Our Parsha this Shabbos is a Double Parsha of Mattos - Masei and the Haftorah for this Shabbos is Yirmeyahu Jeremiah 2 : 4 - 28 ; 3 : 4 ; 4 : 1 - 2 , which relates with the theme of these Three Weeks of Mourning that we are in right now between the Seventeenth of Tammuz , when we wronged HaShem at the Chait Ha'Eigel Golden Calf and The Holy Tablets were smashed and these three weeks carry on until Tisha B ' Av , when the spies brought a negative report of the Gift of The Holy Land and we couldnt enter the land at that time and had to wonder for almost forty years in the Wilderness . The last Parsha Spoke of the Offerings for the Festivals and this Parsha of Mattos starts teaching about Vows and Oaths . When discussing Vows and Oaths , what actually is the difference between a ' Neder ' - a ' Vow ' and a ' Sh'vuah ' - an ' Oath ? ' Both Vows and Oaths deal with us talking of or stating that we will either do or not do something , but a ' Neder , ' a ' Vow ' refers more to an obligation that one makes over an object , whereas a ' Sh'vuah , ' an Oath , ' refers more to do with an obligation one makes over oneself . What is interesting is that a ' Vow ' - ' Neder , ' brings about a new condition for an object , whereas , a ' Sh'vuah ' - ' Oath ' brings about a new condition for oneself . So if one says that from now on , one will no longer eat a specific food , then one brings about a new condition and law upon oneself , for that specific food and so that specific food now becomes forbidden and taking on a new forbidden status . This is a ' Neder . ' But if one has sworn that one will go and partake of a certain food , then one has placed an obligation upon oneself and not the food and so , this is a ' Sh'vuah ' - an ' Oath . ' This opportunity to obligate oneself to a law upon oneself that never existed before one made it , is a way to make a Law that becomes binding upon oneself , That HaShem Never Commanded and so if one breaks that which is uttered that one will do out of one's own mouth , one can be punished with lashes for not fulfilling it . This is one reason That HaShem Does Not Like us to make Vows or Oaths . Only HaShem Is G-D Who Makes Laws . As HaShem Says , to the one who made this prohibition upon himself , " he shall not desecrate his word ; according to whatever comes from his mouth shall he do . " So our word must be straight-forward and honest and we must uphold our word about things we say we will do and not break it or take it lightly . Speech is very powerful . With HaShem's Words , HaShem Created Creation . As our Rabbonim say , better not to Vow , then vow and not do what we vowed , Chas Ve Shalom . When one makes a Vow or Oath , that one was not sure of all the facts at the time of making it , our Rabbonim allow it to be annulled in front of three learned sages or men of learned standing . This is one of the reasons Why HaShem Put the section of Vows and Oaths in the Sedra called " Mattos , " - " Tribes , " as the heads of a Tribe who were men of high standing , could be approached to try annul the vow . But HaShem Takes the subject of Vows very seriously And HaShem Does Not Want us to Vow or make Oaths . Our Sages tell of the story of King Tzidkiyahu , one of the captives of king Nebuchadnezzar of Bavel , where Tzidkiyahu once walked in on Nebuchadnezzar breaking one of the Noachide Laws to the Gentiles , where he was eating the limb of a living rabbit . Nebuchadnezzar had Tzidkiyahu vow that he would not tell anyone about what he saw but after vowing , some time later , Tzidkiyahu went to the Sages of the time and had his Vow annulled and this subsequently came out and got to the ears of Nebuchadbezzar , who approached the Sages at the time and asked them to expound their Holy Torah . When the Sages came to the part of Vows and Oaths , he knew they had annulled Tzidkiyahu's Vow and he then had them tied with their hair tied to horses tails and had them pulled from one city Yerushalaim to another city Lud ( Midrash Says - Bamidbar - Rabbi M Weissman ) , till they died . Why did HaShem Allow this to take place ? Because HaShem Does Not Like Vows and Oaths Made . Why would this be so hurtful to HaShem ? The answer is very understandable . Only HaShem Can Make Laws And Obligations For us . It is not for us to add to or to take away from The Holy Laws That HaShem Put Upon us . HaShem Knows What Laws we need And HaShem Knows Exactly What To Command us to do and it is not for us to add to or subtract from that , by putting upon ourselves restrictions That HaShem Never Did and thus wrongly restricting ourselves from The Goodness That HaShem Made For us to enjoy , That HaShem Never Forbade of us to partake in . HaShem's Laws Are Totally Complete and All That we need for living in HaShem's Creation . When we make Vows or Oaths , we are adding Laws That HaShem Has Not Put Upon us and as I mentioned , HaShem Knows All the Laws we need . We should not make out that we know better by adding more obligations upon ourselves then HaShem Already Has Done . This Is His Creation , not ours and we have no right to limit ourselves on things That HaShem Has Already Allowed us . Torah then explains the Case of , if a woman makes a vow and her Father in his home hears it and he is silent about it , then her Vow stands upon her . But if her Father restrained her on the day of his hearing it , then it shall not stand And HaShem Will Forgive her . If she is married , then her husband can revoke it if he heard it but if he was silent , then her words stand . A Widow or Divorcee who has no husband , her words stand . Thus one should rather not make Vows or Oaths at all . HaShem Then Commands Moshe that we are to take vengeance against the Midianites and thereafter , Moshe would be gather unto his people . What a Tzaddik was Moshe who was able to put his own feelings aside of knowing that after this battle he would pass away , yet he still honoured HaShem's Wish with alacrity and love and did not delay , where he could have delayed this battle and lived longer , yet he did not , but organized straight away for the battle in honour of HaShem . Moshe took a thousand from each Tribe , only men of righteousness , who had not taken part in falling to the idol worship of baal and he organized the army ready for battle . Pinchas , who we read about in the previous Parsha , made peace between HaShem and the people when Pinchas took action and stopped the Plague after the incident caused by Bilaam when Bilaam arranged for the Midyanite females to try entice the men of Israel and try get them to worship the idol baal and we also read how Pinchas stepped up and took action against Cozbi the Midyanite daughter of a leader of Midyan when she was taken into the tent of the leader of Simeon and Pinchas courageously got up and speared them both and by his action , stayed the Plague . Pinchas was also the son of Aharon's son Elazar and so , was holy Pinchas the grandson of Aharon . Pinchas was put in charge of the campaign , a most holy man and Moshe gave him the Tzitz , the Head - Band to use against Bilaam . They killed the five kings of Midian , including Cozbi's Father , where Cozbi was the woman who had come into the camp of Israel and gone into the tent of the head of Simeon , when they both committed an outrage in the Camp . Pinchas met Bilaam , who had returned to Midian to fetch his money for helping Midian with his idea to catch our men with the incident of the Midianite women . Bilaam's greed was his downfall , for he ended up facing Pinchas and Bilaam flew into the air . Pinchas pointed the Holy Tzitz at him and he fell down and Pinchas slew him . The Children of Israel took the Midyanite women captive and their young children , cattle flocks and spoils , they also took . They brought it to Moshe and Elazar the Kohein and to the camp of the Children of Israel . Moshe was upset with them that they had let the women of Midyan live , the immoral women who had led Israel to sin . The Midyanite women , according to Rashi ( Midrash Says Bamidbar - Rabbi M Weissman ) , were marched before the Tzitz and all those who had known a man , their face took on a greenish glow and they were slain . Elazar was then given the Kashering Laws of utensils and the spoils of battle were divided . In the battle against Midian , Reuvein and Gad had accumulated much cattle and they desired to rather take their portion of Land on the East side of the Jordan . Moshe was upset with them that they were doing a similar action to what the spies had done before , for by their action and request , they might put off the rest of Israel from wanting to enter the Land and that they were shunning What Land , HaShem Wanted To Give them In Israel . But they assured Moshe that they would join in the battle at the fore-front of Battle when Israel went in to conquer the Land , leaving their wives and children on the East side of the Jordan . And no doubt , they did exactly that in Yehoshuah's time , leaving their families for 14 years during the conquest . Though Moshe felt that they should take What HaShem Wants To Give them in the Holy Land . How interesting it was , that in later years when Israel was conquered , the land that they chose on the East side of the Jordan , was the first to be attacked . Manasseh had not asked to be there , but afterwards volunteered for half their Tribe to also settle on the East Bank of the Jordan . Our Rabbonim suggest that this took place , with half the Tribe of Manasseh joining them , so as to keep the other two Tribes in a much holier state , for the Tribe of Manasseh was at the time , great Torah Scholars . This is where the Sedra of Mattos ends . The Sedra of Masei begins by telling of the " Masei " - the " Journeys " of the Children of Israel from Egypt to Israel . The word " Masei " means " Journeys . " We might ask Why HaShem Would Put the list of our " Journeys " Place - By - Place , of our people from Mitzrayim to Canaan , in the Torah ? This was to show A Great Love That HaShem Has For us , For HaShem Had Moshe write down every place we went through , just like if a Father and son had traveled together and so to the Father who deeply loves his son , every place they spent together in closeness , would have emotional meaning . Also , these places were mostly uninhabitable And So HaShem Was Showing us That He Was With us All Along , Watching Over us And Protecting us , for had it not been For HaShem Helping us And Watching over us , we would never have survived . Each place we traveled through had something Spiritual about it that would test us in different ways . What people do in a place , gives that place a certain essence of that thing that has been done there . So each place brought its own test upon us . This shows and teaches us how careful we need to be in our own lives and how we have to behave , as we have the power as people , to put into our physical surroundings , a positive or negative holy or unholy , honest or thieving , peaceful or aggressive essence , into our surroundings , depending on how we as people behave there and this essence we leave in a place , can be a Yetzer Horah or Yetzer Tov to those that live in that place or that come to that place afterwards . We need to always keep the Spiritual Air Clean and Pure and Holy . Seeing as we were about to enter into the Land of Israel , HaShem Then In His Holy Torah , Defines the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael . HaShem Teaches of the " Ir Miklas , " - the " City of Refuge , " where an inadvertent unintentional Murderer could flee to and he would have to stay there till the death of the Kohein Gadol . No purposeful Murderer could take refuge in this place . There were to be six cities of Refuge . Three on one side and three on the other side of the Jordan . The Cities of Refuge were to be within the 48 cities of the Holy Levites , whose Cities were among the other Tribe's Territories . How different Is HaShem's Laws from the laws of man , where in man's secular World , if a man commits an unintentional murder , he is sent off to prison with other undesirables and cannot grow Spiritually , but in the case of Jewish Law , this man is put into a place among holy people , where he can grow Spiritually and attain higher Spiritual levels to lead him to the right and correct path . Should he have been under a Rabbi when he committed his act , then that Rabbi and family also goes into the City of Refuge , for it showed something lacking in the teacher , if the student was not holy enough and the circumstance of the happening ended in such a negative action . If the unintentional murderer would ever leave this City before he was allowed to , then the " Goel Hadam , " the " Avenger of the blood , " a close relative of the victim had the right to slay him . Our Rabbis teach that if there is no close relative , then the court appoints one in this role as the " Goel Hadam . " For an intentional murderer , he is to be killed , for we must remove the evil from our midst . The Parsha ends with the Tribal Marriages that each Tribe is to marry within their own Tribe so that Tribal Lands remain within the Tribes they wewre apportioned to By HaShem and this portion was in reference to the very holy daughters of Tzelafchad of the Tribe of Joseph who married within their Tribe . The Sedra and the Book of Bamidbar Numbers ends with the words , " These are the Commandments and the Ordinances That HaShem Commanded Through Moshe to the Children of Israel in the Plains of Moav , at the Jordan , by Jericho . " ' Chazak Chazak Venitchazeik , ' - ' Be strong Be strong and may we be strengthened , ' as we say at the end of every Book Of The Holy Torah Of HaShem . So ends the Sedras and so ends the Book of Bamidbar Numbers , The Fourth Book Of The Holy Torah . In the Book of Devarim Deuteronomy 4 : 2 in the Torah it states very clearly , " You shall not add to the word that I Command you , nor shall you subtract from it , to observe the Commandments of HaShem , your G-D , that I Command you . " HaShem's Torah Is Complete . It is Peace . The Hebrew word for ' Complete , ' is ' Shaleim , ' and the Hebrew word for ' Peace , ' is ' Shalom . ' So the Complete Torah , is Complete Peace and the Path to Peace . Torah is totally Perfect in it's entirety . It does not need anything added to it or subtracted from it . It is Perfect Just As It Is , Just As HaShem Wrote It And Gave It To us . HaShem Made It Alone In His Oneness And So It Is Perfect As A Path To Bring us To Total Holiness . We are not to add to Torah in any way or subtract from Torah in any way . It Is Perfect And Peaceful And Complete . When we make our own Vows and Oaths and laws upon ourselves That HaShem Never Commanded us to do , we are adding to The Torah . This is so wrong . HaShem Has Permitted us to partake of certain things and when we limit ourselves of these things , we are adding more Than HaShem Commanded Or Forbade . We are saying then to HaShem , that we think we know better and so , we think we can go and make up our own controls on ourselves . HaShem Is Supreme And So Are His Laws . Who are we to think better . We are minute in His Universe or Universes and we know so very little . HaShem's Laws are the only Guideline we will ever need to get us to Him . Our own laws will not do that at all . The same goes with anyone thinking they can add more books to the Tanach Bible . This is the same Sin , For HaShem Tells us Clearly that we are not to add to His Torah . Doing so , is Avodah Zorah Idol Worship and this not adding or subtracting to HaShem's Torah And Laws , Is HaShem's Own Law . There is one Torah and one Tanach and no one is allowed to add to it in any way or make up laws that are not deep within The Holy Torah From HaShem . It Is Complete As It Is , As It Was Written , As HaShem Wrote It . Any additions made to it , are not from G-D , but are wrongly from man , For G-D Said " NO ADDING To IT . " Any new concept that goes against what is written in HaShem's Torah , is a total forbidden Sin and a breaking of HaShem's Commandment of Devarim 4 : 2 . The same goes for anyone who wants to remove any Law , Chas Ve Shalom . HaShem Said Clearly That we must not subtract from it . To even say that one Law of HaShem should Chas Ve Shalom not be kept anymore in the strictness Commanded By HaShem To Moshe And us forever , is breaking HaShem's Commandments , as it is subtracting from HaShem's Laws , Which HaShem in Devarim 4 : 2 Commanded us not to do . We are to keep The Holy Torah as strictly today as we did in Moshe's time , for to lessen on even a single Law , is to break this Commandment Of G-D . G-D's Laws are for us and our children forever and will not be abolished , as it clearly states in Devarim Deuteronomy 12 : 28 and 29 : 28 and over and over again , HaShem Tells us that His Laws are forever and eternal - Bereishis Genesis 17 : 1 - 14 about circumcision ; Pesach - Shemos Exodus 12 : 14 - 17 ; Shabbos - Shemos Exodus 31 : 12 - 17 ; Tzitzis - Bamidbar Numbers 15 : 38 ; Yom Kippur - Vayikra Leviticus 23 : 27 - 31 ; Succos - Vayikra Leviticus 23 : 41 and many other examples Of How HaShem's Laws Are Forever and do not change and are to be kept forever . Dovid Hamelech who wrote Tehillim Psalms , wrote in Psalm 119 , a most beautiful rendition to HaShem's Torah And Laws and how beautiful They are and how They are to be kept forever , never changing . So we are never to change HaShem's Laws , add to them or subtract from them in any way . They are totally Perfect and Complete as they are . We are to avoid making Vows and Oaths and any obligation we want to put on ourselves , That HaShem Did Not Command . HaShem Traveled With us at every point in our Journey from Mitzrayim to Eretz Yisroel , And Still Travels With us every step we take now . HaShem Is Always With us and we must always be with Him too , in keeping every Torah Commandment That HaShem Commanded In His Torah Just As HaShem Commanded Moshe . HaShem Gave us A Complete Torah so that we will be ' Complete ' for we can only be Complete and Perfect if we keep HaShem's Torah . HaShem Said to Avraham , " I Am El Shaddai ; walk before Me and be perfect . I Will Set My Covenant ( My Torah ) between Me and you , and I will increase you most exceedingly . " How clear that is , that we are to keep HaShem's Torah As HaShem Gave it , Forever and Eternally and walk with HaShem in Completeness and Peace and Perfection , Always and Eternally close to HaShem Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu , HaShem The Holy One Blessed Be He . Yesterday was Rosh Chodesh Av as we lead up to Tisha B'Av , the day of our people's greatest mourning . It was on Rosh Chodesh Av That Holy Aharon returned To HaShem . Aharon was a holy man , who was so well known for making peace between people , where he would go to two people who were having a Machlokes Disagreement and tell each one how the other yearns to make peace with the other , for he knew that deep down , within every Jew's neshoma , each Jewish soul deeply yearns to be at peace with his fellow Jew . Such a man of peace , was certainly a good Choice of HaShem's to be the Kohein Gadol , who makes peace by his Korbanos Offerings between HaShem and HaShem's People . This Korban was a way to closeness with HaShem and within the very word ' Korban ' is the word ' Karov , ' - ' To Come Close to ' HaShem . At tis time of the year , as we approach Tisha B'Av , we all as Jews need to put our own wants aside and come close to HaShem , through love , in Keeping All Of HaShem's Commandments . Closeness with HaShem , is our Path to Life . Closeness with HaShem , is our destination in life . Closeness with HaShem , Is Life . Let us all , these very holy days , take proper accounting of ourselves , as Parashas Masei took accounting of our Journeys toward Holiness and the Holiness of the Holy Land and as Parashas Mattos did , remind us to be leaders of our own Path toward HaShem And HaShem's Holiness and let us all become who we are all meant to be , Holy and Loving and Obedient Followers of HaShem Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu , HaShem , The Holy One Blessed Be He . I wish HaShem With Sweetest And Deepest Eternal And Forever Love , A Most Special And Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh And Chodesh Tov With Forever Deepest Love and to all my fellow Jews and to all of Creation , a Most Special and Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh and Chodesh Tov with love .

The Shabbos Sedra is Parashas Pinchas . We carry on from the previous Parsha where Pinchas , for the sake of HaShem and his Rebbe Moshe , took courage and went into the Camp of Simeon and pierced both the leader of Simeon Zimri ben Salu and the Midianitess Cozbi daughter of Zur , who was " the head of the peoples of a father's house in Midian , " when the Midianite females were used , at the idea of the wicked Bilaam , when he could not get HaShem Angry with us so he formulated this plan of using these women to entice our men to idol worship so as to try and get HaShem Angry with us . Zimri had brought this Midianitess woman past Moshe's Tent and had taken her into his own tent to be with her . HaShem's Anger Had Flared Up At the actions of those who had let their Yetzer Horahs win in this deceitful guise to catch our men and so , HaShem Sent a Plague . When Pinchas courageously went into the Camp of Simeon , putting his own life at risk and piercing both Zimri and Cozbi in honor of HaShem and Moshe his teacher , the Plague stopped . Thus Pinchas had saved Israel , from HaShem's Wrath . In fact this Cozbi , the Midianitess , was actually sent to try and entice Moshe , but he would not have anything to do with this woman at all and so , Zimri came and took Cozbi himself and brought her into his tent . Pinchas was the son of Elazar , Aharon's son and thus Pinchas was Aharon's holy grandson . With Pinchas' courageous action , he had stopped the plague that had already killed 24 000 . How interesting that this is the same amount of people that died in the time of Rabbi Akiva's followers that were his students , that we remember during the Omer Period , between Pesach and Rosh Chodesh Sivan . But did the people thank Pinchas for saving them ? No , they did not . They complained and accused him of committing murder in killing the leader of Simeon . In fact , they even said that Pinchas is ' the grandson of one who fattened calves sacrificed to idols . ' Where did they so wrongly get such a terrible insult from ? Pinchas' Father , as I said , was Elazar the son of Aharon , and Elazar had , like Moshe , married one of Yisro's daughters . Yisro was a former priest of Midyan , and he had also been known as " Putiel , " where ' Puti-eil ' , means ' one fattened for a god . ' This was where the people got their horrible insult from but Pinchas was a very Holy man . How interesting that it was Pinchas whose Mother was originally a Midianite , that it was him who was the one to stand totally against their unholy harlotry and stop the plague . This is true Holiness . This is where our Parsha comes in . Because Pinchas had turned back HaShem's Wrath on the Children of Israel when he had zealously avenged HaShem among the sinners and so , HaShem Did Not Consume the Children of Israel . HaShem Said To Moshe That HaShem Gives Pinchas , HaShem's Covenant Of Peace , for Pinchas had made Peace between HaShem and Israel and so , would Pinchas Be Forever Blessed , as the Harbinger Of Peace and this meant too that Pinchas would be Blessed with a very long life and would return as the very Holy Navi Prophet Eliyahu Elijah , who also brought Peace between HaShem and the people when he stood on Mount Carmel and had the people choose to either follow HaShem Faithfully , or take the wrong path and go down with the followers of the idol baal , the same baal that the Midianites in the time of Pinchas had been enticed to prostate themselves to and defecate to ( which was their way of following their sickening false idol ) . Elijah had stood up for HaShem when the followers of baal were taught a lesson . This same soul of Pinchas Elijah will be the Harbinger of Moshiach , a time of total peace , which is what will be in Moshiach's time , where he will return at the End of Days ( as it says near the end of the book of Malachi , where he will announce Moshiach's True Coming and again make peace in families , by turning " the heart of the Fathers to the children and the heart of the children to their Fathers . " It is very interesting that in the Chumash , there is a sign above the Yud in Pinchas' name in this Sedra Bamidbar Numbers 25 : 10 and a sign above the Vav in the word " Shalom " in this Parsha in Bamidbar Numbers 25 : 12 and if you add the Yud and Vav Gematrically , it comes to 10 + 6 = 16 and 1 + 6 = 7 , the number of Moshiach , where Eliyahu Ha Navi , will come before Moshiach as the Harbinger of Moshiach , who will usher in Eternal Peace , where that word " Shalom " in this discussion means " Peace " with Pinchas who will be Eliyahu Ha Navi , who is the Prophet who ushers in and so anoints Moshiach , where these two words here are connected by the same sign above them . Pinchas was one of the two spies , with Kaleiv , whom Yehoshuah Joshua sent into Yericho Jericho to spy out and they were both saved by Rachav . Pinchas was still alive well into the time of the Children of Israel living in Israel And HaShem Gave Pinchas His Blessing Of Protection . Due to Midyan's actions , who not only tried to attack us physically , but went even further and tried to separate us from HaShem Spiritually by getting us to sin , So Did HaShem Instruct Moshe That we were to " Harass and Smite " them , which meant a continuing mind set against them and to destroy them in war . It was in this war , that Bilaam , who had started the idea of the Midianite women trying to entice us away from HaShem , was killed by Pinchas himself . HaShem Then Asks for a census to be taken . This is just before we come to the Land and so , the main purpose of this census was for distribution by lot of the Land . The Levites again were counted separately . It was after this census to do with the Land , that the daughters of Tzelafchad , from the family Tribe of Manasseh came before Moshe . Apportioning of Tribal Land , was to go to the sons and here , Tzelafchad was no longer , for he had passed away in his own Aveirah ( The Rabbonim say that this was either as one of the people who had still wanted to go into the land after the incident of the Spies , that were killed when Moshe warned them not to go , or the Rabbis feel , he could have been the one gathering on the Shabbos ) . Tzelafchad had no sons but only five daughters Machlah , Noah , Hoglah , Milkah and Tirtzah . They had remained unmarried , being very holy and chose to wait , even till they were in their 40's , rather than to just marry anyone and by their holy ways , they chose to put their own needs aside , to rather wait for holy partners and offspring . They first approached the leader of tens to ask if they could inherit , for their were no sons but the leader of tens could not answer . They had to bring the same query to the leader of fifties and then the leader of hundreds and then thousands right up the line , but none could give an answer and so the matter finally came before Moshe himself , for they did not want their Father's inheritance to be lost within their Tribe . Some of our Rabbis feel that Moshe knew the answer to this but humbly bowed to HaShem's Wisdom . Other Rabbinical opinions say that because Moshe had once said , " all difficult matters bring to me , " he was made to forget the answer to this and so , he approached HaShem . This is the same with Dovid Ha Melech , who also was made to forget something , in fact two points and had to approach Achitophel , when David incorrectly put the Ark on a humble wagon , from which the incident took place where it was caught by Uzzah . Also , where David incorrectly counted the men . So here Moshe brought the claim of Tzelafchad's daughters before HaShem . HaShem Merciful , Fair In Judgement And Beautiful , Said that the daughters of Tzelafchad speak properly and that where there are no sons , then the inheritance will pass over to his daughters . Thus in honour of these holy women and daughters of Tzelafchad , this Law was given even though HaShem Had Made this Law before Creation . Tzelafchad's daughters married holy men from their own Tribe and so was their inheritance kept within their Tribe .This showed That HaShem Had Forgiven Tzelafchad , for his family line was still allowed a portion of the Land and so , Moshe thought that maybe HaShem Might Forgive Moshe too And Allow him entry into the Land and so did Moshe again request of HaShem if he could enter the Holy Land But HaShem Said No . Moshe then asked to go up the Mountain of Abarim and see the Land That HaShem Would Give To the Children of Israel . Moshe's reason for seeing the Land from afar was so that he would put his holy Blessings upon it . Holy Moshe again put himself second and HaShem and our people first when he straight away asked for a holy successor that would be a ' Man ' in other words holy and worthy in holiness , one who could be called a Mensch , a Man of honor , totally following HaShem , going out before his people and coming in , always remaining holy , wherever he would find himself . Moshe Asked for a man who would " go out before them and come in before them , " a leader like him , who would not just sit at home and let his troops go off to war , but one like Moshe , who would also go into battle with his people , like Dovid Ha Melech did . Also , a man that " goes out before them and comes in before them " is one who speaks for them to HaShem , standing before them to gain compassion for them and forgiveness if need be , for them , just as beloved Moshe did so often for us . One who can stand before them going out and coming in before them , is as one who can stand before them as a shining example of Torah Mitzvos , to teach and lead them by Holy Example , one who emulates HaShem , that can stand before HaShem for them as a most holy man . And so , HaShem Told Moshe to take Yehoshuah ," a man in whom there is Spirit , " which means a man who has earned the keeping of HaShem's Spirit Within him . HaShem Asked Moshe to stand Yehoshuah ( a man who every morning and evening would arrange the benches for studying and praying , the whole of the forty years in the Wilderness ) before Elazar the Kohein ( Aharon's son ) and before the entire assembly and command him before their eyes , placing some of his ( Moshe's ) majesty upon him , which was for Moshe , who was like a candle that does not lose any of it's light , by lighting other candles , but only increases the light surrounding things , not a decreasing of his light , Given By HaShem , For Moshe's Humble Holy Actions . But it will be Elazar the Kohein whom he shall stand before , in inquiring when needed and allowed , of the judgement of the Urim and Tumim before HaShem where At HaShem's Word shall they come in , he and all the Children of Israel . HaShem Had Only Asked Moshe to place one hand upon Yehoshuah , but Moshe in total selflessness , that he would be giving up his own leadership , still selflessly and in an act of total selfless giving , placed both his hands on Yehoshuah " and commanded him As HaShem Had Spoken Through Moshe . " HaShem then Speaks to Moshe about the Tamid Daily Offerings to be made two a day , one in the morning and one in the afternoon , which today is our Davening times . HaShem Also Discusses the Mussaf Additional Offerings for the Shabbos Mussaf and the offerings and libations of Rosh Chodesh New Moon , Pesach , Shavuos , Rosh HaShanah , Yom Kippur , Succos and Shemini Atzeres . Torah also Teaches of the Laws within these Festivals . Shemini Atzeres is looked upon as an extra festival , for us Jews alone , to stay as a special guest one more day with HaShem , Where HaShem Likes us to stay close and not leave , where during the previous days of Succos we made offerings for the 70 nations , where each day of Succos we offered a certain amount of bulls which , at the end of the Succos Festival ends up totaling 70 , the exact amount of Nations in the World , thus the nations that killed us through the centuries , were actually hurting themselves , where they were stopping us making offerings on their behalf . We also notice that during the time of Succos , the amount of lambs offered daily never diminished , which represented us as lambs to the World's treatment of us , showing that no matter what the nations do to us , we will survive , unlike the amount of bulls offered which diminished every day of the Festival during the days of the Succos Festival , which represented the other nations , showing that they can diminish but we never will . The Parsha ends With HaShem Saying In His Torah , " Moshe said to the Children of Israel according to everything that HaShem Had Commanded Moshe . " Seeing as this year like most years , this Parsha of Pinchas comes after the Fast of the 17th of Tammuz , the Haftorah we read is for Parsha Mattos , which is one of the three Haftorahs read about prophecies relating to the destruction of the Holy Temple , which occurs at the end of these , The Three Weeks , on Tisha B'Av , the Ninth Of Av , the three weeks of mourning , starting on the 17th of Tammuz . This Haftorah is in Yirmiyahu Jeremiah 1 : 1 - 2 : 3 . In this Parsha of Pinchas in the Holy Torah , we note that within Pinchas' name , the letter Yud is made smaller than the other letters around it . This can show , That HaShem , Whose Name can also start with a Yud , was so taken by Pinchas' action on His Behalf , that Even HaShem Felt Humbled by this beautiful zealous action of faithfulness and love . And so , HaShem Made the letter of His Name smaller , than the other letters around it , in the name of Pinchas . Also , The Letter Yud of HaShem's Name , HaShem Thus Highlights Within Pinchas' name , by making it another size compared to the letters around it , to show , that Pinchas Truly took HaShem And HaShem's Will within him , so wherever Pinchas would go , he would carry HaShem within him and also that whatever action Pinchas would make , would be for the love of and sake of HaShem and for the honor of HaShem . The true actions of a very holy Tzaddik . With the Yud smaller , it almost makes it look like the word ' Panchas , ' where that can be made into two words ' Paneh ' and ' Chasah , ' where ' Paneh ' - means ' Face ' and can refer to the Face Of HaShem and the word ' Chasah ' ( Zilberman dictionary ) means ' Trust or Shelter , ' thus showing that Pinchas' action , showed total Trust in HaShem and taking total Shelter in HaShem and thus standing in holiness and earning the right to stand before HaShem's Most Beautiful Face . Such an action for HaShem's Honor , is truly one of love and holiness . When we put our own feelings aside , doing only As HaShem Commands And Wills us to , we fulfill Torah And HaShem's Wish For Creation . Such an Action of Trust in HaShem , certainly brings us closer to HaShem . This Closeness to HaShem Brings us into the ' Shelter ' Of His Wings And Ever Loving Care And HaShem Shows us His Love And Turns His ' Face ' To us In His Everlasting Love . This is exactly what happened with Pinchas , who Was Blessed By HaShem and Pinchas was made a Kohein . The Kohanim are constantly doing HaShem's Service and bringing Peace , via the Offerings , between HaShem and us . The Kohanim were brought into the Priesthood , from Aharon and his sons , but here , Pinchas earned the right of being a Priest by his very action that made peace between HaShem and us , that which the Kohanim do every day , by the Offerings that they do for HaShem and our people . Pinchas on his own stood up amid the congregation and took it upon himself to do the right thing for HaShem and for us . Such an action is certainly one of Very Great Holiness . So should we all be , even if we are the only ones who , among others doing wrong , stand up and do the right thing . This is similar to the action of Noach who alone , stood against an entire World of wrong and faithfully followed HaShem . There is still so much wrong that people do in the World . We must , even if we stand alone , as Hillel said in Pirkei Avos , ' where there are no leaders , strive to be a leader , ' be like Pinchas and work for HaShem in correcting the World , leading It to Holiness . As Hillel said , ' we must work to bring people closer to The Torah . ' That is what a Kohein does , for they were our teachers of Torah . This is what Pinchas did and so , in standing up and correcting what is wrong that is around us , even if we are standing alone , this is what we must do . We are all Agents and Malachim Messengers Of HaShem . We all have this obligation to correct the World . If we see something we do not like that does not go according to The Holy Torah , then we must stand up and correct it . If we see others not following HaShem's Holy Torah , then we must stand up and correct it . If we do not feel we know enough to do that , then we are obligated to learn all that we can in Torah , so we can be leaders among others who are drifting aimlessly in the wind with no direction , which will certainly help them find the Way to HaShem . It does not matter what some others might think of you . What matters most , is What HaShem Thinks Of you . That is what is the most important . That is what counts . So go out there under The Shelter Of HaShem , in Trust of HaShem and make this World a Better Holier Place Where Only HaShem Is Followed and where Only HaShem's Laws Are Followed . That is your task . That is your path . That is your way for others . That is who you were Made To be . That is who is Pinchas . That is true Peace and Commitment to HaShem . That is True Faith And Love in HaShem Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu HaShem The Holy One Blessed Be He . I wish HaShem With The Most Deepest Eternal And Forever Love , A Most Special Sweet And Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh With All my Love and to all my fellow Jews and to all of Creation , A Most Special Sweet And Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love .

The Parsha on Shabbos is Parashas Balak . In the previous Parsha , HaShem Helped the Children Of Israel defeat the Giants Og and Sichon . These giants were the protectors of Moab and with their defeat , Moav seeing Israel approaching , became very worried that seeing as Israel were able to conquer their Giant protectors , Israel would surely do the same to them . In order to try and overcome this problem the Moabites decided to appoint Balak as their King . Balak was not even a Moabite but partly from Midyan . Moav and Midyan were not allies , but these two nations decided to work together to help each other handle the oncoming threat of our Jewish nation advancing towards them . Balak was himself a warrior and he also delved into the negative Tum'a arts of magic and he knew where to curse a person from . Balak in this Parsha is named " Balak ben Tzippor , " ( " ben " meaning " son of Tzippor " ) where his Father too was also into negative magic . Balak had this title " ben Tzippor " , for where a tzippor is a bird , Balak used to catch live birds , skin them and put their tongues into a made up copy of a bird and say certain incantations of negative Tum'a Impurity that would after a few days , cause the bird to speak and tell of future events . It happened on a certain occasion , that this made up bird that Balak had done , flew away and returned to Balak one day with a sudden burst of fire coming at it out of the sky and singing its tail . Balak knew that he would have to get help as the issue that was put to him about Israel being on the way , showed that defeat was inevitable for the Moabites . Balak sent emissaries to Midyan , remembering that he had heard that our leader Moshe had grown up there and Balak hoped to find out his weakness . The emissaries returned , telling him that our power is in our mouths of prayer to HaShem , Who Saves us when we call out to Him , so Balak decided that the answer was to hurt us by mouth , which brought him to the conclusion that we needed cursing by mouth to defeat us . Balak remembered a man called Bilaam who had prophesied that Balak would become King one day and that Bilaam was known as a man for hire to curse enemies and that his curses would come true . Bilaam was the grandson of Lavan , where Lavan was the brother of Rivka and the Father of Rachel , Leah , Bilhah and Zilpah , our Fore - Mothers and so , Lavan put the hatred he had for Yaakov , their husband , into his children and it came down to his grandson and fellow evil magician Bilaam , who also delved into and used the negative powers of Tum'a , being a great friend and counselor of the Egyptian Pharaohs . Bilaam had a deep hatred for the Jewish people . Bilaam was one of Pharaoh's advisors in Egypt as one of the three advisors ,with Iyov Job and Yisro Jethro . It was Bilaam as one of these three , that had wanted and advised Pharaoh to kill little Moshe when Moshe had sat on Pharaoh's throne and put on his crown as a game in Egypt as a child , when Moshe was tested with the hot coal . It was Bilaam who had advised Pharaoh to throw our Jewish boys into the Nile . It was Bilaam , who had advised Pharaoh to bathe in the blood of the Jewish children , when Pharaoh had gotten leprous sores . This was the same Bilaam who the nations were given as a prophet , so that the nations could never say about us that had they ever gotten a prophet like Moshe they too would have become high and holier . It was this same Bilaam that had put an evil spell around Egypt's borders to prevent the Jews from running away from slavery . Thus Bilaam was the negative Tum'a prophet to Moshe's Holy Kedusha Prophet , each choosing their path to travel spiritually . The Haftorah for this Parsha is in Micha 5 : 6 - 6 : 8 , suitable for the Sedra , for it also mentions Bilaam and Balak . Bilaam , had a certain ability and that was to know the exact time to curse someone , relying on HaShem's Anger for a person at that moment . This moment was usually just after midday when the Sun was high in the sky and starting to wane . The reason HaShem Would Get Angry at that time was when the Sun was high in the Sky , it was then that people used to worship it as a deity , thus making HaShem Angry At Idol Worship at that moment . Bilaam would know the time to curse and putting that together with Balak , who knew from where to curse , the two of them would be a formidable enemy .As I mentioned earlier , Bilaam had originally put a curse and border holding spell around Egypt so that the Jews would be prevented from ever leaving and now it was apparent , that this spell was broken . Bilaam knew of HaShem and accounted HaShem as G-D . So when Balak sent emissaries to Bilaam , Bilaam first asked the elders that had been sent , to spend the night there to see what HaShem Would Respond , in the meantime , Bilaam , being a man who was completely impure , hoped to have his way with these men , as he would have with his poor donkey . HaShem Appeared to Bilaam , not in the Clear Way That HaShem Appears to Moshe and warned Bilaam not to go and curse Israel , for By HaShem , we are Blessed . So Bilaam sent the officers back to Balak , who kept sending more emissaries of higher ranks with silver and gold to persuade Bilaam to change his mind . Bilaam responded that even if Balak gave his houseful of riches ( thus hinting that Balak should offer more than just his household full of riches ) , that Bilaam could not transgress The Word Of HaShem , even though Bilaam would have wanted to . Again Bilaam had them stay there the night also hoping to have his way with them and hoping to still be able to go and curse us , But Again HaShem Warned him and Told him that he may only go if and only if he speaks As HaShem Commands . The next morning , Bilaam saddled his own she- donkey ( unusual as he usually had his servants do that ) , showing his eagerness to go and curse us , yet our Fore-Father Avraham also saddled his donkey himself when he was on the way to the Akeidah with his son , showed how Avraham was holy and opposite to Bilaam and so , Avraham's Actions then stood as a shining Action and so HaShem Allowed Avraham's action to go toward covering us for this incident of Bilaam . In Bilaam's heart , he still hoped to curse the Jews and so , HaShem's Anger flared up because he was going for that reason . So HaShem Sent an Angel to impede him . This Angel Of HaShem was none other then Satan , who is not what people think , but an Angel who comes to sometimes impede and put an opposition in our paths , to make sure we deserve the Good That HaShem Lavishes On us . The she - donkey saw the Angel Of HaShem , even though Bilaam did not and she turned away from the road and went into the field . Bilaam hit his she-donkey to turn it back onto the road . Again the Angel of HaShem stood in the path . The she - donkey saw the Angel Of HaShem and pressed against a wall , thus pressing and injuring Bilaam's leg against the wall . This wall place was actually a reminder to Bilaam for it was the very mound that his grandfather Lavan and our Forefather Yaakov had set up , so as never to go against each other and here was Lavan's descendant Bilaam going against that agreement . Bilaam ignored the place and this agreement and again hit his she - donkey . The Angel Of HaShem went again further up and stood in a narrow place where no movement could take place either right or left and now the she-donkey lay down and did not move . Bilaam again hit her . HaShem Performed A Miracle , one that was Created At The Beginning Of Creation , this talking she donkey ( as Pirkei Avos teaches us ) and the she-donkey spoke up against Bilaam in front of and to the embarrassment of Bilaam's servants and all that were around him . No matter how Bilaam tried to talk her down , she showed wisdom beyond his attempted lies . The she-donkey acknowledged how Bilaam would use her for other purposes , to the embarrassment of Bilaam and showed how close they were , for the she-donkey was forced to submit to such a vile man doing such vile things . It was Bilaam who was the first in history , to open up gambling houses and places of paid prostitution . These three occassions that the donkey veered or disobeyed Bilaam , our Rabbis say , was also due to the Holiness of our Holy Three Fore-Fathers Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov . HaShem Then Uncovered Bilaam's eyes and he saw the Angel Of HaShem . The Angel spoke to Bilaam and even referred to the fact that he , the Angel , had to kill the she- donkey or else it would have become an object to be wrongly sadly worshiped . Again the Angel instructs Bilaam to go and say only As HaShem Commands . When Bilaam finally met Balak , Balak had set up a fake city scene to show lots of people , to try and get sympathy from Bilaam of how many people would suffer if Israel would attack . Bilaam expected a bigger welcome , but Balak sent him only a measly portion to eat and kept the best for himself so Bilaam decided that he would have Balak set up repeated altars with lots of offerings , so Balak would have to use what Balak did not want to spare on Bilaam for a welcome meal . Bilaam again reiterated that only What HaShem Says , can he say and cannot transgress HaShem's Wish . We notice that each time they went to a separate place , Bilaam has Balak set up seven altars with seven bulls and seven rams three times . Bilaam chose this number specifically , for he wanted to try and bribe HaShem , by offering seven false intentioned gifts to try and counteract seven holy men from our people - Moshe , Aharon , Avraham , Yitzchak , Yaakov , Yosef and Adam . HaShem Is All Wise and so , Bilaam's attempts were turned on his own head . We notice how it says That HaShem " Happened on Bilaam ," - " Vayikar ," where HaShem Did Not Actually Want to Communicate with Bilaam , But Did So out of necessity , unlike with Moshe , which has the same word " Vayikra , " but with an Alef at the end , in the book of Vayikra , made smaller in a Torah Scroll , showing How HaShem Wants To Communicate with the righteous Moshe Rabbeinu . Moshe was so humble that he did not feel that he deserved the same word as was spoken to Bilaam and so Moshe wanted to leave out the Alef all together from this word , So HaShem , To Show Moshe's beautiful humility for all time , Compromised With Moshe And Allowed Moshe to write the Alef smaller . Bilaam , instead of cursing us blesses us Thanks To HaShem . By Bilaam's words in each of the four times he speaks , one can see what he really wanted to say things as a negative wish , But HaShem Turned everything he wanted to say to a Positive Blessing . Bilaam ends up blessing us and angering Balak . Balak decides to go to another place to find a vantage point to hopefully find iniquity in us from there , But Again HaShem Turns it into a Blessing and Bilaam speaks his second words of blessing to us . Bilaam realized our Tznius and family purity and how not a single tent's opening or window of ours faced a neighboring husband and wife's tent , for pure modesty , so no evil eye could be put on us . Bilaam hoped to catch HaShem's Moment of Anger , but for our sakes , HaShem Chose Not To Sit in Judgement that day . By the end of the second words of Bilaam , Balak was so angry with Bilaam that he hit Bilaam in the eye, making him lose an eye and that is why Bilaam then refers to himself as the one with the open ' eye ' ( singular ) . The third time Bilaam speaks , he talks of future prophecies of what we will do to different enemies in the future , like Amalek and the Kittim . Bilaam even speaks of the End Of Days and Mashiach in his prophecies and reminds the World That HaShem Is Not A Man ( Numbers 23 : 19 ) . Again Balak gets angry and hits him . Bilaam reminds Balak that he cannot go against HaShem's Wish . Automatically , Bilaam suddenly goes into his fourth prophecy and tells Balak what we will do to his people at the End of Days , thus reminding him that we Israel have no intention at that time to attack Moav in that day and generation , but only in the far distant future . Bilaam then leaves but not before he helps to set up a trap for Israel that may bring on HaShem's Wrath upon us on purpose , seeing that he could not find another way to get HaShem to be upset with us . At times in our history , Bilaam's intended negativity against us has carried and hit us at times , like the 42 aggressive youths killed in Elisha the Prophet's time , when they came out at Elisha , for Bilaam offered in this Sedra 42 animals as offerings . We need to thus ensure that we remain close to HaShem's Laws and keep family purity and modesty and always be of a holy pure Physical and Spiritual character for Tznius purity keeps negativity away . A market got set up on the border near the Israelite camp , with wares to sell and inside each tent was a young lady set to trap the young men of our people . Even Bilaam's daughter was set up to try and entice Moshe and with her , Balak's daughter too , also to try and catch Moshe , yet she ( Balak's daughter named Cozbi bas Tzur , where Tzur was a name some gave Balak before Midyan asked for his help as ' Tzur ' has the same letters as the Hebrew word ' Tzureir , ' which means 'foe or enemy , ' as Balak was thought of by his own Midyanim before they needed his help and called him ) Cozbi ended up with Zimri , leader of the Tribe of Simeon . The place they chose for this was Shittim , a place known at the time for an air of immorality . HaShem Already had , prior to this , Taken into account the sin that would be committed there And Had Already Prepared something that would help us atone for this sin , and that was the wood used in the construction of the Holy Place in the Wilderness , wood from Shittim . Once the Israelite men would be browsing in the market , they would be tricked into going and looking inside the tents of the markets , where the young girls ( a mixture of Moabites and Midianites ) were waiting to ply them with drink and apparent friendliness ( at that time , the prohibition of drinking foreign wine was not yet in force ) . The result was that these women got some of them to drink and eat with them and then end up paying homage to the idol by relieving themselves in front of it , which was the way that they worshiped their idol . HaShem's Anger Flared And HaShem Instructed Moshe to kill them , those who had done this . Moshe asked HaShem how to know who was guilty And HaShem Revealed the guilty ones , By Removing from above them the Clouds Of Glory and so the sun shone brightly on the guilty ones ( Thus Does HaShem Instruct That they be hanged against the sun ) . The leader of the Tribe of Simeon Zimri ben Salu managed to persuade Cozbi ( daughter of Balak ) who was meant to entice Moshe , to come with Zimri into his tent , in the direct view of Moshe . Moshe was so stunned that he could not even respond . Sitting near him was Aharon's relative Pinchas , who could not take this affront to HaShem and his Rebbe Moshe and asked Moshe what he should do , for a child of Israel who cohabits with a gentile woman , especially one who is an idol worshiper , the punishment is that he will be killed by zealots . Moshe responded that ' what he states , may he go and fulfill it . ' Pinchas picked up Moshe's spear and followed Zimri to the tent and pierced them both , causing to halt , the plague HaShem Had Sent . 24 000 people fell that day , the same amount of our people that died as Rabbi Akiva's students later on in history . Pinchas was now covered and protected By HaShem for his action in saving The Honor Of HaShem and his Rebbe Moshe . It is here where the Parsha ends . In this Parsha , evil Balak calls evil Bilaam to come and put an ' Ayin Horah ' - ' An Evil Eye , ' on innocent nation Israel . But instead of Bilaam cursing us , HaShem Sees to it that we get Blessed instead . Just As HaShem Turned the wicked plot of these two evil men Balak and Bilaam against them on their own heads , Turning the curses into Blessings , So Did HaShem Turn haman's evil schemes against him , Making his plan come back down on his own evil head . How Beautiful And Caring And Faithful Is HaShem And His Love For His People Israel . We notice that in referring to the ' Ayin Horah , ' - ' Evil Eye , ' we note that only one eye is mentioned . Don't people usually have two eyes . So why only mention a single eye as an Evil Eye ? The answer to this is that those who curse and wish harm on others , are only looking at part of the picture and that makes them jealous . They are not looking clearly , as if with both their eyes open . They are thus viewing a distorted view of reality , seeing only the things that they want to see and not the full picture about the person whom they covet , who may also have their problems too as we all have . This is why Bilaam ended up with one eye , as punishment for his self - chosen distorted view of his own jealous reality , which is certainly not a reality at all . Only HaShem Sees All , Viewing All Facets of a situation , as if with many eyes and thus can never do Negative or Evil Things , For HaShem Never Just Looks With one covetous eye , for all things Belong To HaShem And He Does Not Need to Covet what is already His , By Him Being The Creator Of All . We say that one eye looks to the Physical while the other eye looks higher to the Spiritual . Thus to look with one eye is to only see the Physical and the wants and desires of the flesh . This is the error of the ones who curse others for bad , due to their own negativity within themselves . To see the full picture , we need to open up both our eyes , the Physical and the Spiritual that is within us and look On High . Look always toward G-D . Look beyond what we think we see . We see so little with our limited human capabilities . Only G-D Can See All . Only G-D Can Truly Judge . Only G-D Sees Creation as it truly is . All those of the nations who see the Jews in the antisemitic ugly ways that they choose to , are only looking with a ' Single - Eye , view . ' They are not able to see the depths and Spiritual reaches of the Jew . They are not able to see beyond their own physicalities and so , they call for our harm and destruction Chas Ve Shalom , as did Bilaam and in a similar way Haman , as well as all the others throughout History who so badly wanted and still want our extermination , Chas Ve Shalom . But it will never happen , as they cannot see with anything more than a single limited view , the view of the one that looks with only the one open eye , like Bilaam . At the End of Days , the nations will open up both their eyes and realize how wrong they were all along and that all false beliefs and deified men and false physical deities that they see with only the one open physical eye, were actually never of any use . The Only True Path Is The Path Of HaShem , The Only Path With An Open View Of The Wide Deep And Holy Truth . So What HaShem Did , Was To Open Both Bilaam's Eyes to Show the True Truth and so , did Bilaam utter The True Prophecy From HaShem . The now open eye that Bilaam referred to , was the one he never made an effort to open so he could see a fuller picture . HaShem Thus Opened his view and so he was able to see the Truth and Speak it . No wonder he suffered with not full vision , for he was unholy and thus unable to stand the view of the Tinge And Glimpse Of The True Light Of HaShem's Prophecy . After these prophecies , Bilaam never again prophesied and his life thereafter got the result he had wanted for us , for he ended up being slain by the sword , just like Haman got the death he had wanted for Mordechai and so will be the case with all our enemies . We are also about to start tomorrow , from the 17th of Tammuz till Tisha B'Av , the Three Weeks of Mourning , where the 17th of Tammuz was the day when sadly the Luchos Tablets were broken after the incident of the Chait Ha ' Eigel , the golden calf . This is really a time for us to all open up both our eyes , the one that sees Physicality and the one that sees far ranging Spirituality within and work toward fixing ourselves from within , to see beyond our own limited physicality , opening both our eyes , so that we can work away our Aveirahs and give HaShem Most Of All and others , the benefit of the doubt , for we see so little of the total picture And Only HaShem Sees All . May we all Truly Serve HaShem in Spiritual and Total Love Always And Forever . I Love You HaShem . I wish HaShem With So Very Much Eternal And Sweetest Love , A Very Sweet And Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh With Forever Love and to all of my fellow Jews , A Very Special And Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love and a Meaningful Fast . Shabbat Shalom to all of HaShem's Creation . May The Eternal Shabbos Kodesh Come Soon In our days .

The Shabbos Parsha is Parashas Chukas . In this Parsha , The Torah continues with the Laws of the Kohanim and continuing from the previous Parsha , Moshe Is Told By HaShem how to cleanse one of the Tum'a Impurity of a dead body . This request was made in the morning And HaShem Did Not Answer Moshe straight away , But Waited Until he was with Aharon And HaShem Spoke To them both Instructing On The Laws Of The Parah Aduma , The Red Heifer . This Law of the Parah Aduma is called a Chok and is one of the Chukkim . In The Torah , the word Chok appears with four cases . This one of the Parah Aduma where a Red Heifer , prepared As HaShem Instructs , purifies one who has the strictest Tum'a level , Av HaTum'a , yet it makes Tamei Impure , one who prepares it according to its Laws . Another Law that in The Holy Torah is called a Chok , is the Law of Shaatnez , which is the Law of not mixing wool and linen together in the same garment , yet it is fine to put them together in Tzitzis . Our Rabbonim teach us that this possibly could have to do with the offerings that Kayin and Hevel brought ( Cain and Abel ) , where Kayin offered what was as or like linen as our Rabbis teach us flax- seed where Hevel who offered a beheima korban offered as or like wool and so we do not mix a good action with a bad one . Another Law where the Hebrew word ' Chok ,' appears in The Holy Torah is to do with the Law of Yibum , where if a man dies childless, his surviving widow can be taken and married to the surviving brother , so long as there were no children from the one who passed on and so , children can be brought up in the deceased brother's merit . The fourth example of the word 'Chok ' appearing in The Holy Torah , is to do with the S'air La' Azazel the goat sent to Azazel , which purifies the Camp , yet makes impure the one who handles it . There are other Chukkim , like Shabbos and sending away the Mother Bird , but these are not directly stated in Torah as Chukkim with the word ' Chok . ' So what is this Chok That HaShem , In His Holy Torah Refers to ? HaShem Gave us Laws and Ordinances and with them , explanations of understanding some of the meaning of the why's , but with a Chok , the reasons are hidden . Even though , to all Torah Laws , there are hidden facets To All Of HaShem Commands , but with the Chukkim , The rationale behind them , is totally hidden , beyond logic . So doing them obediently , is purely for the love and trust of HaShem , which could be a possible reason for them , for to obey HaShem without even the reward of knowing why , is in itself a beautiful and certainly good enough reason for A Law , for it shows from us , the pure love we have for HaShem to follow Him Wholeheartedly and trust Him totally faithfully , a belief that proves that we have total faith That HaShem Is the Creator of Creation , which is just my personal idea of the why . Only Moshe was given much of the deep reasons for the Chukkim , but no one else . Shlomo Ha Melech , who was the wisest of men and who was able to fathom the deep reasons for all the other Chukkim , had to admit in Mishlei , that this Law of the Parah Aduma eludes him . Now this was the Shlomo Ha Melech , who had knowledge of Astronomy that surpassed even that of Avraham and Shlomo's knowledge of Science , surpassed even that of Scientists of our time and Shlomo's knowledge of the character and understanding of Animals , was even beyond Adam's knowledge , for it was Adam Ha Rishon who named them according to their characteristics that they had and would have in the future . Shlomo's knowledge of Torah reached to great depths , where he was able to state 3000 parables to explain each Torah Law and over 1005 depths to each Mishpat . Shlomo's wisdom allowed him to reach a very deep understanding of people and he was also able to know what their thoughts were , not because he was telepathic , but because his knowledge of anatomy and health ( having written a book on herbal healing ) and psychology was unsurpassed . His Judgements were beyond physical knowledge as we know with the case of the two women and the child . In another case , three merchants came before him , telling him how they had stopped together for Shabbos in a place and each one had buried his money . After Shabbos the money was stolen and so they came before Shlomo Ha Melech for Judgement . He heard their case and told them he wanted to pose to them a different question . He related a story of a woman who had betrothed herself to a man who had then given her a dowry when she was a very young girl and the two of them had since moved apart . When she grew up , she subsequently met someone else and so she decided to return to the man who she had agreed with when she was young to return the dowry . That man agreed to free her for the sake of her happiness . On her way back , she was set upon by a robber who wanted to take the dowry and have his way with her . She pleaded that he not do that and make her impure and told him he wouldbe forever punished and that she would not want that , so the robber agreed to let her go . King Solomon asked the three merchants who stood before him for judgement , who in this other story was the real hero, the woman , the man who agreed to let her marry the other man , or the robber ? The first merchant said the woman ,the second merchant said the man who gave her freedom to marry the other man , but the third one said ,' The robber who not only let her go and didn't defile her , but returned the money too . ' Shlomo Ha Melech ordered the third merchant accused and he straight away confessed , for King Solomon said that he did not even have the compassion to worry about the feelings of the woman who was threatened or the man who gave up marrying his intended bride , but only worried about the money . So great was the wisdom of Shlomo Ha Melech , yet he still said that this Chok of the Parah Aduma is beyond him . The Red Heifer , as Instructed Here By HaShem , had to be a completely Red Heifer , without even two hairs of another colour . It had to be completely pure , without ever having a yoke put upon it , given to Elazar the Kohein , who had to take it outside the camp for Shechting . Some of its blood had to be sprinkled with his forefinger seven times toward the Tent of Meeting . It had to be burnt . The Kohein was to take cedar-wood , hyssop and a crimson thread ( coloured with the blood of a worm ) and thrown into the burning of the Heifer . The Kohein had to then immerse himself and his clothing and only then enter the camp , remaining contaminated till evening . The ones who burnt it and who gathered the ash , the same . A pure man was to gather the ash of it and put it in a place outside the camp in a pure place as safekeeping , for water of sprinkling , for purification . HaShem's Holy Torah Explains the process carried out then for one who came in contact with a corpse . And some of the Laws of Tum'a are then mentioned and the different levels of Tum'a . Our Sages have offered explanations for the possible reasons of this Chok and have linked it to the Chait Ha Eigel , the Sin of the Golden Calf . As a completely Red Heifer is taken , it is like the Blood of those who deserved death for that sin . As this purifies from death , so did the Golden Calf bring death back to the generation . It had to be a pure Heifer , as the Sin of the Golden Calf brought back Sin to the entire Camp . As the Heifer had to have never had a yoke put on it , sadly the people sinning at the Chait Ha ' Eigel had tried to throw off The Yoke Of HaShem . As the Parah Aduma had to be burnt and its ash used , so did the sinners at the Golden Calf have to drink the very dust that they had supported before it was burnt in the Sin of the Golden Calf , which was also like a Heifer . As Cedar-wood and Hyssop had to be tied with a crimson thread , so was the cedar-wood a sign of affluent arrogance , while the lowly Hyssop was a sign of humbling oneself , where the crimson thread was a sign of the blood of death and sin that was the result . Thus it was like saying that the very calf idea that was the part to the sin , needed a heifer calf to purify . Like but opposite , cures . Up until now , there have been nine Red Heifers and we await the tenth one in Moshiach's time . The first one was prepared in Moshe's time , on the Second of Nissan . I believe the idea of the Red Heifer purifying the contaminated , yet making impure , the ones who prepared it , has to do with , that without the negativity of temptation of Sin , we cannot rise above it and choose the good and thus become holier . We need tests to become holy , as it is in the overcoming of and rising above them , that we grow into holiness , thus we need the negativity and the temptation of Sin in this World , in order to Avoid it and not to be robots that just live a positive life with no growing . It is in the very choice of either , that helps us grow to holiness . But that is just my idea and thoughts . The word " Chok , " in Hebrew can also be part of the root word ' Rachok , ' which means ' Far from ,' showing us that these Chukkim , are far from our own level of wisdom and sit On High with HaShem Only . Just after these Laws of the Parah Aduma , tragedy came , in the form of the passing of Miriam , Moshe and Aharon's sister . With her passing , also went the waters from the Well of Miriam . Miriam merited this Well of Water because she had watched over baby Moses in the Nile till Batya came and drew him from the water and gave him the name Moshe , Inspired By HaShem and also because she had helped Jewish babies get born in Egypt , against the decree of Pharaoh . This Well was actually a rock from which water spewed out , in Miriam's merit and this water would , From HaShem , provide water in the Wilderness , that would flow to all the Tribes , for the leader of each tribe would come with their staff and draw a line in the sand from the Rock and the water would follow toward each Tribe . With the passing of Miriam , the Water stopped flowing and the people came to the mourning Moshe and Aharon , wanting water . This took place near the end of the journey in the Wilderness . The remnants of the Eirav Rav , those were not of Israel that wanted to come along with the Children of Israel when we left Egypt , wanted to bait Moshe into getting water from a different rock . This is why Moshe called them rebels and referred to 'this rock ,' which was not the Rock Well of Miriam , for Moshe wanted to insist that only from The Rock Of HaShem , that was the Well of Miriam , should the water come . HaShem Instructed Moshe to take Aharon and speak to the Rock which also meant teach Torah in front of the Rock , so that they would realize That The True Source Is HaShem for all Living Water which is also a reference to The Holy Torah . HaShem Only Asked Moshe to bring the Assembly , but Moshe , meaning well , wanted to publicize The Miracle Of HaShem and thus called the entire Congregation . One must listen to HaShem Who Knows best . It was then that Moshe disobeyed HaShem in anger and struck the Rock Well of Miriam twice , once when only a trickle of water came out and then again when it came out Gushing . To HaShem , our anger as an emotion is wrong , for in those moments of anger , we lose sense of HaShem and in the Gemorrah it is akin to Avodah Zorah Idol Worship Chas Ve Shalom . HaShem Then Decreed That Moshe and Aharon would not enter the Holy Land . Again , beyond our understanding . Our Rabbis say that in Moshiach's time Moshe will come and lead those who never got in during our travel in the Wilderness , into Eretz Yisroel , may that day come soon in our days Be ' Ezrat HaShem Bekarov . There was an opportunity to Sanctify HaShem's Name here at the Rock by showing that through Torah , comes aid to life , not anger . The Well of Miriam Rock had healing powers By HaShem if one had faith in HaShem and today , sits in the Sea of Tiberius . Moshe coming to the border of Israel , sent emissaries asking Edom to let us pass through the land , not for war , but in peace and that we would not touch a thing , but Edom threatened and did not allow us to go through . Moshe asked a second time but Edom came out with a massive army and so we journeyed away and around , to the area of Hor Hahar , Mount Hor . It was here that HaShem Told Moshe to tell his brother Aharon , that Aharon was to pass on and Elazar would succeed him . Aharon went up with Moshe and Elazar on the 1st of Av and it was this day that Aharon , dressed in Heavenly Garments passed away with a Divine Kiss Of HaShem . With the passing of Aharon , so did HaShem's Clouds of Glory in Aharon's merit also remove Itself for that time , thus leaving K'lal Yisroel exposed . When Moshe came down with Elazar , the people protested and blamed Moshe for the passing of Aharon , saying that he must have pronounced some judgement upon him . Aharon was very well liked by the people , known for making Sholom Bayis between couples and also between people involved in Machlokes ( friction and strife ) , where he would inform each one that the other is sorry and wants to make peace , for he deep down knew , that very deep down , the Yiddishe Neshoma wants to be at peace with their fellow Jew , even if the body does not know or realize it yet . Moshe prayed that HaShem Show them a sign of his death and so , HaShem displayed his resting place in the air . Because the Clouds of Glory in Aharon's merit had lifted and because of the complaints and attacks on Moshe , HaShem Sent Amalek against us . HaShem Gave us Victory Against them . They are specified as Canaanites for they were disguised as such but were really Amalekites who thought they could trick us , for our power is In HaShem when we pray to HaShem For HaShem Watches Over us Always and they thought we would pray for help against the Canaanites , but they would be Amalek in disguise . How wrong they were for we spotted their different features and clothes and thus prayed to HaShem to generally help us with this present enemy and how silly they were , For HaShem Knows who they are . The people came and complained to Moshe about the Manna ( Mann ) and thus Loshoned HaShem . It was in honor of Moshe that the Manna fell for us . So HaShem Sent fiery serpents ( like the animal (serpent) ) into which Samael came when he tempted Adam Ve Chava , For HaShem Wanted To Show them the result of Loshon Horah , with the first creature that Loshoned HaShem . The people begged Moshe to ask HaShem To Remove the fiery serpents . HaShem Instructed Moshe to make a fiery serpent ' Nachash ' ( made of copper , which in Hebrew is also ' Nechoshes ' ) to miraculously throw it on the pole and when the people would look up at it , they would be healed . It wasn't the looking up at the serpent that did the healing . It was the direction of upward at and toward Heaven , That Through HaShem , the people would be healed , when they looked up toward HaShem . This serpent on a pole was kept for many generations and became a subject of idol worship which was called ' Nechushtan . ' The people wrongly chose to believe that the healing powers came from it , but as we know , Healing Is Only From HaShem . Thus in King Chizkiyahu's time , spoken of in the Books of the Kings , he destroyed it . The people continued to journey and near Arnon , HaShem Performed For us A Miracle , for the inhabitants there had planned to stand on either side of the narrow pass , on opposite mountains , wanting to throw large boulders down upon us , which we were not even aware of until the river ran red afterwards , But HaShem Brought the sharp jutting mountains Together And Squashed our enemy , Without us even knowing it at that moment That HaShem Did it . This is also what the words in Torah are about in this Sedra . How Often Does HaShem Protect our road ahead , without us even ever knowing it , Of What HaShem Removed From our pathways , So That In His Love , we escape unknowingly , without any harm . Something to consider and think about , How Great Is HaShem's Love For us . HaShem Then instructs Moshe to wage war with Sichon king of the Amorites and Og , King of Bashan . These two giants , were the offspring originally of the Fallen Angel Shemchazai and a human woman . They were both brothers these two giants and Moshe personally killed them both himself and our people defeated their people only with HaShem's Help , For HaShem Helped us to destroy the enemy . This was the same Og , who had lived in Avraham's time , who was the messenger who had come to tell Avraham that his nephew Lot had been taken captive . Og came to warn Avraham about Lot , not for the good of Lot , but to try and get Avraham to join the battle and get killed Chas Ve Shalom , so that Og could get Sarah for himself , But HaShem , Who Is All Knowing , Saved Avraham . This is why our Haftorah for this Sedra portion is from the book of Judges 11 : 1 - 33 , where the people of Ammon want to wage war against us , for it was the Ammonites who had lost their land to Sichon and now that we had in Moshe's time defeated Sichon and Og and thus captured that land part of Moav , that their fellow brothers the Ammonites wanted it back . After the defeat of these two giants , the Children of Israel journeyed and encamped in the plains of Moav near the Jordan River , near Yericho and this is where this Holy Parsha ends . With the two giant protectors of the nations in K'na'an killed , the people there were terror stricken and so , decided that there last hope lay in the evil Bilaam , ( which appears in the next Sedra ) , who had previously come and helped Sichon and Og defeat the Moabites by cursing them , for that section that was taken in our war with them , was originally Moabite territory , for Bilaam was known at that time for cursing a person or nation and it would happen . Little did he or they know , that it was not Bilaam's curse , But HaShem Manoeuvring things For our Jewish people So As To Ensure That we attain that area . HaShem Continues His Involvement With His Creation even though we are not aware of it . HaShem gave us Chukkim Out Of Pure Love For us And For His Creation . All HaShem Does , Is Done Out Of Pure Love . We may not and actually do not understand His Holy Ways . We are not and never can be on HaShem's Lofty Holy Level , even though we are to try and emulate His Ways and Strive for Him all the time in all that we do and wherever we are . We are to have Emunah and Bitachon , Faith and Trust in Him . The very fact That HaShem Created Creation And All That is still to come , as part Of That Creation , shows that we know nothing and HaShem Knows All . Thus all Creation is like a " Chok , " an unexplained Mystery of HaShem's Wonders And Reasons . We might try through the Centuries to surmise and conclude reasons , but at the end of the day , we are too small to really know the depths of It all or even a minute speck of It . Though HaShem Tells us in the Prophet Isaiah , " That All He Created , was purely for His Glory That He Created It , " we really do not understand HaShem's True Meaning Of That . All that we can do is trust Him . HaShem Does Know All . The idea of a " Chok " is a perfect opportunity as I mentioned earlier and we need to take this opportunity to show HaShem how much we love Him , by doing all That HaShem Asks Of us , following Torah explicitly and Knowing with contentment , That His Laws are our Guide to Life here and in the hereafter . HaShem's Torah Is our Lighthouse on the stormy sea of this World and so , listening to HaShem will always bring us home . Creation is a Mystery , But HaShem's Love Is Always Within us . All that we need to do is to follow That Path Of His Love and the future is guaranteed . For HaShem Is All And HaShem Can Always Be Relied Upon To Bring us To Shamayim Heaven . We need to trust in His " Chukkim " And Torah Laws and take His Hand and let HaShem With His Immense Love , Lead us To Him . If we compare what we know , to What HaShem Knows , it is as if we know Nothing . But let us remember that at the beginning of Creation , HaShem First Created the Nothingness And Out Of that , Creation Came From HaShem . The Creation was there Within HaShem 's Thought , Waiting To Be Revealed . By following HaShem's Laws In His Holy Torah , The Light That Is Within that Nothingness Will Be Revealed in its time . Not knowing the reasons and doing the Laws either way , is revealing the Light Hidden within all things and to reveal The Light , is to reveal HaShem's Shechinah . We will never know everything , but we can be content that all things can be safely left In HaShem's Capable Hands and all that we need to do , is to follow wholeheartedly where HaShem Knows we need to go , the Way That HaShem Instructs us to do it . We do this with loving trust in The Creator of All Things , of Tomorrow and of the Future - in the loving trust of HaShem Ha Kadosh Baruch Hu , The One And Only G-D . May HaShem's Closeness Be Revealed Soon In our days , for True Shamayim Heaven , is only Within The Loving Arms Of HaShem HaKadosh Baruch Hu HaShem The Holy One Blessed Be He . I wish HaShem With Love Beyond Love Forever And Eternal Sweet Love , A Very Special And Beloved Shabbos Kodesh With Eternal Beautiful Love and to all my fellow Jews and to all of Creation , a Very Blessed and Very Special and Very Beautiful Shabbos Kodesh with love .