Parshas Pinchas/xjbhp ,arp

(41st Parsha  of 54 sections of the Torah)

By Avraham David (Earl, Libni, Cary & Jack David) grandson of Strettyner Rebbe

Numerical Interpretation of  Torah with aid of Gematria. Bible Code. Questions/Comments  212-786-4679. online at www.codeoftheheart.com 
©2005 Dvar Torah 5765   “Study Gematria and Sharpen Your Wisdom”  

Quick Action brings Peace

In this week’s Parsha, we learn that God gave Pinchas the covenant of peace. On the surface level, it does not make sense. With all due respect, how can God give a covenant of peace if Pinchas just murdered two people, including Zimri and Cosbi? And even if God gave him the covenant of peace, the families of the victims must have been brimming to take revenge against Pinchas. Nonetheless, sometimes, one has to take drastic action to avert a pending disaster. Here in this case, we learned in last week’s Parsha that a plague arose amongst the Children of Israel and 24,000 people died. What was the cause of the plague? Sexual immorality, which is one of the cardinal sins mentioned in the Torah. The Torah tells us that Zimri, a prince of the tribe of Shimon had illicit relations with the daughter of a prince of Midian.          In fact, it was Pinchas, a grandson of Aharon, the Man of Peace, who took drastic action on behalf God and speared the two during the illicit act. With the aid of the codes, we see an allusion to peace with the action of Pinchas. The term for peace in Hebrew is ouka, Shalom. If we rearrange the letters it becomes kaun, Mashol, which means ruler. This teaches that peace comes at a price. It comes with stern rulership. Moreover, we see that the tribe of Shimon, whose ancestor was one of the two sons of Jacob (the other one Levi)  to attack  Shechem for dishonoring their sister, Dinah, were weakened and were thus not a threat to Pinchas. The term the Torah uses for the tribe of Shimon is hbgnak, Leshimoni (Numbers 25:14). If we take apart the letters, it spells, hbg oak  lasheim ani, or “to the name, poor.” Hence, we see that the tribe became weakened as a result of Pinchas’s quick action. Moreover, we see a full circle in that in Genesis, the ancestor of Zimri stood up against immorality and here, the prince of Zimri goes ahead and commits immorality. However, Levi and his descendants, including Pinchas, never vacillated but remained staunchly moral. As noted previously, current events are influenced by the Parsha of the week. We just learned from the news on 7/22/05 that the London Police chased and pursued  a potential terrorist suspect wearing a heavy coat (strange for the summer) in the subway and shot him dead.  The lesson is that sometimes there is a requirement of a quick and immediate response. The events noted above require it. May we always strive for  peace.            

A refuah shlaimah to my father, who is recovering from stroke at Vanderbilt Nursing Home, SI, NY

SSSSShabbat Shalom ouka ,ca