The Cold Play – Zimri and Kazbi Perform in Foxborough

 

Has anybody noticed that I haven’t been posting much of late? Anybody? Anybody?

Oh, well! (Or as my friend Charlie B. used to say – “Good grief!”)

One reason for this silence is that not too many folks notice even when I do write, so what’s the difference?

Much has to do with the fact that the current headlines far overshadow my subject matter. Most of us are focused on the multi-front war and the hostages and the potential deals and ceasefires. I have nothing to contribute to this subject.

The other burning issues are the Israeli domestic right-to-left politics (or, in English, it’s the left-to-right politics), the coalition crisis and the draft issue. Again, I don’t have anything of substance to contribute. I would like to see some viable draft law that recognizes the primacy of Torah learning just like most of us. And I would also like to see that shefa macher in the blonde sheitel be removed from the office she was never elected to in the first place. 

Truth be told, I have two Yeshiva boys of draft age, one married and one single. So, I have skin in the game, but still, nothing innovative to write.

I like to be machadesh (innovate), to write thought-provoking (or just plain provoking) things that stand out and to point out things that nobody else seems to notice. But these high profile current events subjects are over-represented, and I have nothing to add that will provoke much thinking. The subjects that I want to cover, such as how to handle a Din Torah (Project Emesh), are so far from center stage right now that there is no interest. So, why write about it?

But this past week, salvation!

Finally, there is something earth-shattering in the news that is overshadowing all these boring topics like wars and coalition crises and is taking a dominant role at center stage. It is something to bring me out of semi-retirement.

The Coldplay Concert Scandal.

Nothing is making headlines like this event. All the news analysts and gossip column analysts and comedians and influencers are showing the short clip and talking about it.

This has even caught the attention of some frum Jewish YouTube influencers. These include Ben Shapiro, Rabbi Pinchas Taylor, Rabbi Yisroel Goldstein and an article on Aish.com written by Itamar Frankenthal. Most of them, particularly Rabbis Goldstein and Taylor are discussing what we should learn from this debacle and focus on the idea of עין רואה ואוזן שומעת וכל מעשיך בספר נכתבים. We are constantly being watched. All of us. I highly recommend watching these those two clips.

The interesting thing is the titles of these two clips. The one presented by Rabbi Goldstein is titled:

Rabbi Notices Something STRANGE About CEO’s Reaction To Getting Caught Cheating!

The one presented by Rabbi Taylor is titled:

Rabbi Notices Something UNUSUAL About The CEO Affair Saga NO ONE Else Noticed

Everybody is noticing things that others don't. But, with all due respect, I don’t think there was anything really strange about the CEO’s reaction and I don’t think nobody else noticed what Rabbi Taylor noticed. Rabbi Goldstein certainly did. But I did notice something that nobody else noticed. And that is the date.

When exactly was this concert in Boston?

Well, it happened on Wednesday night, July 16, 2025. But we are all Jewish, so in our language it happened on אור ליום חמישי לפרשת פנחס, כ"א תמוז, תשפ"ה – Fifth night of the portion of Pinchas, 21 Tamuz, 5785.

Come again? Which Torah portion?

Pinchas. Or, more accurately, between Parshat Balak and Parshat Pinchas.

And what, precisely, happened on this Wednesday eve between Parshat Balak and Parshat Pinchas?

Yes, indeed. Andy (Zimri) Byron, the Nasi Beis Av of Astronomer (Ovdei Kochavim u’Mazalos), Inc., was caught canoodling in public with Kristin (Kazbi) Cabot-Tzur, Chief of People for all the Midianites and other human resources in Astronomer.

And who caught them?

Chris (Pinchas) Martin. And they were immediately skewered and roasted by this zealous kanaoi. 

And now, Zimri Byron and Kazbi Cabot will be condemned to eternal damnation – or, at least, Internetal damnation – while Pinchas Martin (who I had never heard of) is catapulted into everlasting fame.

Timing is everything.

Do you think this timing is a coincidence? I don’t. Almost always, there is a noticeable connection between a major event to the weekly parsha. And, as minor as this incident is, it is playing like a major event.

So, as usual, this non-coincidence is telling us that none of this is a coincidence. The camera didn’t have to spot this couple, but it did. And the couple could have had the presence of mind to “play it cool”. I believe that a couple caught and broadcast by the “Kiss-cam” is supposed to kiss. If they would have just done that, probably nobody would have been the wiser. But, caught off guard, they panicked and played guilty.

And it happened now, in Parshat Pinchas, so that we should notice this “coincidence”. As if the story of Zimri and Kazbi came alive. It is to teach us that if you act like Zimri and Kazbi in public, you never know who may want to cold-play Pinchas. 

And you can lose everything like these two did. The lesson of adultery is that for a fleeting moment of “olam habah”, one can lose all of their “olam hazeh”. Certainly, this is one of the main lessons of this event. Adultery destroys lives, and can do so very suddenly.

Another concept that came “alive” is the quaint concept that after 120 years we will need to make a din v’cheshbon and face up to it. When I was a kid, my mentors depicted it as that one’s whole life will be displayed on a screen like a movie in a theater and the seats will be filled with souls of people – friends and foes – who will be shown your every deed and thought.

That was scary enough. But, somehow, when you think of it as a big bright Jumbotron which may actually have multiple screens in an immense stadium and a malach with a headset microphone strolling through the center expressing cynical, yet truthful, commentary, it brings the concept to a whole new level.

And the next lesson is that many of us don’t need to wait until 120 years to get exposed. 

רבי יוחנן בן ברוקה אומר: כל המחלל שם שמים בסתר - נפרעין ממנו בגלוי. אחד שוגג, ואחד מזיד בחילול השם.

Says Rabi Yochanan ben Baroka: One who commits a Chillul Hashem in private gets retribution in public.

Even though the concept of Kiddush Hashem and Chillul Hashem is reserved for us Jewish folks, the lesson is generic. When one is “naughty” in private, he gets his come-uppance in public. This applies to non-Jews as much as to us. Maybe even more so.

And we learn that “public" does not have to mean merely in front of a large crowd or even in the presence of a 65,000 seat stadium. It can mean in front of the whole entire [online] world!

This entire episode is meant to show us G-d’s power –

לידע להודיע ולהודע שהוא אל, הוא היוצר, הוא הבורא, הוא המבין, הוא הדיין, הוא עד, הוא בעל דין, והוא עתיד לדון.

To know, to inform and to be informed that He is the Almighty, He is the the Designer, He is the Creator, He is the Expert, He is the Judge, He is the Witness, He is the Litigant, He is destined to Judge.

So it is clearly the Hand of G-d that has turned this non-event into a worldwide front page news item. This indicates to us that G-d wants us to notice it and to learn the associated lessons, and make some adjustments.

Of course, we don’t all need to be taught these lessons. There are some of us, particularly those who do not go “online”, who already know all of this and don’t need to be reminded. But for the rest of us hedyotot (idiots), this event was a G-dsend. 

It is for this reason that I must respectfully disagree with a good friend of mine (actually a relative through marriage), Rav Itamar Frankenthal, in his article on Aish.com.

The premise of his article is that human dignity is sacrosanct for all humans. I am in full agreement with this. He also maintains that the Internet has become today’s Roman Colosseum wherein people are destroyed for the entertainment of others. Not only do I fully agree with this myself, but I have written as such in many previous posts.

But none of these are chiddushim. The chiddush that he wants to make is that merely by following a news item, a person is automatically part of the lynch mob. Just clicking on a headline is like adding “oxygen” to a fire and anyone who follows the item is “an arsonist”.

I think he is being way too extreme. I also think that when one wants to mussar the masses in this manner, it is best to choose worthy test models from whom to make his case.

If I understand him correctly, he is saying that anyone who passes a burning building and stops to look at it is an arsonist. Just by looking at it, he has added another can of gasoline. Of course, it’s a good idea to call the fire department if nobody did so already, but the best thing is just to ignore it and move on. Otherwise, you are making it worse.

It's hard to agree with this. It's hard to call one an arsonist if the building is already on fire and it's hard to call someone a murderer if the victim is already dead. the Torah says: שלם ישלם המעביר את הבערה - pay, he must pay, he who ignited the fire.

Who pays?

The one who ignited the fire. And if one burns his own building, there is no other mazik but him to do the paying.

 

Normally, when a building is burning there is a crowd standing around watching what is going on. Should they all be arrested? 

Yet, watching a building burn that is not yours can be a catalyst to make some overdue precautions. An onlooker may be inspired to install smoke detectors in his house or to recheck his electric wiring. He may be inspired to upgrade his insurance or to settle his affairs with the Italian “bill collectors" who have hearts of stone and knuckles of brass. He may have been aware all the time that he needs to implement these measures but neglected them, and this event was necessary to bring home the urgency and shock him out of complacency.

This message was conveyed by both the Chabad influencers, Rabbis Goldstein and Taylor, and it is known as the Besht’s hashgacha pratis. Even ultra-liberal Rahm Emanuel told us, “Never let a crisis go to waste”. It doesn’t mean that anybody needs to create the crisis, nor to exacerbate it. But one can, and should, learn from it and make the most of it.

Of course, a compassionate person must sympathize with another’s misfortune and help them overcome their loss. But I don’t think this applies to when a person sets their own house on fire which is what “Zimri” and “Kazbi” did.

Now, if your intent on clicking on a news item is to join the lynch mob, which seems to be the case of Rav Itamar's second example, he is absolutely correct. But, again, it’s no chiddush to preach to fellow Jews not to be part of the lynch mob. On this note, his reference to Tamar as not wanting to shame Yehuda was pertinent to the discussion, but once again, it’s old news.

Yet, it indeed teaches us that there needs to be a balance between observing another’s misfortune for what it can teach us and overdoing it. And this may be what he really means. But this lesson is not taught from Yehuda and Tamar but rather by the Torah law that all people who are executed in Beis Din by stoning should be hung in public. This law is what immediately follows the case of the Ben Sorer – recalcitrant son – which concludes with an order of:

 ובערת הרע מקרבך וכל ישראל ישמעו ויראו.

And you must destroy the evil from your midst and all of Israel shall hear it and see it.

HKBH wants all of the Jews (apparently, even the pious chareidi ones) to witness what happens to one who misbehaves and ignores warnings from Beis Din. This is the most effective way to destroy the evil from our midst. 

Then the Torah continues that anyone who is put to death [by stoning] should have their corpse hung up for display. No doubt, this is a tremendous disgrace for the deceased sinner, but HKBH orders it for the good of the nation. Nevertheless, this display is very short lived. The body must be taken down by sundown. Any indignity beyond what is needed to accomplish the goal is forbidden.

Zimri and Kazbi acted in public and brought on a deadly plague. The only way to stop the plague was to kill them in public so that everyone can be an eyewitness to the type of behavior that HKBH despises.

Nothing does the trick like seeing it all up in lights on the big Jumbotron screen. 

Delicacies from Yechezkel’s Shabbos Table: Parshas Pinchas and the Yichus of 17th of Tamuz

Every year, Parshas Pinchas falls out just before or just after the 17^th of Tamuz. Here in Eretz Yisroel, this year was a direct hit. In Chutz L’Aretz, Parshas Pinchas won’t show up until next Shabbos, but regardless, these two occasions are always within a week. In a post that I wrote eight years ago, I emphasized the relationship between Parshas Pinchas and the 17^th of Tamuz. I hope to discuss that post again at the end of this one. But for now, I want to point out another fascinating correlation. (Hat Tip - This vordt was inspired in part by remarks made by the Rebbe of Tolna, Shlita during his weekly parsha shiur last Thursday night. - YH).

The first Rashi in Parshas Pinchas is evidently bothered by why the pasuk needs to restate the lineage of Pinchas back to Aharon HaKohen. After all, didn’t the pasuk already do this a few pasukim earlier at the end of Parshas Balak?

I guess an easy answer may be that after a whole week passes by, we may forget the lineage from last week, so the Torah needs to remind us. Nevertheless, this is not the answer that Rashi gives. Rashi quotes an aggadeta in Sanhedrin (82b) that the tribes (i.e., the masses) were deriding Pinchas since on his mother’s side he was descended from the convert Yisro (Putiel). They said, “Have you seen this son of ‘Puti’ whose mother’s father would fatten calves for idol worship and he has the temerity to kill a tribal Prince in Israel?!” For this reason the pasuk comes and expressly affirms his lineage to Aharon HaKohen.

The question is obvious: Were the “tribes” not fully aware that on his other side he is descended from Aharon? If they still felt it was appropriate to deride him for the ignobility of his mother’s lineage, what is gained by the fact that the pasuk is telling us that he has noble ancestors on his father’s side? In what way does this remedy the defect?

Let’s look at a well-known anecdote from those ancient Jewish folklore books:

A couple approached the Rabbi to settle a dispute. The wife had just given birth to a baby boy and they could not agree on what name to give. The wife wanted to name the child after her late father and the husband wanted the child named after his late father.

The Rav asked the wife, “What was your father’s name?” “Nachum”, came the response. He then asked the same question to the husband. “Also, Nachum”, was the husband’s response.

“So, what are you arguing about?”, asked the Rav.

“Well, you see”, the wife began, “my father was a big Yarei Shamayim and Talmid Chacham but my husband’s father was a horse-thief. I do not want the baby to be named after his father, only after mine.”

The Rav thought for a minute and said, “We will have to leave this matter in the hands of the Ribbono Shel Olam. You must name the boy Nachum and wait and see. If he grows to be a Talmid Chacham you will know that he was named after the wife’s father. If he grows to be a horse-thief, we will know that he was named after the husband’s father.”

All students of genetics know that we get physical and personality traits from both of our parents and these traits are embedded “in our genes”. When the traits of two genes conflict, one is dominant and one is recessive. The dominant one overpowers the recessive one and takes control of the person’s character. We are always looking at people’s positive or negative traits and we say, “That humor and wittiness comes from his mother’s side.” Or “He is so stubborn and feisty, he is a true Galumphenstein”.

When the “tribes” saw the behavior of Pinchas they focused on what appeared to them to be an act of wildness and hefkeirus. An act of acting on a whim and losing control. To them it seemed that he took after his grandfather “Nachum the Horse-thief”. Thus they branded him as a descendent of Putiel (Yisro) who stuffed calves for idol worship. But HKBH was telling us otherwise. Pinchas hadn’t lost control. To the contrary, he was doing things that went against his own true nature for the betterment of the nation, just as his other grandfather, Aharon HaKohen had done during the turmoil of the Egel Hazahav. Thus, he was really taking after his grandfather, “Nachum the Tzaddik.”

We seem to have a similar problem of “Yichus” when it comes to the 17^th of Tamuz. The 17^th of Tamuz likewise has a conflicting dual “Yichus”. On the one hand it was originally a special day of simcha and celebration because it was the day that the first set of luchos were given to Moshe. And this is what it was meant to be for generations. But it also turned out to be the day that the luchos were broken. And for this we have been fasting and mourning for all those generations.

Perhaps we can say that the Torah is hinting at this conflict with the first pasuk of Parshas Pinchas. Since this parsha always falls out on the week of the 17^th of Tamuz and, this year in Eretz Yisroel, sometimes on 17^th of Tamuz proper, the Torah is telling us that this day, which is being called "Pinchas", has two lines of yichus. One goes to those who fattened calves for idol worship – to the sin of the Golden Calf. The other line goes to Aharon HaKohen, he who is designated to enter the Kodesh Hakadoshim every Yom Kippur and to sprinkle the blood One Above and Seven Below and to atone for our sins. (Note that Yom Kippur is the day that we received the second luchos, those that replaced the ones we were meant to receive on 17th of Tamuz!)

For all the past generations we, the “tribes”, have looked upon this day as the anniversary of the Egel Hazahav and have fasted for this calamity. We view the dominant yichus as that that goes to Putiel who stuffed calves for idol worship. But, hopefully, very soon the “Kasuv” is going to come and redefine the yichus of this day. The Kasuv will tell us that this day will go back to the “lineage” of Aharon HaKohen who will once again reinstate the Avodas HaKodesh in the Bais HaMikdash.

And the 17^th of Tamuz will once again become a day of rejoicing.  

במהרה בימנו אמן!  

א-ל קנא בהתאפק במקניאיך דשנים רטובים. מחכים תקים עומדים לעולמים. כנטיעים מחטבים באהבים. האמת והשלום בצומות חטובים. נצח היותם לשמחה ולששון ולמועדים טובים:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As long as I mentioned my previous post from way back in 2008, I want to add one point to it.

To refresh your memory, the question posed is:

Why are the elaborate details for all the Tamidim and Musafim written in Parshas Pinchas?  They were already briefly mentioned in Parshas Tetzaveh and Emor. It makes no sense that the exact details of these korbanos were only first given now after the Mishkan has been in service for almost 40 years!

Here is the answer that I presented then:

Perhaps, HKB"H "foresaw" our mesorah that we read the Torah on a fixed yearly cycle and there is a spiritual relevance between every Parsha and the time of year that it falls on. As such, Parshas Pinchas is always just before or after 17 of Tamuz and always ushers in the 3 weeks of mourning over the loss of the Bais HaMikdash and the korbanos. [Indeed, one of the reasons for the fast is that on this day the Korban Tamid was nullified!] It is a time of sadness and introspection over what we lost and brings the galus more to the forefront. As such, Hashem wanted especially in this time that we usher in the yemei hachurban [and mourn the loss of the korban Tamid] to remind us that the commandment of the TuM (Tamidim U’Musafim) is still in effect and that we are not to be meya'esh (despair) from them despite the fact that the 3 weeks are beginning "again".

To this I want to add that this can explain the odd term "Tishmiru" that is used in the opening line:

את קרבני לחמי לאשי תשמרו להקריב לי במועדו.

All through the Torah, the term Shemira is used to indicate avoiding transgressions on negative commandments, not the fulfillment of positive ones. Even the term את חג המצות תשמור   and ושמרתם את המצות can be understood as an admonition to avoid eating chametz or to guard the matzos from becoming chametz. The term for fulfilling positive mitzvos is Zechira. Why use the term Tishmiru?

In Parshas VaYeshev it says that the brothers were jealous of Yosef but Yaakov, his father, שמר את הדבר. Rashi says there that the term Shamar means he waited and anticipated for his dream to come to fruition. He was yearning for it to happen.

In line with this and what I wrote in 2008 that the reason that the Tu”M are restated in Pinchas is to tell us not to despair from their being returned to us, we can see the pasuk differently:

את קרבני לחמי לאשי : My “bread “ Korban  תשמרו : you must wait for and yearn for even through the long exile  להקריב לי במועדו : that you will once again bring to Me at the time that is called a “Moed” as is written in Megillas Eicha (1:15): קרא עלי מועד לשבור בחורי.

Maybe this Tamuz or this Av can be the

חדש אשר נהפך להם מיגון לשמחה ומאבל ליום טוב!

:נצח היותם לשמחה ולששון ולמועדים טובים

Golden Oldies - Parshat Balak/Pinchas

I haven't written in a bit. Some readers are starting to forget that I exist (which may actually be the case). Let's chalk it up to an extended visit to the real world. I am still too preoccupied to write new material but I do want to present some of the Golden Oldies from the first months of this blog back in 2008 (anybody remember those days?).

In the old days, I used to do what I called a Parsha Challenge. I would first present a puzzling issue from the Parsha - something that the classical meforshim seem to have overlooked - and a few days later I presented a proposed solution.

Now the link between Parshat Balak and Parshat Pinchas is the terrible debacle at Shittim where many of our ancestors (or our ancestors kin) met their end. Exactly how many were indeed executed during the episode?

The question was asked in this post:

http://achaslmaala.blogspot.com/2008/08/leftovers-from-yechezkels-shabbos-table.html

and, 3 days later, the solution was presented in this one:

http://achaslmaala.blogspot.com/2008/08/cleaning-up-leftovers-solution-to-last.html

Another fascinating discussion that centers in Parshat Pinchas was my discussion on TuM (it's not what you think!). Why on earth is this topic being discussed in this Parsha? This was the first Parsha Challenge that I ever posted in this blog. The problem was presented in this post:

http://achaslmaala.blogspot.com/2008/07/delicacies-from-yechezkels-shabbos.html

And the proposed solution was presented here:

http://achaslmaala.blogspot.com/2008/07/shabbos-table-follow-up.html

I do have some material for some up-to-date posts but it is very hard to find the time to write them up. In the meanwhile, have a great Shabbos!

Shabbos Table Follow-Up

We were discussing the question of why is the Parsha of Temidim and Musafim taught in Parshas Pinchas? Were these offerings not being brought for the past 40 years? And, if so, this command must have been issued 40 years earlier?

I have been alerted in the interim that there seems to be an opinion in the Talmud Yerushalmi that, in fact, no korbonos were actually brought over the last 40 years. It is not completely clear if this may be the opinion of Rabi Elazar in Chagiga 6b. The gemara seems to imply that even according to Rabi Elazar, all the details were commanded at Sinai. Also, the Torah clearly indicates that the Tamid and musaf Rosh Chodesh were at least brought at the inauguration ceremony. The mishna in Menachos (4:3) says explicitly that the musafim of "Chumash Pekudim" (Pinchas) were brought throughout the 40 years. So apparently these words from Hashem were not said now at year 40 but much earlier (which is our question).

One anonymous gentleman (who is apparently enamored by expensive black hats) posted publicly to point us to a Netziv in Parshas Pinchas that I missed. The Netziv writes that the zechus of the Temidim served a different purpose throughout the 40 years until this point. For the 40 years, the Temidim brought the hashpaah of Torah to Moshe Rabbenu - the day Korban for Torah sh'B'Ksav and the evening Korban for Torah she'Baal Peh. Klal Yisroel did not need a zechus for Parnassah because the mahn fell in Moshe's zechus. But now things are changing - Moshe is about to leave the scene and his zechus for mahn (parnassah for the tzibbur) is about to cease. He prays to G-d -let them not be like sheep without a shepherd - i.e., nobody to be mefarnes them. Hashem responds, "Es korbani lachmi l'ishai..." From now on, the Temidim will be their zechus for parnassah.

As such, Hashem actually did tell Moshe these words in the 40th year even though He apparently said them earlier as well.

I am very happy to have been shown this Netziv. However, our discussion on Shabbos did not involve the Netziv and we took a different more esoteric approach. We wanted to suggest that perhaps the tzivui of TuM (that's Temidim u'Musafim NOT that other term) was done at Sinai and it is only being recorded here in Pinchas - i.e. ein zu mekomo. And why was it recorded here?

Perhaps, HKB"H "foresaw" our mesorah that we read the Torah on a fixed yearly cycle and there is a spiritual relevance between every Parsha and the time of year that it falls on. As such, Parshas Pinchas is always just before or after 17 of Tamuz and always ushers in the 3 weeks of mourning over the loss of the Bais HaMikdash and the korbanos. It is a time of sadness and introspection over what we lost and brings the galus more to the forefront. As such, Hashem wanted especially in this time that we usher in the yemei hachurban to remind us that the commandment of the TuM is still in effect and that we are not to be meya'esh (despair) from them despite the fact that the 3 weeks are beginning "again".

May we be zocheh to partake of the zevachim and the Shlamim, BB"A.

Delicacies from Yechezkel's Shabbos Table - Parshas Pinchas Challenge

This week we discussed the following question:

Why on earth is the Parsha of Temidim and Musafim in Parshas Pinchas?

IOW, all of the events that are related in Parshas Pinchas are a series of events which actually occurred around the 40th year of our sojourn from Egypt. Thus, we get the impression that the Korbanos of Temidim V'Musafim were actually first commanded to us in year 40.

It is very difficult to support this idea as, for one thing, the commandment of the Temidim was specifically given in Parshas Tetzaveh. As for the Yomim Tovim, Rashi in Parshas Emor (Vayikra 23:8) says that the Isheh L'Hashem was the musaffim of Parshas Pinchas. (Rashi there is very difficult because he asks in Vayikra "Why are the musaffim mentioned here?" What do you mean "mentioned here"? All of Sefer Vayikra are the mitzvos that were dictated at Har Sinai! It should be here. The question should be why are they mentioned THERE - meaning, in Pinchas).

The Netziv in Vayikra (ad loc.) picks up on this and initially entertains the idea that the musaffim were not brought before they entered Eretz Yisroel and therefore they were first commanded 40 years later. He rejects this because chazal tell us that the burnt goat that Moshe sought in Parshas Shmini after Nadav and Avihu died, was the Se'ir Rosh Chodesh. It is obvious that the musaffim were commanded at Sinai.

The Netziv does suggest that perhaps a tzivui of mussafim for Yom Tov was given at Sinai, but the exact "details" in terms of how many of what animal was not specified until Parshas Pinchas. Until then, they could improvise whatever mussaf they wanted. This would only hold true for Yom Tov but not for the Tamid, Shabbos or Rosh Chodesh.

A bit of a dochek, if you ask me.

Of course we know that Rashi in Pinchas says that our entry to Eretz Yisroel was b'zchus the Korbanos so that basically answers the question but we were looking for an answer with a little more spice.

After considerable deliberations, we came up with an interesting alternative answer - but I do not want to reveal it just yet. I want to see if any readers would care to make any suggestions.

I will give it a few days and then I will disclose the result of the jury deliberations.

Hatzlacha.

Yechezkel