Weekly Announcements
Ahavat Yisrael of Wesley Hills Announcements
Pinchas
Jul 26 – Aug 1
20 Tamuz – 26 Tamuz
Kiddush is being co- sponsored by the Benisz and Chasen families for the yahrzeit of Mark's grandfather Moshe Ben Chaim along with his family and the rest of the Jews of New Pest Hungary whose yahrzeit is observed on the 20th of Tammuz and for the yahrzeit of Michael's mother Lila, Laya Bat Sholom Shraga.
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY (7/26)
Mincha: 7:00 PM
Candle lighting not after: 8:00 PM
SHABBOS (7/27)
Shacharis : 9:00 AM
Latest time for shma: 9:25 AM
Parsha Shiur to resume next week
Mincha: 7:45 PM
Shabbos Ends/Tehillim: 9:02 PM
Maariv: 9:08 PM
SUNDAY (7/28)
Shacharis: 8:00 AM
Rabbi’s Gemara Shiur at shul and zoom: 8:45 AM https://zoom.us/j/3812539596
Mincha/Maariv: 8:00 PM
MONDAY – THURSDAY (7/29-8/1)
Mincha/Maariv: 7:55 PM
Wednesday: Parsha Previews will resume in a few weeks
Dvar Torah & Thoughts on Pinchas
Rabbi Asher Bush
Moshe is told that he should go to the top of the mountain, see the land which God is giving to the Jewish people, and then pass away as his brother did. At this point he makes a seemingly unnecessary request and does so in what appears to be a strange way. He asks that God should appoint a successor.
In this request he addresses God as ה' אלקי הרוחות לכל בשר/the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh. This unusual phrase was previously used by Moshe in the story of Korach; in that account it seemed, at least for a moment, that God was planning on wiping out the entire nation. Moshe davens, opening with the words א' אלקי הרוחות לכל בשר/Oh God, the God of the spirits of all flesh. In that story it is generally understood to be an appeal to the fact that God (and likely only God) can tell who is really guilty, what is really on a person’s mind, and who should and should not be punished. But when it comes to the question of the appointment of a successor to Moshe where this phrase is once again used, given that punishment is obviously not relevant one has to wonder why was this phrase used here.
Without missing a beat, Yehoshua is selected, something that to us the readers seems so obvious, who else could it have been! Most surprisingly, Rashi (quoting from the Midrash Tanchuma) suggests that in making this request Moshe was perhaps wondering about his own sons succeeding him. True, it is common for kings and others to have their sons succeed them (although the results are often far from great), but aside from the fact that we know next to nothing about them, it is just so hard to believe that Moshe Rabbeinu, the most humble of all men, would really think to impose his son/s on the nation. So following this Midrash it is understood why Moshe used these unique words in his Tefilla; my personal thoughts as a parent notwithstanding, You know the hearts and souls, You know who is really fit and right to lead, please select for us.
But then there is also Pinchas, who as I recently realized, in so many ways parallels the young Moshe in Egypt. Each of them grows up surrounded by greatness that will likely not be his, each of them most unexpectedly stands up at a moment when there is nobody else ready or willing to do it. In the case of Moshe, it says ויפן כה וכה וירא כי אין איש, not meaning that he looked around to make sure that the coast was clear, but that he looked around the painful realization that nobody else was getting up to act. In the case of Pinchas והמה בוכים פתח אוהל מועד, everyone, leadership included is crying, simply frozen and unwilling or unable to act, so he too rises up. And yes, each of them needed to use lethal force on a person generally considered to be “protected” and not subject to enforcement of the rules of right and wrong. In this moment each of them risked everything, his life, his future, but simply did what was right.
So perhaps more than Moshe considered his own sons, maybe he saw this in Pinchas and wondered that perhaps he was the person, after all, he seems to be on the very same path that led Moshe to become the leader of the Jewish people. Calculations like these are likely beyond human knowledge, even that of Moshe Rabbeinu, for this he turned to God, ה' אלקי הרוחות לכל בשר, the One who truly understands each person in every way.