From the Chassidic Masters

Pinchas' deed evokes many associations -- courage, decisiveness and religious passion are several that come to mind -- but peace hardly seems one of them. Pinchas, after all, killed two people. So why does the Torah describe him as a man of peace? To understand Pinchas' place in the Jewish consciousness, we first need to understand the Torah's conception of the "zealot" (kana'i). Is violence ever a positive trait? Is the zealot the ultimate altruist, or just an angry young (or old) man who has found a holy outlet for his aggression?

Why so many numbers in the Book of Numbers?

"Portion", "lot" and "inheritance" in our relationship with the Land, in the daily choices of life, and in our our identity as G-d's "Chosen People"