Thursday, July 6, 2023

Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Pinchas

Although there are no live Rabbi Frand shiurim on the Parsha until Elul, R' Frand posted a pre-recorded Parsha vort on OU Torah. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/160759, but I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

R' Frand began by noting that Parshas Pinchas begins the last days of Moshe Rabbeinu. The Torah states in Bamidbar 27:13 that after being instructed to go up on Har Ha'Avarim and - וְרָאִ֣יתָה אֹתָ֔הּ וְנֶֽאֱסַפְתָּ֥ אֶל־עַמֶּ֖יךָ גַּם־אָ֑תָּה כַּֽאֲשֶׁ֥ר נֶֽאֱסַ֖ף אַֽהֲרֹ֥ן אָחִֽיךָ.

R' Frand noted that there is a parallel parsha in the Torah for which he sometimes sheds tears. He was referring to the last part of Zos HaBracha in Perek 34, pesukim 1-3 where Moshe is told to view the land in certain detail, and thereafter Hashem says in Devarim 34:4 - זֹ֤את הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר נִ֠שְׁבַּ֠עְתִּי לְאַבְרָהָ֨ם לְיִצְחָ֤ק וּלְיַֽעֲקֹב֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר לְזַרְעֲךָ֣ אֶתְּנֶ֑נָּה הֶרְאִיתִ֣יךָ בְעֵינֶ֔יךָ וְשָׁ֖מָּה לֹ֥א תַֽעֲבֹֽר .

R' Frand remarked that it would seem somewhat cruel - Moshe is told - look at it, but you can't go there. R' Frand said that this was not meant to torture Moshe, but the pasuk always bothered him.

R' Frand quoted an answer from Ner Uziel which was written by a bochur from Uruguay who R' Frand knew in Ner Israel. He explains that the Jews had seven shepherds - and these are the seven Ushpizin. And in Kaballah, each of these corresponds to the seven Sefiros. Avraham = Chessed. Yitzchak = Gevurah. Moshe = Netzach - eternity. Because everything that Moshe did was forever. Moshe gave us the Torah and it will be forever. 

Hashem then had a problem - if Moshe had taken the Jews into Israel we would have remained there forever. But in Hashem's grand plan we were not destined to be in Israel forever and the Beis HaMikdash was not intended to stand forever. However Moshe did infuse in us a Netzach - an eternal desire and passion to be connected to the land of Israel. We pray for our return in myriad ways and we all have the longing to be there. And this was implanted by Moshe - because Moshe was given the opportunity to see Israel and have the desire to be there - this was infused in our DNA. This showing was not meant to be sadistic, it was meant to inspire a love and desire for Israel in the Jewish people.

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