Parsha Q&A - Pinchas

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Parsha Q&A

Parshas Pinchas

For the week ending 21 Tammuz 5757; 25 & 26 July 1997
Contents:
  • Parsha Questions
  • Bonus Question
  • I Did Not Know That!
  • Recommended Reading List
  • Answers to Parsha Questions
  • Answer to Bonus Question
  • Back issues of Parsha Q&A
  • Subscription Information
  • Ohr Somayach Home Page
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    Parsha Questions

    Answers | Contents

    1. Why was Pinchas not originally a kohen?
    2. Why does the Torah identify Kozbi bas Tzur?
    3. Why was Moav spared the fate of Midian?
    4. To which family name were the letters 'yud' and 'hey' not added? Why not?
    5. The Torah states that Korach and his congregation became a sign. What do they signify?
    6. Based on the census taken at the beginning of the forty years and the one at the end, which tribe shows the greatest decrease in number?
    7. In Bereishis 35:18, Rachel named her younger son Ben Oni (my unfortunate son). How was her prophecy fulfilled?
    8. How long did it take to conquer the Land? How long to divide the Land?
    9. Two brothers come out of Egypt and die in the midbar. One brother has three sons. The other brother has only one son, Ploni. When these four cousins enter the Land, how many portions will Ploni actually receive?
    10. Why did the decree to die in the desert not apply to the women?
    11. What trait did the daughters of Tzlofchad exhibit that was exhibited by their ancestor Yosef?
    12. Tzlofchad died because of his own sin. What was it?
    13. Why didn't Moshe know what to answer the daughters of Tzlofchad?
    14. When asking Hashem to appoint a successor, why did Moshe address Him as, "Hashem of the spirits of all flesh"?
    15. Moshe "put some of his glory" upon Yehoshua. What does this mean?
    16. Where were the daily offerings slaughtered?
    17. Goats are brought as musaf sin-offerings. For what sin do they atone?
    18. Why is Shavuos called Yom HaBikkurim (the day of the first fruits)?
    19. What is the symbolic meaning of the seventy bullocks offered on Succos?
    20. To whom did the lambs offered on Succos allude?

    Bonus Question
    Answer
    Contents
    "…Behold I give him My covenant of peace. It will be for him and his offspring after him an everlasting Kehuna covenant…"

    "…Behold I give him My covenant of peace. It will be for him and his offspring after him an everlasting Kehuna covenant…"

    Why was Pinchas rewarded for his deed in this world? Isn't it a Torah principle that the reward for mitzvos is in the World to Come?

    I Did Not Know That!

    "On the Shabbos day, two flawless yearling sheep…" (28:9)

    Why two sheep? One corresponds to the command "Remember the Shabbos Day" and one corresponds to the command "Keep the Shabbos day."

    Recommended Reading List

    Ramban
    26:57
    Counting the Levi'im
    27:9
    Inheritance
    28:2
    The Daily Offerings
    7:13
    Gifts of the Nesi'im
    Sefer Hachinuch
    400
    Inheritance
    401
    The Daily Sacrifices
    405
    Shofar

    Answers to this Week's Questions

    All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated

    1. 25:13 - The Kehuna was given to Aaron and his sons, and to their descendants who were born after they were anointed. Pinchas was born prior to the anointing.
    2. 25:15 - To show the hatred of the Midianites for the Jewish People; that they disgraced their princess in order to cause them to sin.
    3. 25:18 - For the sake of Ruth, a future descendant of Moav.
    4. 26:5 - Yimnah, because the name Yimnah already has it's own 'yud' and 'hey' at the beginning and end.
    5. 26:10 - They are a reminder that the Kehuna was given forever to Aaron and his descendants, and that no non-kohen should ever dispute this right.
    6. 26:13 - Shimon.
    7. 26:24 - Binyamin had ten sons, only five of whose descendants entered Eretz Yisrael. Also, in Sefer Shoftim 20:35, nearly the entire Tribe of Binyamin was destroyed in the incident of Pilegesh b'Givah.
    8. 26:53 - Seven years to conquer, and seven years to divide.
    9. 26:55 - Two portions.
    10. 26:64 - In the incident of the meraglim only the men wished to return to Egypt. The women wanted to enter Eretz Yisrael.
    11. 27:1 - Love for the Land of Israel.
    12. 27:3 - Rabbi Akiva said that he was the one who gathered sticks on Shabbos. Rabbi Shimon said that he was among those who attempted to enter Eretz Yisrael after the sin of the meraglim.
    13. 27:5 - Moshe was being punished for speaking haughtily and saying to the judges, "A case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me" (Devarim 1:17). Also, because the daughters of Tzlofchad merited that a portion of the Torah should be written because of them.
    14. 27:16 - He was asking Hashem, who understands the multitude of dispositions among the Jewish People, to appoint a leader who can deal with each person according to that person's nature.
    15. 27:20 - That Yehoshua's skin also shone. Moshe's face beamed like the sun, Yehoshua's face beamed like the moon.
    16. 28:3 - At a spot opposite the sun. The morning offering was slaughtered on the western side of the slaughtering area, and the evening offering on the eastern side.
    17. 28:15 - For ritual defilement of the Sanctuary or its vessels, of which no one is cognizant.
    18. 28:26 - Two loaves of bread were brought as an offering on Shavuos. They were the first of the wheat-offerings brought from the new grain.
    19. 29:18 - They allude to the seventy nations of the world.
    20. 29:18 - To the Jewish People.

    Bonus Question
    Question
    Contents

    True, the entire reward for mitzvos remains for the World to Come. However, mitzvos which involve acts of kindness earn 'dividends' in this world as well. Pinchas's act was an act of kindness because through it he stopped the plague that was decimating the Jewish People.

    (The Steipler Rav in Birchas Peretz)
    Written and Compiled by Rabbi Eliyahu Kane & Rabbi Reuven Subar
    General Editor: Rabbi Moshe Newman
    Production Design: Lev Seltzer
    HTML Design: Eli Ballon
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