The Importance of Constructive Action
Recall the troubling and cryptic episode at the conclusion of last week鈥檚 parashah: the Israelites encamp at Shittim; they are seduced by Moabite women and attach themselves to an idolatrous cult of Ba鈥榓l Pe鈥榦r. As retribution for this act, God commands Moses, 鈥淭ake all the ringleaders and have them publicly impaled before the Lord, so that the Lord鈥檚 wrath may turn away from Israel鈥� (Num. 25:4). Precisely at the moment of God鈥檚 decree, Pinehas, the grandson of Aaron, witnesses a brazen act between an Israelite man and Midianite woman. Pinehas, filled with rage and the desire for retribution, takes justice into his own hands, stabbing the Israelite and his Midianite partner. As a result of Pinehas鈥檚 actions, the plague unleashed against the wayward Israelites is checked, and this week鈥檚 parashah reports that Pinhas is given the divine gift of a brit shalom (covenant of peace; Num. 25:12). How may we make sense of this episode of vigilante justice and zealotry?
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch sheds some light on the narrative:
Pinhas asserted My Rights and made them respected among the people, and thereby saved the whole nation from destruction into which they would irrevocably have fallen had I been forced to assert My Rights Myself. If a challenge to God finds no champion among a circle of human beings and the consciousness of the Rights which God has on them has disappeared from this circle, then they have lost God, and thereby their own future existence. And this must be the case especially in the 绿帽社 circle of human beings, Israel, whose whole human historical existence rests on the word 鈥�li,鈥� 鈥淸they belong] to me,鈥� with which God has called Israel 鈥淗is possession鈥� and thereby dedicated every member of it to be 鈥淗is鈥� in every phase of its existence, and for all eternity makes this Right of Possession valid. Israel is either 鈥淕od鈥檚鈥� or it ceases to exist. One such single man, Pinhas, and one such single manly deed become the savior of the entire nation. (Commentary on Numbers, 432)
Hirsch does well in highlighting the depth of Pinehas鈥檚 loyalty to and sympathy for God helping us grasp the motivation for such a severe act. Our commentator is also to be praised for underscoring the extent to which there must be a partnership between God and humans; it is not enough for humans to sense the divine emotion, but they must also act in constructive ways. There must be a true striving to become a divine people. Given these reflections, the modern reader succeeds in making some sense of Pinehas鈥檚 fundamentalism. But still, the overwhelming tension of this narrative remains. An act of unbridled religious fundamentalism not only carries the day, but seems to be rewarded. Then again, perhaps the unique reward serves as a remedy: a 鈥渃ovenant of peace鈥� must temper Pinehas鈥檚 zealousness, and 鈥渁n everlasting priesthood鈥� devoted to the disciplined service of God must be the channel through which Pinehas and his descendants distill their energies. Parashat Pinehas forces us to pause and reflect on the role of religious passion and its destructive as well as constructive consequences.
The publication and distribution of A Taste of Torah are made possible by a generous grant from Sam and Marilee Susi.
