Ilustration Credit: Elad Lifshitz, Dov Abramson Studio
In This Week’s Parashah: מָה בַּפָּרָשָׁה
Full Parashah Reading: Bemidbar 25:10-30:1
- Pinhas saved Benei Yisrael from a plague, and his reward is a בְּרִית שָׁלוֹם (brit shalom, covenant of peace).
- Time for another census! The total number of Benei Yisrael is 601,730, not including the שֵׁבֶט (shevet, tribe) of Levi.
- The information from this census is used to divide Eretz Yisrael fairly among Benei Yisrael. There will be a lottery, but bigger families get more and smaller families get less.
- The five בְּנוֹת צְלָפְחָד (benot Tzelofhad, daughters of Tzelofhad) want to know whether they can inherit land from their father. At that time, land was normally inherited by sons; but Tzelofhad only had daughters. Benot Tzelofhad ask Moshe, and Moshe asks God. God answers that, yes, they can inherit their father’s land.
- God tells Moshe to climb the mountain of Avarim and look at Eretz Yisrael from a distance, because he will not be able to enter. Yehoshua will be the new leader.
- The parashah closes with the details of the קָרְבְּנוֹת צִבּוּר (korbenot tzibbur), communal sacrifices offered on regular days, Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh, and holidays.
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