Rabbi Elyse Frishman

The narrative of Parashat Pinchas is disturbing: the grandson of the High Priest Aaron slew two people, and was rewarded. Was he a zealot or not? He took lives. Did he save lives? From last week's Parashat Balak, we read: "While Israel was staying at Shittim, the menfolk profaned themselves

" In the beginning, God created . . . B'reishit bara Elohim et . . ." (Genesis 1:1). Et is the fourth word of Torah and it has no meaning. It's a grammatical Hebrew term marking the direct object hashamayim, "the heavens."The purpose of et appears to be to draw

Judaism teaches us to distinguish the holy.

On the day that the Mishkan was fully erected, the princely chieftains were instructed to bring identical tribal offerings to the Mishkan (Numbers 7:10). It is striking that God's instruction to bless the people (Numbers 6:22-27) preceded these gift offerings-as if to make clear that the priestly blessing was completely

With Shavuot coming, we begin a new book of Torah, the Book of Numbers, B'midbar . Contrasting Vayikra and B'midbar , the former focuses on how to live in holy ways, whereas B'midbar is filled with confrontation. Vayikra describes what would take place within the Mishkan , providing opportunities for spiritual cleansing and elevation including the most personal details of life.