Community Corner

In this week’s parshah, Pinchas acted zealously for Hashem’s sake and was granted the covenant of shalom. This is in line with the Torah principle, “In the way a man wishes to go, he is led” (Makos 10b). If Hashem observes a person who truly desires to grow spiritually and observe mitzvos, He grants him the strength to fulfill these desires. Since Pinchas demonstrated that he wished to preserve peace, he was rewarded with a “bris shalom,” a covenant of peace.

On Tuesday, the Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), representing over 1500 traditional, Orthodox rabbis in matters of public policy, expressed support for Israeli self-determination regarding extension of Israeli civil sovereignty over communities in Judea and Samaria. In particular, the rabbis deplored objection to Israeli sovereignty as “tainted with ugly bias.”

Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.

David ben Shima

Rabbi Yaakov Eliyahu Menashe ben Rachel

In this week’s parshah, when describing the 42 locations that B’nei Yisrael camped, Moshe Rabbeinu states, “These are the journeys of the Children of Israel.” If the subject matter is a list of encampments, why are they titled journeys? Why is there a need for the Torah to emphasize the journeys?

My Lone Soldier, you’ll always be

The dearest thing in life to me.

I blinked to find, that you had grown,

Please recite Psalms 20, 30, 88, 121, and 130.

David ben Shima

Rabbi Yaakov Eliyahu Menashe ben Rachel