I ponder this thought, as we read Parshas Pinchas this coming Shabbat. Herein, we meet Pinchas, who took the initiative to act, after seeing the brazen action of an Israelite man and a Midyanite woman acting in the most despicable and shameful manner in front of the entire Jewish nation. Pinchas arose from amidst the congregation, spear in hand and impaled them both and the plague that had broken out amongst the people ceased. For his valor and in merit of having turned G-D's wrath away from the people, he was granted a reward from Hashem"הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום", a covenant of peace.
The question in all of our minds; "Is this a reward for such a heroic deed, and if this is the reward what does it mean?"
Pinchas acted with zealotry, extremism and intolerance and the question we can pose; "Is this the proper way to deal with sinful acts of others?" In fact, Chazal tell us that שבטים מבזין אותו, the other Tribes began to denigrate him and were displeased by his action.
One can understand that Pinchas's method of restoring harmony in the camp was to kill another Jew and from the reward of the covenant of peace G-D was telling him; "Though your zealotry achieved the goal of cleansing the community, peace was the one attribute that was needed." Life cannot exist with such zealotry and violence, we must achieve our goals of Kedusha and T'harah through peaceful means, through acts of kindness, understanding and peaceful negotiations.
In addition to the covenant of peace, Hashem rewards Pinchas with Kehunah. Peace is so intertwined with Kehunah, as we see by אהרן, who is אוהב שלום ורודף שלום and by the words at the conclusion of the Birkat Kohanim וישם לך שלום.
Thus we see that though Pinchas acted correctly to defend G-D's honor and maintain Kedushas Ha׳am from being defamed and to quell the plague. The way he did so by sacrificing peace for the sake of truth, might not be the best solution to achieve our goals of harmony and to restore peace for the people.
Hashem realized that Pinchas needed the covenant of peace to realign himself with the role of a Kohen, to reconnect with the essential nature that was passed down from his grandfather Aharon.
As I continue in this thought process, even though I admit that zealotry has its pitfalls, there are times that we need to act with zeal and with an urgency of actions. History has shown that for the sake of our Jewish existence and especially to maintain our sovereignty in the State of Israel, it may demand of us acts of zealotry to assure our Jewish Statehood's survival. True, there is some vacillating on my part, but think for a moment, what our reaction should be with the vote by UNESCO, that once again seeks to delegitimize the State of Israel by passing resolutions that negate any Jewish connection to
M'arrat Hamachpelah. Can you imagine such Chuzpah, such utter audacity to deny our heritage, to deny the burial grounds of our Patriarchs and our Matriarchs as being a Jewish part of our ארצנו הקדושה? These acts of Antisemitism and hatred for the Jewish State, engenders in me and in many others a feeling of Zealotry to do what ever we can, understandably within the law, and to be zealous in our proactive behavior and show the world and specifically the United States, the corrosive behavior that exists in the United Nations. So, yes, there are times we need zealotry, and when that feeling overwhelms us as it occurs when the Jewish Nation is threatened, we remember the words of Hashem
הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום.
I find it very insightful that Chazal say that, פנחס זו אליהו, that Pinchas and Elijah are the same person. Elijah is the one who will herald the coming of the Messiah, a time that will bring peace and security to the Jewish People.
So here we have the combination that will best serve our Jewish Nation. We will need acts of zealotry, that are always tempered with feelings of peace and harmony. I sense such a combination can only succeed when the Mashiach will come, for only he can mold these two attributes into one.
May we be Zoche to see that glorious day in our time.
שבת שלום ומבורך
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