1) Ch. 25, v. 11: "Pinchos" Why does the previous parsha of Bolok stop in the middle of this painful story, and only complete it in the next parsha?
2) Ch. 25, v. 11: "Pinchos ben Elozor ben Aharon haKohein" Rashi (gemara Sanhedrin 82b) says that people derided Pinchos, stating that he killed a tribal prince, and that this was an outgrowth of the terrible trait of murder genealogically flowing through his veins from his grandfather Yisro. Hashem said that it was otherwise, that he acted with the trait of Aharon, the peace-maker, and in spite/because of this trait it was in place to kill Zimri. a) How does giving him and all his descendants the status of Kohein fortify this counter-claim? b) Why is this reward in kind?
3) Ch. 25, v. 14: "V'shem ish Yisroel hamu'keh" And the name of the Israelite man who was struck Rashi (Medrash Tanchuma 2) says that just as the righteous Pinchos had his ancestry mentioned as a praise, so too, the ancestry of the wicked Zimri was mentioned in derision. We understand Pinchos's ancestry being a praise, but how is Zimri's a derision? It is only his behaviour that is despicable, and not his ancestry.
4) Ch. 26, v. 8: "Uvnei Falu Eliov" And the sons of Palu were Eliov This verse expresses itself in the plural, "uvnei," even though Palu had but one son, Eliov. The gemara B.B. 143b takes note of this and derives that in the common parlance a person would say that his "children" are , citing his only child. The gemara cites a second proof for this in the name of Rabbi Yoseif from Divrei Ha'yomim. Why does the gemara brings a second proof from Divrei Ha'yomim when we have a quite satisfactory proof from the Torah itself, "Uvnei Dan Chushim?"
5) Ch. 27, v. 17: "Katzone asher ein lohem ro'eh" As sheep who do not have for themselves a shepherd "Asher ein lohem" connotes that the norm is that they have no shepherd, and this is surely not the case. If the intention of the verse were to say that the bnei Yisroel should not be left like sheep who "happen" to not have a shepherd, the verse should have said "katzone bli ro'eh" or the like.
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Important Numbers
