Why the letter “Vav”? The letter “Vav” is the letter that joins together. But on a deeper level the Midrash explains that there are five times in the Torah where the name of Yakov is spelled with an extra letter “Vav” and there are five times when the name of Eliyahu is spelled without the letter “Vav.” This signifies that Yakov took five “Vav’s” away from Eliyahu as a bond to ensure that Eliyahu would someday redeem Yakov’s sons. Therefore the meaning of the broken “Vav” is that for the time being any peace we may see is incomplete. In order to enjoy true everlasting peace we must wait for the arrival of Eliyahu to redeem us and reclaim the “Vav’s” that he pledged. (Baal Haturim)

     (25:11) “Pinchas ben Elozer ben Aharon H’Cohen-Pinchas the son of Elozer the son of Aharon the Cohen.” Why was it that Pinchas received the priesthood for his role in stopping a national sin? Why did he merit becoming Eliyahu Hanavi? To answer this we must look back to the origins of Jewish history. In Bereishis, when Avraham was still named Avram, His father brought him to Nimrod for destroying his idols. This was the first of Avraham’s ten trials. He was offered to serve the idol or be thrown into the fiery furnace. As we know he chose the latter and survived but his brother Horon did not. Horon figured that if Avraham survived he would be willing to give up his life but if he did not survive he would worship the idol. This was not a totally pure expression of devotion. But as we know in the spiritual world nothing is lost. His self-sacrifice was given a second chance to fulfill its destiny in the form of Aharon. Aharon, whose name contains the letters of Horon, was a reincarnation of Horon in order to rectify and fulfill that area in which his Neshama fell short. That opportunity took form when Moishe failed to return from the mountain on time. Klal Yisroel was given a vision of Moishe being carried off on his deathbed and they wanted to create a replacement for him. Chur, Aharon’s nephew, attempted to prevent the national sin but was stoned to death. When Aharon saw this he thought it would be better to stall the nation rather than risk the possibility of receiving the same fate as his nephew. The sin of killing the Kohen Gadol would be a sin too great for the nation to overcome. But he was wrong. He did not count on the strength of the Meserus Nefesh to protect him. Had he stood up to the crowds he would have prevailed. He would have corrected the soul of Horon and fulfilled his life’s mission. But this did not come about until 39 years later through his grandson Pinchas. At this point in time Pinchas faced a test that would save Klal Yisroel then and in the future. By putting his life on the line he not only survived the test but was granted eternal life in the form of Eliyahu Hanavi, to form the link for the final gulah.

     This characteristic of Meserus Nefesh has faced a roadblock on the way to the final redemption. It has been taken up in our time by the enemies of Klal Yisroel in the form of suicide bombers. May Hashem help us when our test of faith is presented to us, may we be able to rise up to the challenge.

   Pinchas was the grandson of Aharon who was by nature an Ohaiv Shalom V'rodaif Shalom- a lover of peace and a pursuer of peace. Pinchas' nature was the same as Aharon’s. He was not a hot headed individual but a man of peace. Because of this he was considered a true Kanoi (zealot).

   How was it that Pinchas was able to stop the plague by his actions? And why were all of the deaths from one Shevet? We know that Billem is the one who advised Balak to entice Benei Yisroel into sinning with the princesses of Midyan. The Zohar writes that Billem was the antithesis of Moishe. He used his powers of speech to cast a spell on Klal Yisroel. It was Shevet Shimon that was particularly susceptible to this form of pollution because of their spiritual nature. The name Shimon, in Hebrew, comes from the word Shemah which means to listen or hear. The tribe of Shimon served Hashem through the power of hearing. Therefore, they were more susceptible than the other tribes to absorbing the pollution of Billem’s speech. In last weeks parsha it says (25:7) “Vayar Pinchas-And Pinchas saw” What he saw was the letter “Mem” floating above the tent. This letter was emitted by Billem and was about to join two other letters “Vav” and “Tav” which would spell the word “Maves-Death.”Pinchas saw this and acted quickly to avert any further disaster. He connected the letter “Mem” to his own name, which equals 208 and increased its value to 248. The same as the word “Ramach” (spear). He now not only had a physical spear but a spiritual one too! This enabled him to break the spell of Billem.

   The Gemarrah in Nazir (23b) compares the actions of Zimri to those of Tamar (the daughter-in-law of Yehudah) and just as her actions were L’Shaim Shomayim so too were Zimri’s. But while hers produced the forerunner of the Moshiach, his caused the death of thousands of Jews.      

   The Ohr Hachaim comments regarding the laws of Yefas Tohar ( A beautiful woman permitted to an Israeli soldier in times of war) that sometimes a Neshama that has it’s source in a very high place becomes trapped in the shell of tumeh and that an association with a righteous person can free that Neshama and cause it to return to Kiddusha, to convert. The fact that the Torah writes the laws of Yefas Tohar is otherwise very difficult to understand. The only people who were permitted to go to war were those of the highest spiritual levels. Anyone with the slightest degree of sin was told to remain home. How could such a person be attracted to the sight of a beautiful woman? The Ohr Hachaim explains that this righteous person possessed the sensitivity to be able to pick up on a person with this type of Neshama. The type that had become trapped in the shell of tumeh and through association with a righteous person could become freed. This perhaps is what Zimri thought when he was attracted to Kozby. That the reason he was attracted to her was for the purpose of freeing a trapped soul. That perhaps he was destined to produce offspring that were great people. We find this by Yehoshua, who married a prostitute, and yet great people descended from that union.

     Hashem instructs Moishe “Tzoror es Hamidyanim- Treat them as enemies.” the loshon used is in the singular. Then it says “vehekisem osom” they should smite them which is a plural form? The reason is because originally Midian sent their kings daughter to try to snare Moishe himself. They thought that the best way to cause Israel to have a downfall would be if they could get to Moishe. So it was a personal thing that Hashem told Moishe to avenge. Therefore the use of the singular. But when that didn't work they tried to entice Klal Yisroel, therefore the use of the plural, it says that they should collectively smite Midian.

   (26:5) “Reuvein Bochor Yisrael Benei Reuvain Chanoch Mishpachas H’chanoci”   The parsha lists the genealogy of Benei Yisroel and attests to its purity by adding the letters of Hashem's name to the beginning and end of each shevet. The letter "hey" is found in the word for woman “Isha”. And the letter “yud” is found in the word for man “Ish”. The question is why does the “hey” appear first placing woman ahead of man in this praise? The answer is just that. In Mitzraim it was the women that were the most responsible for maintaining the purity of Benei Yisroel. It is for this reason that they are mentioned first.

   Throughout the sojourn in the Midbar the women always rose to the challenge. By the sin of the golden calf they refused to donate their gold. By the building of the Mishkon they were the first to donate their gold. They remained steadfast when the Meraglim slandered Eretz Yisroel. Why were the women able to withstand every challenge while the men seem to have failed so many tests? At the creation of man and woman in Bereishis we find when man was naming all of the animals, he found no match for himself. Hashem then created woman for him. He named her Isha for she came from Ish. The name Ish comes from the word Aish. Man is likened to fire for he is at times able to accomplish tremendous things, but like fire he can also be very destructive if left unchecked. This is the job of the woman. To keep the fire of man focused and in line. The Gematria of the word Isha is the same as the word Mussar. This could explain the measure for measure of the deaths of Aharon's two sons Nadav and Avihu. They were killed by fire, they refused to marry! Without the Isha to contain the fire they were consumed by it. The same letters of Isha are used by the first sacrifice brought in the Mishkon. " Reiach Nichoach Ishei L'Hashem " Fire being used for the first time for its ultimate purpose.

of the wanderings in the midbar? After the incident with Kosbi the nations of the world had an opening to point a finger at the purity of Klal Yisroel. Therefore Hashem at this point testified by placing his name at the beginning and end of each family name.

   (26:11) U’Benei Korach lo Masu- And the children of Korach did not die.” The posuk says that the children of Korach did not die. Rashi comments that they did teshuva and were given a higher place in gehinom. If they did teshuva why were they not forgiven in full? The answer is that a person can do teshuva on his own avairos but the negative influence he affects to others can’t be so easily erased.

   (26:33) “U’Telaphchad ben Chaifer Lo-Hayu Bonim- Tzelaphchad the son of Chaifer had no sons.” When the daughters of Tzelaphchad came to Moishe they had a good claim. If their mother doesn't have to perform Yivum because she had daughters then why can't daughters be good enough for yerusha? The halocha was hidden from Moishe. Why was it necessary for the halacha to be hidden? Hashem didn't want Moishe to feel that he was on a very high madrege because he had separated himself from his wife all the years of the midbar. These daughters of Tzelaphchad were around forty years old and they were not married. If they had been married they would not have been entitled to a Yerusha. They chose not be married because they didn't want to lower their standards. Not because they couldn't find husbands. They were on a very high madrege. When Moishe saw this in them he realized that his separation from his wife was not as great a feat as their voluntary abstention was, since his was commanded by Hashem while they chose not to be married. In the end they did finally marry and Hashem granted them many children even though they were past the normal age for child bearing.

   This incident of the daughters of Tzelaphchad is the fifth and final case where a Halacha was brought about through a story. There was the one who cursed Hashem, Pesach shenei, the Mekoshesh, and the Eigel. Each one of these cases is reflected in the letters of Menatzpach. The letters of the Aleph Beis that are doubled, they appear one way in the middle of a word and another way at the end of a word. Mem-the wood gatherer, Nun- the one who cursed Hashem, Tzadik- the daughters of Tzelaphchad, Phey-Pesach Sheni and Chuf-was the Eigel. According to Pirkei D’ Rebeliezer each of these letters were used for a different geulah. The end letters relate to the end of an era. What is the connection? We know that Pinchas was a zealot, he was pro-active. So too were the daughters of Tzelaphchad. They did not wait for the halacha to come to them but rather initiated the question themselves. This is the lesson we must learn here. We too must we be pro-active when it comes to bringing the Moshiach. We must take the initiative in order for the final geulah to come.

   (26:46) "Serach Bas Asher" Why was she singled out here? Serach was the only person alive who had seen Yakov Avinu. She was the one who notified Yakov that his son was still alive. She was able to testify in Mitzrayim about the authenticity of Moshe. Whenever a challenge arose against Moshe, she was there as a witness. Now as Klal Yisroel were poised to finally enter the promised land the nation knew what she had been saying was true.

   (27:5) “Vayakrev Moshe es Mishpatan-Moshe brought their claim before Hashem.” Why is there a “Nun” at the end of the word Mishpat? Just as the fiftieth, “Nun” level of Daas was hidden from Moshe, so too was this law.