Discover and learn every week, "5 Facts" written on the weekly Parshah that you can share at your Shabbos table.

1.     What happened when Pinchas entered Zimri’s tent?

• According to some sources, as soon as Pinchas entered Zimri’s tent to execute him, thousands of Shimonites rushed to Zimri’s rescue and tried to kill Pinchas. From this sudden tremendous fear, his soul left him. Hashem in turn, made the souls of Nadav and Avihu enter his body, and, as such,  he became a Kohen. This is alluded to by the words “a son of Elazar and also the son of Aaron the Kohen”. (Meam Loez)

2.     Why does a new paragraph start in the middle of the verse?

• Here we see one of the few appearances  in the Torah of a “Piskah Beemtza Pasuk”, meaning, a new paragraph starts in the middle of a verse. We learn from here that the deaths up until this point were  part of the decree on that generation that they wouldn't enter the Land. From this point onward those who were alive would enter Eretz Israel. (Chizkuni)

3.     Why were extra letters added to the names of each family?

• The entire Jewish nation was conceived in purity and inherited the sweetness of the Avot (Rashi, Yevamot 79a). The letters he and yud were added to the names of each family (besides for the Yimnah family whose name already includes both these letters). This was a way of Hashem Himself testifying that, contrary to any possible rumours, the lineage of the Jewish people was pure and not tainted by any possible illicit relations in Egypt as a way of Hashem testifying that despite what the nations of the world may say, the physical bondage by the Egyptians didn’t give them any power over their wives and the entire Jewish nation was born in purity. The  yud symbolises man (Ish) and the he symbolises woman (Ishah). (Rashi, Midrash Shir Hashirim Rabbah 4:12, Sotah 17a, Gur Aryeh)

4.     Who was excluded from the decrees caused by the spies?

• The women were not included in the decree of the spies because they cherished the Land. When  the men said, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt!” (14:4), the women responded with ,“Give us a portion [in the land]” (27:4). This is also the reason that the passage about Zelophehad’s daughters is cited here. (Rashi, Tanchuma Pinchas 7)

5.     Why is the letter Nun is written larger than usual?

• This incident is one of only four cases of judgment brought before Moshe and which he resolved by bringing their cause before Hashem (Targum Yonathan). The reason that the letter nun is written larger than usual in the Torah is to allude to the fact that the “50th gate of Knowledge” was not within reach of even Moshe, the greatest prophet of all time. As such, this law was out of his reach. Another explanation is that Moshe brought this case to Hashem in order to teach us that no matter how great one might be, one should never be embarrassed to ask others for advice. (Meam Loez)