Numbers 25:10-30:1
In the aftermath of crisis, Pinchas’ zeal is affirmed, and leadership transitions begin to take shape. A new census prepares the people for entry into the land, while daughters of Zelophehad challenge assumptions about inheritance. The portion reflects on justice, continuity, and the shaping of Israel’s future.
In Halacha and Parashat Pinchas by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
There are situations when law itself fails. It cannot legislate for moments of total breakdown. And so someone must act — but this “law” cannot be written into any code.
The Peril and Promise of Tolerance
In The Ishbitzer and Parashat Pinchas by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Is tolerance always a virtue? Parashat Pinchas challenges our modern assumptions, revealing that the line between moral courage and dangerous zealotry is often thin—and blurred. What can we learn from those who refuse to remain indifferent?
In Jewish Thought and Philosophy, Parashat Pinchas and Shabbat by Rabbi Nathan Lopes Cardozo
To set one’s schedule around fixed times—for prayers, for meals, for learning, etc.—does not only inject order into one’s life, but also meaning; and as such one gains an opportunity to sanctify those moments. The chaos of a week without order, of days without set times, is yet another manifestation of the secularization of society and the profanation of the sacred.