Shalom everyone, and thank you for joining me in the study of Parashat Pinchas. Today we will try to understand if Pinchas did something incredible, like the Torah described last week's Parsha towards the end, and again reiterate it in this week's parsha, how come he was not chosen to be the next leader after Moshe? So today we would like to discuss leadership and extremism. The Torah states at the beginning of the parsha, Pinchas bin Elazar bin Aaron a koen, Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, he in a way removed my wrath, my wrath and my rage and my anger from Am Israel from the people of Israel. Because he was the zealot that basically showed his zealousy among them, and as a result of it, I did not kill, I didn't destroy Amisrael because of my rage. And it was not only promised for Pinchas, but it's going to be for him and for his descendants. I'm going to give him an eternal priesthood for him, for his children, because he was the one to be the zealot. He was the one who basically led the charge against Zimri ben Salud, the head of the tribe of Shimon, that we read about him last week. And he brought atonement for the Jewish people. So it seems to be that the Torah goes out of its way in a way to describe why Pinchasi was so important, was such a leader, was basically there for Am Israel, for the Jewish people at that junction, that you needed someone to do what he did and he saved the Jewish people. So obviously, how come that we have the next pasuk? Moshe spoke to Hashem, which by the way, just as a side note, this is a very interesting pasoq. We always use to Vaidaber Hashem el Moshe. Hashem spoke to Moshe, and here is Moshe speaks to Hashem. He's the one to initiate the conversation. And he says to Hashem, if koda Hashem elukia u hothol basar isha laida, please, God, the God of all spirits, you should please appoint a leader on this congregation. And what are the qualifications? What are the characteristics that this person, this leader needs to have? That he will go out before them. He's going to be the one to take them, he's going to want to bring them. And the congregation of God will not be like, like a flock without a shepherd. So Moshe is looking for a shepherd. Not literally, he's looking for someone who can lead the flock, can bring them, can protect them. Why not Pinchas? Isn't that obvious, especially based on the introduction at the beginning of the Pasha, that Pinchas is supposed to be the one? He was a zealot, he received a covenant of priesthood, he received a covenant of peace. What is Moshe looking for? It's right there. So take a look at Kohelet. Shlomo Amelah King Solomon, who was the wisest of everyone, says la kolzman. There is time for everything. There is time for everything, for every object, for every person, for every phenomena under the earth. But you need to know that it might be just this time for that kind of leadership or that kind of object, and when times change, leadership might change as well. So what does it mean? Before we read the Talmud in Suta, the Bhavli in tracted sota, we need to say something about Pinchas. The Torah basically focused many times on the word kin a. In the first line, Bekan oet kinati, second line, bekinati, fourth, third line, asher kine. The idea of kin a is not jealousy, it can be jealousy also in Hebrew, but it's not jealousy, it's about zealousy, being a zealot. Being a zealot most of the time shows and it's an expression of extremism. And therefore, what we're going to see is that there is a time and a place for zealousy, to do something which basically what your gut tells you without asking too many people, without considering too many things to consider. But rather to do what you think is right and sometimes it's essential, sometimes it's needed, sometimes it's even crucial. But as a day-to-day leadership, we are not that interested in extremists and in zealous. So let's see what this Gumara has to say. Tana. The Talmud describes that when they brought Jacob from Egypt to Israel to bury him there. So everyone put his crown as a gesture of honor and dignity and respect to Yaakov, so people took off their crown and they put it on his coffin. So when they reached Chevron and they wanted to bury Jacob in the cave that Avraham and Sarah bought Avraham bought for Sarah, and Avraham was buried there, and Sarah was buried there, and Israel was buried there, and Rifka was buried there. Now it was time for Yaakov. So they brought Jacob to Chevron to be buried in the cave. So Esav, Jacob's brother, who was still alive, stood up at the gate, at the door of the cave and says, No, I will not allow my brother to be buried here. So just imagine, Yaqov is being carried from Egypt with his children, with tremendous crowd. Everyone thinks they are going to come to Chavon, he's going to be buried, and then they will go home. Why? Amarle hen, because he says to them, Esauv says to Yaakov's children, Mamre Kiryat Arbay Khevon. Khevon has another name, Kiryat Arba. Why it's called Kiryat Arba for Marbitzhak, Kiryat Arba, Arba Zugotayu. Adam Vechava, Avram Vesara, Itzak Verifka, Yaakovelea. He says, look, this cave can hold four couples. There is Adam and Eve, Adam and Hava, Avraham and Sarah, Itzhaq, my father, says Asav, and your father, Yaakov, and Rifka, our mother. Now we have two more spaces. Who should be there? Okay, you put Leah, okay. It was your right to put Leia. So there is only one more space. That belongs to me. I also want to be buried there. I'm also part of Avram and Itzhak's family. So Amrule Zabinte. So the children of Yaqov says to Esaf, but but you lost it. When you sold your firstborn rights, you you sold everything. So Esav says, Yeah, I sold my first right to be the firstborn, but I didn't sell my right to be buried here. So it's an interesting thing. We don't know if it really had took place or not, but the idea is interesting. So they told him, but you sold it, and he says, No, I didn't. So they said, again, Yaakov's children, they said, No, no, no, you did. We have a document that says that our father Yaakov said to us that Esau sold me his place in the cave. He should not be buried there. I should be buried there with my wife Leah. Abarlehu. So Esaf says, Ah, you have a document? You have a deed that Yaakov should be buried here? Avuli Igatah, show it to me. I will not allow you to bury it here, to bury here, Yaakov, until I see the deed that is his. Amule, Igarta, be arademitzraimi. So they told him, Rega, one second. The deed, we didn't bring it with us because we didn't think you're going to want to uh stop us. So it's in Egypt. So we need to go back to Egypt. So he says, that's not my problem, that's yours. Until I see the deed, I will not allow Yaqov to be buried here. Again, just imagine. A crowd, Yaakov's coffin, he's on the ground, he's waiting to be buried. Asaf will not allow him to be buried. This is a drama. So Yaqov's children realize they need to bring the deed back. So um ten imreishafel. So the children of Yaakov says, you know what, we need to send someone who can run fast. Naftali. Naftali is compared to a Yalash Lucha, to a very fast deer, so he can go back to Egypt, bring the deed, come back to Israel, and then we will be able to bury Yaakov. Khushim bred the dan Tamanhava Via Kiran Leudne. Among the children of Yaakov, there was his grandson. His name was Chushim. And he was hard of hearing. He couldn't hear. And he looks at the drama. He does not understand what's flying because he was not previewed to the conversation, because he can't hear. But what does he see? He sees that his uncle, his uncle Aesav, not dear uncle, just an uncle, says something, and he sees that his uncles, that's his really his great uncle, Asaf, and then he sees that Yaakov's children are talking to him, and they have a conversation, and from this guy talks, and the other guy talks, his grandfather is not being buried. So he says, What's going on here? So Khushim goes to his uncles and he says, What's going on here? Amrule kame a kev hai adeade naftali, me arade mitzraim. So they told him somehow, they communicate to Khushim, look, Asaf will not allow us to bury our father, your grandfather, and we sent Naftali to Egypt to bring the deed. So Hushim says to them, I don't understand what's going on here. Until Naftali comes back from Egypt, who knows how much time it will take him? A day, two, three. But you want to tell me that my grandfather will just be lying here in a coffin waiting to be buried just because his brother Asaf will not allow him to be buried? Shakalkulfa, so he took a stick, Machie Areshe, and he basically jumped and beat up Aesav. So the Midra de Gmara says that somehow Hushim knocked down Esav. And when Yaakov felt that Esav died, he opened up his eyes and he smiled because it says, Yaakov saw, in a way, the revenge that was taken in Esav. And then the Utasha Anit Kaimanivash Rifka, and at that moment, Brifka's prophecy was fulfilled. Why would I basically lose both of you on the same day? So Asav in a way died at the same day of Yaakov, but obviously it's not because Yaakov died many days before. And that's what the Gemara says. Meaning, even though they didn't die the same day, they were buried the same day. And according to Adamid Rashim, Asav's head is also buried in the cave, but not his body. Okay, we can talk about this Gemara for a while. But I would like to focus on one major component or one major topic. And that's Hushim. Jakov's grandson who was out of hearing. There is something very interesting. No one, none of the children of Yaqov's children thought for a second what's going on here. Asaf is telling them, I will not allow you to bury your father because I want to see the deed. And they got used to it. They got used to have this conversation, to this debate, and they say, you know, okay, we need to bring the deed. But none of them thought for a second, Rega, one second. Until Naftali comes back, what are we supposed to be with our father? To leave him on the ground for three days until Naftali comes back with the deed? And even if we were to bring the deed, Asaf can claim that what it's fake. And now he wants to have the witnesses. And if we can bring the witnesses, he will say, okay, I'm not allowing Yaakov to be buried. Which means it's a dead-end conversation. If Aesav really does not want to let them bury Yaakov, they will not be too able to do it. But no one, none of them think what will be the next step. They think that they can convince Aesav and he will be, you know, he will be convincible and he will be able to be convinced. And Hoshim, who was not preview to all these those conversations, he sees only one thing in front of his eyes. He sees his grandfather on the floor. And he does something similar to Pinhas. He takes a stick and he says, This is the way for me to end the problem. I'm going to kill Asaf. And that's what he did. Which means that was the time to do it, according to Hushim. But if you can see, the Gmarah does not praise him. The Gmarah does not glorify Hushim Ben Dan. The Gmarah described this situation, and in that specific condition, situation, circumstances, that was probably the right thing to do. But not as a solution for all problems. It was here it was good for Hushim, he was not used to what's going on, to all those conversations, and in a way trying to adapt to the idea that you know what, okay, we'll need to wait three, four days until Naftali comes back and our grandfather will be on the ground. Hushim was not privy to all of it, and therefore he acted intuitively, maybe even impulsively. I will not allow my grandfather to be in such a disgrace. So it might be the right thing to do, but not the most glorified thing to do. So here you have another case that maybe extremism was the right thing to do, but definitely was not glorified, was not praised, and in this case was not even rewarded. So now, in that in mind, let's see what Moshe is really looking for. When Moshe spoke to Hashem, he asked him, El Elohe Aruchot le Khor Basal, the God of all spirits. So Rashi says, why does it say Elohe Aruchot, God of all spirits? Moshe says to Hashem, Ribanoshah, Master of all universe. Galuile Fanecha, it is known in front of you. You created humanity, you created Adam. Everyone is very different. They don't look alike and they definitely don't think alike. The word sovele can be interpreted in many many ways. The first way is lisbol is from the word sabal, which means a we'll call it a schlepper, someone who schlepped other things. So basically, Moshe is asking God, please appoint a leader that can carry every person in this nation on his shoulders, based on his knowledge. The second interpretation for the word Suvel is to be able to, I will say, accommodate. Which means because you know that everyone is different and not everyone is going to think like you, you need to be what we call in Hebrew mechil, someone who is able to contain everyone's opinion and to continue to lead. But to be able to give respect, to listen, to even consider what someone else says, and then to lead. And the third, it might be from the word savanut, patience, to have the ability to not to be impulsive, not to be a zealot, not to be someone who thinks that he knows all, but to have savlanut, to be able to hold on and to hold off of decisions, to be deliberate, and not to be impulsive in decisions. So Moshe is asking God and asking him for a leader, to appoint a leader who is not like Pinchas. Because with Pinchas, even though it was the right thing to do at that moment, Moshe was afraid, concerned, that it might be part of Pinchas' nature. And if it is part of his nature, he's going to do it again at times that he that it's not good to be a zealot, that it's not good to be impulsive, and therefore he should not be the leader. Like Hushim Ben Dan was not chosen to be a leader. A leader is someone who is strong, who understands, who needs to make decisions, needs to take responsibilities. But at the same time, he needs to know how to accommodate others, how to understand them, how not to be impulsive, how not to react just emotionally. So that's what Rashi says. So let's take a look. If that's true, what about Yoshua? Yoshua is the one who stayed with Moshe all the time. He was the one who was appointed to be the chief of staff in the first war against Amalek. So why? Moshe didn't say to Hashem, choose Yahushua. We know that Yahshua was chosen at the end, but isn't that obvious? Okay, Pinchas not. Aaron is dead, Alazar is a Kohen, so choose Yahushua. So take a look. What was Moshe's concern about Yahushua? So now we need to go back to the scene of the golden calf, Cheta Egel, and let's see what the Torah says. After Moshe and Yoshua descend from Har Sinai, after Hashem told Moshe, look, your people are not doing the right thing. So they are descending from the mountain, and there is a lot of noise. There are a lot of sounds that come out from the camp. And Yoshua says to Moshe, I can hear there is a battle. There is a war. We left, and probably the Jewish people now are fighting. The sounds is like a sound of a war, of a battlefield. Moshe says to Yeshua, no, no, no, no, no. You are not correct. This is not a sound of a war. This is not a sound of heroes trying to protect themselves and their children and the nation. This is a weak and um a voice that basically expressed sin, transgression, weakness, spiritual weakness. You can look at this Pasuk and say, okay, so maybe Yoshua didn't know. The Ramban says the following. Says, it says Moshe did not know exactly what's going on, but he knew one thing for sure. This is not a voice of a war. It's a weak sound that I can hear. He was the father of all wisdom, says Ramban, and he knew how to distinguish between different sounds. And then it says, and that's what our sages say, Sha'malom. Moshe says to Yoshua, Israel Enomavhin ben kol lekol. Moshe says to Yahushua, you are going to be the future leader. You attach yourself to me, you are like almost my assistant. You want to lead the Jewish people, and you cannot distinguish between one voice and another, between one sound and another. If you want to be a leader, you need to know how to distinguish between what you hear and how you hear it. You cannot apply whatever was done here to what will what's going on now, which means, yes, you were the chief of staff over Israel when they fought against Amalek, but not everything is a fight. Not everything is a war in a battlefield. Sometimes it can be the same sound, but it comes from a different place. And USL leader needs to need to recognize it. Moshe didn't want to tell Yoshua everything about the golden calf because he didn't want to badmouth the Jewish people. So then he told him, oh, it's a sound of laughing and and but not in a nice, good, nice, good way to laugh, just as it's laughing out of sin, of transgression. So what do we have according to this Ramban? Yeshua, the future leader, proved himself not to be able to distinguish between sounds and voices. Moshe didn't like it. And perhaps that's why Moshe didn't think that Yoshua will be the natural leader, a natural successor after him. Because if he does not know how to distinguish between sounds and voices, it means that he does not know how to distinguish between people, their knowledge, their opinions. So maybe he shouldn't be the leader. So that's one deficiency that Moshe found in Yeshua's character and capabilities. But there was a second one. In Bamid Bar, it says, If you remember, that was in Parashad bealutcha. The Torah states that Moshe came to Hashem and says to him, I need help. And Hashem says to him, Okay, get 70 elders, appoint them, empower them. And then Moshe took six from each tribe, so it was 72, only 70 were chosen, and two, Eldad and Maydad, prophesied on their own. So a youth heard that Eldad and Maydad prophesied something in the camp, and he came to tell Moshe. What exactly they prophesized, we will talk about it in a minute. Yeshua heard what they prophesied, and he says to Moshe, we should imprison them. Or we should kill them. Take a look at this verse. And Moshe says to Yoshua, that's also ambiguous. Are you jealous for me? Or are you do you want to become like a zealot for me? I don't need it. I wish that every member of the Jewish people will be a prophet. Do you think I am concerned that Eldad and Maidad prophesied in the camp? I wish everyone can prophesize. Now, this is an interesting episode. What exactly got Yoshua so excited or so anxious, really, about what they prophesied? And why would he offer to Moshe or would suggest to Moshe to kill them or to throw them into the prison? So Rashi says, maybe we should just put them to be public servants and then they will it will destroy their lives, or put them in prison, Lama, why? Oh. This is interesting. Eldad and Maidad prophesy that Moshe will die and Yahushua will be the next leader. Those are obviously shocking news. Think about the people. They hear what they said, and they start thinking to themselves, wait, you want to tell me that Moshe, our leader, who took us out from Itzraim, who took us through the desert, he is not going to lead us to the land of Israel. It's going to be his assistant. That will create fear, anxieties, concerns among the people. So Yoshua says to Moshe, Moshe, we need to extinguish this fire right now. Let's destroy those two people. Let's kill them. Let's say whatever they said, that's nothing. Let's calm down the people. Moshe, in reaction to Yahushua, says to him, What are you doing? Stop being a zealot. If that's what they prophesy, probably God gave them that prophecy, which means they are allowed to say whatever they want to say. I am not going to stand up against it. A. B. I wish everyone would prophesy. My job as a leader is to empower others to be the best version of themselves, even if it's on my expense. Moshe is teaching Yahushua an incredible insight into leadership. Leadership is not just to boost yourself and to glorify yourself and to make sure that there is no one else who can replace you. Being a leader is to empower others, and even if they do something that they in a way take your own seat, that's exactly what I want them to do. That's the nachat, the satisfaction that I receive as a leader, seeing my students becoming a better version than me. Not only better version of themselves, but even better than me. So the second deficiency that Moses sees in Yoshua is that you were not able to distinguish between sounds and voices. And now you think that I need always protection? You don't understand leadership. The Bekhor Show or Beyose Bchosho says, This is another element of what Yoshua misunderstood in leadership. He says, These two prophesies without your permission. And Moses says to them, I don't, they don't need permission for me to prophesy. Prophecy does not come for me. Prophecy comes from God. And if God bestow upon them the ability to prophesize, that means that they were able to elevate themselves to that spiritual level that they can be prophets. That's wonderful. That's not a terrible thing. That's a wonderful thing. So now we understand. Why Moshe didn't think that Yahushua should be the leader? Says the Natsiv, Isha Sheruak bo, a man that has a spirit within him. He's someone who has a spine, someone who is not influenced by his own pleasures and benefits or someone else. He's someone who knows what the truth is, he knows, he understands what leadership is all about. And Moshe was not sure that Yoshua has what it takes to be the next leader. But at the end, as we all know, after Moshe initiated the ask that someone should be a leader, Hashem told Moshe, Yoshua. Why Yahushua? He had two strikes against him: one after the golden calf, and one after Eldad al Maidad. Why was he chosen? So the midrash in Bamid Baraba says, Hada udichtif, that's what it says in Mishlay in Proverbs. Someone who safeguard a fig, because the fig takes little time to be that you can eat that you can eat that fig, you need to wait a bit. He serves Moshe, because it says with Moshe. He would not leave his tent. Why the Torah was compared to a fig? Because all the other trees are being collected at once. And the tenat, the fig you pick a few, and then you wait for the others to grow, and then you pick them. They don't grow at the same time. Kacha Torah, that's the same thing with the Torah. Today you learn a bit, machar you learn a bit, tomorrow you learn a bit. Because you can't learn the Torah like that. You need to learn it every day, every hour, another hour, another hour. And that's what we say about Yoshua. Shayame Shameshet Moshe Bayomu Valaida. Yeshua was like that person who safeguard the fig. Yes, he was not perfect. Yes, he was not the perfect leader, but he did something that many leaders don't do. He tried to learn from the best. And yes, he failed twice. But he learned from his mistakes. Because he was able to develop this rua, this spirit, this understanding of others. So yes, he was maybe not a quick learner, but he did learn. And that's why he was chosen to be the leader. So we started with Pinhas at the beginning of the Pasha. Yes, there might be time for extremism, but not as a regular behavior, definitely not as part of leadership. The leader that Moshe is asking for is someone that will lead the nation, will bring them back, will do it for them, not for himself. Will be able to accommodate, to contain other opinions, and to know and to and to appreciate someone else's opinions because there is something there that he or she can contribute to his ability to make the right decisions. And also, he had to be a student. A student to Moshe will not leave his sight, which shows obviously tremendous humility, tremendous understanding that he can learn from Moshe, he can learn from Moshe, and he also can learn from others. But leadership and extremism don't go really hand in hand. Sometimes an extreme measure must be done, but not as a character or as a type or a style of leadership. And therefore, Pinchas did what he did. But then he was in a way was put into a different box. He's going to be a Kohen, his descendants are going to be a Kohen, Kohanim, priests. But Yoshua will be the one to understand what is leadership all about. Shabbat Shalom.