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Why was Ba'al Pe'or considered the most severe transgression in Jewish history, worse even than the Golden Calf? The shiur develops the yesod that Zimri's challenge represented a fundamental attack on kedushah itself - denying that spirituality can transform the physical world. Ba'al Pe'or worship glorified pure physicality independent of Hashem (ה׳), contradicting the entire purpose of creation.
This shiur examines the aftermath of Pinchas killing Zimri and Kozbi in Parshas Pinchas, focusing on understanding why the Ba'al Pe'or incident was considered the most severe transgression in Jewish history. Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L begins by analyzing the apparent contradiction between Bilam's advice to Balak and the Gemara (גמרא)'s description of the events. While Bilam's counsel was specifically about znus (licentiousness) as the way to overcome the Jewish people, the Gemara describes the immorality as merely a ruse to lead to idol worship. The shiur explores Zimri's theological argument when he challenged Moshe Rabbeinu about Kozbi versus Tzipporah. Zimri argued that if Tzipporah (Moshe's Midianite wife) was permitted, then Kozbi should be as well, dismissing the significance of Tzipporah's conversion. Rabbi Yeshaya Greenberg ZT"L explains that Zimri's position represented a fundamental attack on kedushah itself - the concept that spirituality can affect and sanctify the physical world. Zimri was essentially arguing that the spiritual and physical realms are completely separate, and that conversion (a spiritual transformation) has no bearing on physical relationships.
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Parshas Pinchas
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