Weekly Message 07.18.2025 Parashat Pinchas
- jccwestpasco
- Jul 17
- 3 min read
Parashat Pinchas (Aarons grandson) Numbers 25:10 - 30:1
HafTorah Jeremiah 1:1 - 2:3
Dear friends,
Thanks to all who helped make last Shabbat's community dinner such a special occasion for all who participated. One of the best parts of being part of a spiritual community is an opportunity to come together to share food, conversation, and prayer. We look forward to many future get togethers to celebrate holidays, life cycle commemorations, and even everyday activities. Stay tuned for information on our upcoming erev Rosh Hashanah dinner, Tashlikh gathering at the river, and the Shabbat Shuva luncheon honoring our adult B'nai Mitzvah anniversaries.
This Shabbat's Torah portion (Bamidbar 28:16-30:1, the 3rd triennial section of the Sedrah of Pinchas) should be familiar to all. That is because it is the portion that is read as the second (Maftir portion) reading on every festival day and Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of every Hebrew month). It includes detailed descriptions of the public sacrifices to be brought to the Sanctuary and later to the Temple in Jerusalem. There were daily offerings and those for Shabbat and for the holidays. They served many purposes such as giving thanks, the expiation of sins and the celebration of special occasions. Of course, since the destruction of the Temple and the launching of rabbinic Judaism, we have substituted public sacrifices with prayer, adherance to mitzvot and occasional fasting. As our prophets and sages teach us, no sacrifice or prayer has meaning unless it is accompanied by a commitment to a life of morality and caring for others and for the environment.
This is the perfect segue into the three week period (between the 17th day of Tammuz and the 9th day of Menachem Av) which we have just entered. This marks the time in the Hebrew calendar between when the walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Babylonians until the day of the descruction of the Temple three weeks later. It is marked by a period of semi-mourning and introspection as we ponder the meaning of this great loss and the behavior that helped cause the calamity to come about. The chanting of our religious services are more subdued and we read three 'Haftorahs of Rebuke", the first of which occurs this Shabbat with the reading of Jeremiah 1-2:3 where he warns his contemporaries about the consequences of their behavior and turning away from Hashem and the mitzvot, a warning that comes to fruition with the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Hebrew nation. However, Jeremiah ends the third verse of Chapter 2 on a positive note that the children of Israel are Hashem's "hallowed portion" and "first fruits" and that redemption could be possible.
Please join me in-person or virtually on Zoom this evening at 7:30 pm and tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 9:30 am as we continue our prayers and study. And a reminder that we will be reading the Book of Eicha (Lamentations) on the morning of Tisha B'Av, Sunday, August 3rd at 9:30 am. Please mark your calendar so that you can participate with us on this important day.
Shabbat Shalom!
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
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