Parashat Pinhas
Zeal And Peace
How can we
understand the relationship between Pinhas’ act of zealous violence and the
covenant of peace he receives as a result?
By Rabbi Howard Alpert
The following article is reprinted with permission from Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
One of the more startling, and for many troubling, episodes
of the Torah bridges last week's reading of Parashat Balak with this week's
reading of Parashat Pinhas.
The stage is set at the end of Parashat Balak. The king of
Midian, unable to destroy the Jews through sorcery, turns to debauchery to
serve his nefarious ends. Young women of Midian are sent into the Israelite
camp to seduce the Israelites in the name of the false god, Pe'or. As the plan
succeeds and the Israelites succumb to temptation, God's wrath is unfurled upon
them in the form of a deadly plague.
B'midbar 25:6-10 picks up the story:
Biblical Text 1
"Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a
Midianite woman over to his companions, in the sight of Moses and of the whole
Israelite community who were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
When Pinhas, son of Elazar son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the
assembly and, taking a spear in hand, he followed the Israelite into the
chamber and stabbed both of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the
belly. Then the plague against the Israelites were checked. Those who died of
the plague numbered 24,000.
The Lord Spoke to Moses, saying, Pinhas, son of Elazar son of Aaron the priest
has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by displaying his zealousness for
me, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in my zealousness. Say,
therefore, I grant him my covenant of Shalom. It shall be for him and his
descendants after him a covenant of priesthood for all time, because he took
zealous action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israelites."
Observations On Biblical Text 1
The Torah's description of Pinhas' action, of Moses's
inaction, and of God's reaction raises some disturbing questions. Among them:
1. Does the Torah condone zealousness? Is even murder permitted when performed
in the service of one's personal sense of God's will? Are there no limits to
what the Torah believes can be done in the name of God?
2. Does Moses' silence and God's 'Covenant of Shalom' with Pinhas imply that
zealousness and murder have no consequences? Is Pinhas the model for Jews
through the ages to emulate?
These questions stem not only from the sensibilities of the
late 20th century liberal. In truth, the story of Pinhas has evoked ambivalent
feelings among Jewish sages throughout the ages, as the following texts attest.
Rabbinic Text 1: Talmud Yerushalmi, Tractate Sanhedrin 9:7
"The Elders of Israel sought to excommunicate Pinhas
until the Holy Spirit hurried and said: "It shall be for him and his
descendants after him a covenant of priesthood for all time, because he took
zealous action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israelites.'"
[Rabbi Baruch Epstein, author of the Torah Temimah explains: "Such
a deed must be animated by a genuine, unadulterated spirit of zeal to advance
the glory of God. In the case, who can tell whether the perpetrator is not
really motivated by some selfish motive, maintaining that he is doing it for
the sake of God, when he has actually committed murder? That was why the Elders
wished to excommunicate Pinhas, had not the Holy Spirit testified that his zeal
for God was genuine."]
Observation On Text 1
The Rabbis of the Talmud Yerushalmi (as explained by Rabbi
Epstein) understand Pinhas' act as singular, and acceptable only with the
testimony of God. No matter what the provocation, zealousness such as Pinhas'
requires immediate excommunication; an individual prone to such action cannot
be abided in the community. God's intervention on his behalf is understood as
both promoting Pinhas as a uniquely righteous individual (can there be another
who meets the commentary's standard for selflessness?) and as denying
permission for others to follow in his footsteps in an era when God no longer
speaks.
Rabbinic Text 2: Midrash Shemos Rabbah 33:5
"Pinhas expounded, 'A horse who goes to war risks his
life for his master. How much more so should I risk my life for the
sanctification of the name of the Holy One Blessed Be He!' He began to ponder:
'What shall I do? Alone I cannot prevail. Two can overpower one; can one
overpower two?" While he was pondering, the epidemic raged among the
Israelites.'"
Observation On Text 2
Like the first text, the Midrash Shemot Rabbah also assumes
Pinhas' righteousness. To do so, it denies zeal for God as a motive for his
actions and sees only that he needed to act in order to end God's plague. Only
God may act zealously on his own behalf. Pinhas' action was to save Israelite
lives by appeasing God's wrath, and in that regard he is criticized for acting
too slowly.
Rabbinic Text 3: Talmud Bavli, Tractate Zevachim 101b
"Pinhas did not become a priest until he had made peace
among the Tribes [i.e. between the Tribes of Reuven, Gad, and half of Menasheh,
and the rest of Israel."
Observation On Text 3
The Talmud Bavli is less certain of Pinhas then are texts 1
and 2. Were his actions warranted? Perhaps. But their results are those of
"Ei-Shalom" (lack of Shalom) and their reward claimable only
after Pinhas has compensated for the loss of Shalom that they wrought.
The theme set by the Bavli, that there is a price to be paid for acts of
zealousness and that Shalom is the higher goal, is reflected by medieval and
modern sources. As the following texts indicate, inner harmony and communal
peace are perceived as both the ultimate objective and the highest blessing:
Rabbinic Text 4: Commentary Of The Netziv (Naphtali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin)
"In reward for turning away the wrath of the Holy One
Blessed Be He, God blessed Pinhas with the attribute of Shalom, that he should
not be quick tempered or angry. Since, as it was only natural that such a deed
as Pinhas should leave in his heart an intense emotional unrest afterward, the
Divine blessing was designed to cope with this situation and promised inner
peace and tranquility."
Observation On Text 4:
The Netziv focuses on the self-destructive nature of zealous
violence. It as if the Netziv is warning that such acts can only lead one away
from the path of Godliness, i.e. the path of Shalom. Perhaps informed by the
Midrash Shemos Rabbah, the Netziv assumes that Pinhas may be justified only
through an understanding that he acted to protect the Israelites (from God’s
wrath). An act of zealous violence on behalf of God would not be justifiable.
Rabbinic Text 5: Rav By Nathan (as quoted in "Iturei Torah")
"After the great zealousness that he acted upon for
God, God gives him as a gift the Covenant of Shalom. It is as if the Torah is
hinting that the path of Shalom is always preferable to, and more successful
than, the path of zealousness and war."
Observation On Text 5
Amen.
[Note: All of the texts referred to above are available in English translation
and accessible to the casual student. Two compendiums which are especially
helpful in finding primary sources for a Torah Study such as this are Legends
of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg and The
Encyclopedia of Biblical Personalities by Yishai Chasidah.]
Prepared by Rabbi Howard
Alpert, Hillel of Greater Philadelphia.
Provided by Hillel’s
Joseph Meyerhoff Center for Jewish Learning, which creates innovative
educational resources based on Jewish texts and trains Hillel students,
professionals, and lay leaders to infuse Jewish content throughout their
activities. © 2002 Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
