1) Ch. 25, v. 11: "Pinchos ben Elozor ben Aharon haKohein" Rashi (gemara Sanhedrin 82b) says that people derided Pinchos, stating that he killed a tribal prince, and that this was an outgrowth of the terrible trait of murder genealogically flowing through his veins from his grandfather Yisro. Hashem said that it was otherwise, that he acted with the trait of Aharon, the peace-maker, and in spite/because of this trait it was in place to kill Zimri. How does giving him and all his descendants the status of Kohein fortify this counter-claim? How is this reward in kind?
2) Ch. 25, v. 14: "V'shem ish Yisroel hamu'keh" And the name of the Israelite man who was struck Rashi (Medrash Tanchuma 2) says that just as the righteous Pinchos had his ancestry mentioned as a praise, so too, the ancestry of the wicked Zimri was mentioned in derision. We understand Pinchos's ancestry being a praise, but how is Zimri's a derision? It is only his behaviour that is despicable, and not his ancestry.
3) Ch. 27, v. 17: "Katzone asher ein lohem ro'eh" As sheep that do not have for themselves a shepherd "Asher ein lohem" connotes that the norm is that they have no shepherd, and this is surely not the case. If the intention of the verse were to say that the bnei Yisroel should not be left like sheep that "happen" to not have a shepherd, the verse should have said "katzone bli ro'eh" or the like.
4) Ch. 28, v. 2: "Tish'm'ru l'hakriv li b'mo'ado" Shall you safeguard to offer to Me at its set time Why doesn't the verse say "takrivu?" What is the safeguarding?
5) Ch. 28, v. 3: "V'omarto lo'hem" And you shall say to them In what two ways is this verse unique by way of the reading of the Torah with a minyan?
Important Numbers
