Pinchas, Let's Take a Stand, Havel Havelim

Yesterday, on Shabbat, the Torah Portion of Pinchas was read. Pinchas is probably one of the most controversial figures in the entire Bible, Jewish of course. At the end of the previous weekly Torah Portion, Balak, Pinchas singlehandedly executed a Jewish leader who had been publicly sinning with a Midianite woman:

ו  וְהִנֵּה אִישׁ מִבְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בָּא, וַיַּקְרֵב אֶל-אֶחָיו אֶת-הַמִּדְיָנִית, לְעֵינֵי מֹשֶׁה, וּלְעֵינֵי כָּל-עֲדַת בְּנֵי-יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְהֵמָּה בֹכִים, פֶּתַח אֹהֶל מוֹעֵד.	6 And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, while they were weeping at the door of the tent of meeting.
ז  וַיַּרְא, פִּינְחָס בֶּן-אֶלְעָזָר, בֶּן-אַהֲרֹן, הַכֹּהֵן; וַיָּקָם מִתּוֹךְ הָעֵדָה, וַיִּקַּח רֹמַח בְּיָדוֹ.	7 And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand.
ח  וַיָּבֹא אַחַר אִישׁ-יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל-הַקֻּבָּה, וַיִּדְקֹר אֶת-שְׁנֵיהֶם--אֵת אִישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל, וְאֶת-הָאִשָּׁה אֶל-קֳבָתָהּ; וַתֵּעָצַר, הַמַּגֵּפָה, מֵעַל, בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל.	8 And he went after the man of Israel into the chamber, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel.

On one hand we are warned not to be zealots like Pinchas, but on the other hand the terrible plague ended with this act, after 24,000 had died, and Pinchas was rewarded by Gd with Priesthood. So it's pretty obvious that Gd did approve. 

Now, as bloggers we can write, or speak/record for publication, our opinions on this and other issues. That's the fun of being bloggers. We have our own online newspapers. Blogs can be whatever we make them, and anyone can read a blog. So, as I've said many times, you don't have to be a blogger to read, comment and share Havel Havelim!

Havel Havelim is the long-running weekly international Jewish and Israeli blog carnival. It was begun well over a decade ago by Soccer Dad who no longer blogs. HH floats from blog to blog, organized on our facebook page. Next week Yael of A Damaged Mirror will be the host. Please send her your link of the week, plus any good ones you see to ya.shahar@gmail.com, with HH as subject before Shabbat your time.  If you haven't sent in your link, you can't count on being included. And if your post is included, and even if it's not, it's considered good manners to blog about the Havel Havelim edition to encourage your readers to read it and the included posts. Yes, of course, you can also email or share the HH to anyone you want!

Enough with the introduction, let's get on with the show!

Ester Ignorance Kills
Yael:Do we tithe produce grown in a greenhouse? According to Rav Ish-Shalom, the answer has something to teach us about parenting. Of Tithes and Greenhouses
Esser Agaroth: The Bitter and Endless Cycle of Arab Terror
Ben-Tzion Spitz Secrets of Creation
Jacob: New: English - Hebrew "Renting an Apartment" Vocabulary
My husband's The Hotel That The Hagana Blew Up
Real Jerusalem Streets: Jerusalem by Night and Day: From Dinosaurs to Conferences
Join us for Women's Rosh Chodesh Prayers in Shiloh Hakeduma, Tel Shiloh One More Week to Rosh Chodesh Av
My report from the Tzohar Conference: Aliyah to Har HaBayit, Ascending the Temple Mount, Can Rabbis be Wrong?
Traveling by bus is pretty easy here in Israel. We don't have a car and we manage, Traveling by Public Transportation between Ariel and Tel Hashomer Hospital, Tel Aviv.
This situation really bothers me! Am I alone in finding it troubling? Why has The World, International Leaders and Media Ignored Murder of Malachi Rosenfeld?
Tzivia: Why Jewish reincarnation matters (even if you don’t believe in reincarnation) - a dvar Torah for Parshas Pinchas
Satire from PreOccupied Territory: Ynet Introduces Maximum IQ For Comment Submissions

I think that breaking into a new neighborhood is hard wherever it is. Tzivia's Why do Israelis hate you so much? Dealing with the cold shoulder. Food for thought...
Paula: Jabotinsky and the Light Rail
Tzedek-Tzedek, his opion; I'd like more posts on the topic. Part One: 10 Years Since Disengagement - The Context of the Protests
Our Shiputzim: Seudah Shlishit… Glidah, a very tempting ice cream recipe. Nu, maybe we should finally meet f2f, and you can bring the refreshments, hint! Hint! 

Elder of Ziyon: 07/10 Links Pt2: UNESCO Crosses the Line Into Anti-Semitism; The Woman Who Will Crush BDS
Seraphic Secret: Iran: The Worst Agreement in U.S. Diplomatic History
Israel-Just The Facts: A Video Of Gaza That Will Make Your Mouth Drop
The Rebbetzin's Husband: Motivating the second generation?
This Day... in Jewish History: July 11
Kol B'Isha Erva Married Ladies Whip Your Hair Back and Forth!
Jewish Book Review: Can Movies Be Kosher?
Jewish Filmmaker Tzvi Fishman: A World of Screens

Please check out the various posts. Many are from blogs I've just discovered. And please comment and share, too. Enjoy and have a shavua tov, wonderful week!!