on
Shabbat, on Rash Hodesh, on holidays,
and on other special occasions? The
Jewish people are about to enter the
land of Israel. What challenges are they
facing, and how did they deal with them?
We'll tell you all about it in the next
episode.
