Pinchas
Rabbi Schapiro on the Parshah: Pinchas
Explores why the Rambam places the mitzvah of nachalot, the din of inheritance judged by Beit Din, as the very last of the mitzvot aseh in both Sefer HaMitzvot and the Mishneh Torah, ruling out the simple explanation that it merely concerns matters after a person's death. Draws a parallel to the final mishnah of Shas, which likewise closes with Hashem making every tzaddik inherit 310 worlds, and traces both endings to the three ways Eretz Yisrael was given to the Yidden: goral, chelek, and yerusha. Shows that yerusha represents the highest of these three bonds, since an heir is not merely given something but continues the person he inherits from, expressing the ultimate truth that Yisrael and Hashem are echad.
A Vort From the Rebbe: Pinchas (5785)
The korban tamid, a korban olah burnt entirely on the mizbe'ach, is described in the pasuk as resembling the korban brought during the days of the Mishkan's inauguration — and Rashi identifies Moshe Rabbeinu, rather than the kohanim, as the one who offered it then. Unpacking why that detail matters, the vort explains that a korban olah represents giving oneself over to Hashem completely, an avodah so demanding that it requires a special koach drawn from Moshe Rabbeinu's original offering, a koach that carries through to every Jew who brings this korban in every generation.
A Vort From the Rebbe: Pinchas (5786)
The Torah's order of inheritance in Parshas Pinchas skips over the father entirely, moving straight from children to brothers — prompting the classic question of why the pasuk assumes 'ish ki yamus' describes a case with no surviving father. The Rebbe's remez ties this to the deeper truth that death represents disconnection from Hashem, our Father in Heaven, and traces it further into Tanya's teaching that chochmah is called the father of the soul, the seat of bitul that generates true chayus — so a person only reaches the spiritual state called death when that chochmah, that bond of nullification to Hashem, is missing.
Parshas Pinchas
A vort on Parshas Pinchas exploring the Targum Yonasan's reading of 'atzeres' as a joyful gathering rather than simply holding back from work.