Are We For or Against the Creator?
The name Pinchas, according to Rabbi Ibn Ezra, comes from the Hebrew “Peh פה and Nachash נחש,” the mouth of the serpent or snake. Much power has been attributed to the serpent; in fact, even the medical industry uses it today as the symbol of healing. What was so special about Pinchas? He was the son of Eleazar, the Cohen HaGadol, who was married to one of the daughters of Putiel, the father-in-law of Moses. This means that according to rabbinic rules, he would not be considered a Jew today, since his mother was a Midianite, not an Israelite. He was given the great honour of “Brit Shalom” שָׁלוֹם בְּרִית, the Covenant of Peace, and the Covenant of an Everlasting Priesthood, “Brit Kehunat Olam” בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם was bestowed upon him and all his descendants. The Hebrew word “shalom” has far more implications than just “peace” as we know it. It is difficult for us to even imagine a state of being in which nothing from outside can ever bother us – a sublime state, tranquility, no struggles. We have never experienced that in the history of the world.
“What did Pinchas do to receive such a high honour from the Bore Olam?” Not only did he stop the physical destruction of Israel; he halted the spiritual destruction of our people. The Torah goes beyond the physical. Hebrew thought is holistic and does not separate the body, mind, and spirit as Greek or Western thinking does. As we get older, we sense that our “insides” are not aging like the outer covering of our bodies… that is because His Ruach, His spirit, is within us and it is eternal. This Brit Shalom pointed to the idea that this quality of shalom would remain long after our life here on earth. Life does not end when the physical body dies. That is what the Creator was showing Israel through Pinchas. Twenty-four thousand people had died in that plague, but the greatest destruction to Israel was that their soul was being destroyed by their actions.
Bamidbar (Numbers) 25:16 continues with the LORD telling Moses to strike down the Midianites for conspiring against Israel, and enticing them to idolatry, to the worship of Baal-Peor, which we saw in the case of the rebellious incident with Cozbi and Zimri. This had already happened, demonstrating that the Torah is not chronological, but it is reiterated here to emphasize that Israel cannot be destroyed by any outside power; it can only be destroyed from within. Later in Matot- Masei, we will see what happened to the Midianites and to Balaam because of their conspiring against Israel.
What is important for us to remember about this plague and the attempted destruction of Israel is that Israel cannot be destroyed by any human power; rather, Israel can be its own worst enemy. The Creator has infinite patience with us and is constantly reminding us to return to Him, to do Teshuva. We are in the month of Tammuz and approaching the High Holidays, all of which are mentioned in the last portion of Parashat Pinchas. Through these and so many other signs God gave us, He is always calling us to “remember” that it is important to get our priorities straight. Let’s ask ourselves: what is more important – achieving success or how we got there; attaining everything or living a life that is upright? There are things that we can never understand on this side of eternity. Some people have done wonderful things on this earth, yet their lives have been taken away all too soon. I remember when I lost my older brother, who died in an accident in his early 20s. I couldn’t make any sense of it at the time and couldn’t see the justice in it, but later it led me to consider the possible Presence of a Creator. We don’t have all the answers to the difficult experiences we go through, and perhaps it will help simply to say that some people are too good to make it through this tough life. Those who remain have a great responsibility.
Look at what happens to Israel every time they do something wrong; they suffer the consequences. Let me ask you something… when someone warns you not to do something, and you don’t listen, and you suffer for it, who do you blame? Do you blame someone else, or do you take responsibility for your actions? We are living in a generation in which everyone blames someone or something else instead of their own actions. Pinchas needed to take action. Moses had told the judges to stop those who were doing wrong, but they didn’t. Why? Were they too afraid to stand up against those on top, because it was not “politically correct”? Out of nowhere, Pinchas, a young priest, zealous for God, stood up and did what the others did not dare to do, thus stopping the plague. Why did he do it? Pinchas didn’t care about what other people said, but he cared more about what the Creator would say. Many of us prefer to live a facade; we live by appearances, where what others say about us matters more than who we really are. I see young people following the crowd without having their own identity, copying others. Psalm 139 tells us that we are each made in a marvellous and unique way. Pinchas was unique – no two people are alike, but we don’t need to imitate Pinchas. We need to be ourselves, but being ourselves comes at a cost. Sometimes we cannot go with the flow.
Today we obviously cannot act like Pinchas and pierce people through with a sword, but our words are mightier than the sword. The Torah teaches us to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, even if it costs us to stand up for what is right. Today the world is suffering various plagues: a moral plague and a spiritual plague, and we are suffering due to gross indecency all over the world. The saddest part is that most of us imitate and accept the rule of the majority because we don’t want to be considered the odd man out. The Creator is calling us to be like Pinchas, to bring true Shalom, and to curb the destruction of the soul of this world. This is not an easy message; it can be misunderstood by thinking that the only way to curtail it is by force. We have the right to speak out and not accept what the majority is trying to push down our throats. One of the greatest mistakes the world has made is the so-called democracy in which the majority rules. Is the majority always right? Pinchas, the mouth of the serpent, is calling out to us, asking, “Are we for or against the Creator”? There is no middle ground. This is not about being a religious fanatic; rather, it is about being a tzaddik, an upright, righteous person.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Netanel ben Yochanan