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Why did Shevet Shimon lose the letter vav from their name after Zimri's death? The shiur develops a yesod that the vav represents connection, which self-indulgent leaders destroy by modeling separateness rather than unity. Pinchas received brit shalom specifically because his zealotry came from genuine concern for communal cohesion, not personal psychological projection.
This shiur examines a textual anomaly where the tribe of Shimon is spelled without a vav in the Torah (תורה), explained by the Paneach Raza as relating to the death of their leader Zimri and their failure to appoint a replacement. The analysis begins with the Rambam (רמב"ם)'s halachos regarding relations with non-Jewish women and the concept of kana'im pog'im bahen - the right of zealots to intervene. The Rambam presents two distinct halachos: first, that during the act itself, the Jewish man and non-Jewish woman become one entity and can be killed together by a kanai; second, that the woman can be executed later because she caused spiritual harm to a Jew, similar to killing an animal involved in prohibited relations. This dual framework explains why both Zimri and Kozbi were killed by Pinchas.
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Parshas Pinchas, Bamidbar 25
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Why couldn't Moshe personally lead the war against Midian despite Hashem's direct command? The shiur distinguishes between punishment (correcting wrongdoing) and revenge (targeting someone's existence), showing that hakaras hatov prevents revenge but not legitimate justice. This principle applies broadly to relationships where we must ask: are we seeking correction or just putting someone down?
