SAY, THEREFORE, "I WILL GRANT HIM

MY PACT OF PEACE."

(Bamidbar 25:1)

I will grant

him My pact of peace – The gift of peace as reward or

as a "preventive treatment" against corruption of character.

Peace is an unsurpassed good because it includes al types of

spiritual accomplishments and eternal happiness. That is why the priests'

blessing to Israel ends with peace. No one achieves peace through his own

efforts alone, but rather he requires help from heaven. That is why it is referred

to as something given – it is the goodly gift which the Holy One blessed

be He gives to those who fear Him. Pinhas

won the attribute of peace thanks to his willingness to perform a great deed, a

deed which was one of righteousness, as the Psalmist said, It was reckoned

to him as righteousness (Tehillim106:31). We know that peace is the reward for righteousness, as it

is written, For the work of righteousness

shall be peace (Isaiah 32:17),

and so it is said in Pirkei Avot: "He who increases righteousness

increases peace."

(Rabbi Yitzhak Shemuel Regio on Bamidbar 25:12)

As reward for pacifying God's wrath and anger, He blessed him with the

quality of peacefulness, i.e., that he not

be strict or upset. This was necessary because the act committed by Pinhas, of killing someone, naturally leaves a strong

emotional impression, but since it was performed for the sake of Heaven, he

received the blessing that he always be calm and peaceful, and that this matter

(Ha-Amek Davar 25:12)

On the

Holiness of Zealotry

Ronen Ahituv

Our parasha opens with the Holy One Blessed

be He praising Pinhas ben Elazar

HaKohen for his zealous act, in which – without being

expressly ordered to do so – he killed the leader of the tribe of Shimon and

the daughter of the leader of Midian. Many find the

deed itself disconcerting and difficult to accept, and the great praise Pinchas received for it all the more so. A generation that

has had to contend with actual cases of zealotry, such as the dastardly acts of

Barukh Goldstein and Yigal Amir, finds praise for zealousness especially dangerous and

uncalled for.

In publications such as Shabbat Shalom, we prefer to emphasize other

stories from the Bible, the Talmud, and the midrashim,

which limit the scope of zealotry or which even plainly condemn it. Despite our

consternation, the words of our parasha stand unchanged and it is difficult to

find in them any criticism of Pinchas's deed. Diabolically,

peace itself is granted him in a pact with God!

True, midrashic interpretations abound, and

it is possible to stand the story on its head through complicated

reinterpretation. But despite all of that, at the end of the day we stand

before the fact of Pinchas ben Elazar's

good name and lower our eyes with discomfort.

Historically speaking, we may discover episodes of zealotry marking

many of the great crossroads of our national existence. Some garnered praise,

others garnered condemnation: It begins with Moses, who struck the Egyptian and

mobilized the Levites to kill those who worshipped the calf. It passes on

through Pinhas and Elijah; from the Maccabis to the Sicariim of the

war of the destruction of Jerusalem and through Bar Kokhba's

fighters; from the zealots of the Hebrew language to the zealots of the worker's

brigade [Gedud Ha'Avodah];

from the people of the Mered Ha'Kadosh ["Holy Rebellion" of religious

labor Zionism] and through those who built the Homa

U'Migdal ["wall and watch-tower"]

settlements. Zealots have influenced Jewish history in various and sundry ways,

for the better and for the worse. There is no point to categorically dismissing

them all, even though they did not always achieve their ends, and sometimes

they brought about terrible tragedies. There is no denying it: zealousness is

part of who we are.

I shall presently try to uncover the positive side of zealousness, its

sparks of goodness and the holiness it bears within. I shall do this by

considering the story of Pinhas in its wider context.

Our parasha appears in the second half of the

book of Bamidbar, and deals with the events of the fortieth year of Israel's

sojourn in the wilderness. After our having been told of the deaths of Aaron

and Miriam in parashat Hukkat, our parasha goes on to

order Moses' death. It seems that the deepest motif of the parasha is

inheritance and the change of generations: the Israelites (excluding the

Levites) inherit their land, Pinhas inherits the

covenant of priesthood from his grandfather Aaron, the daughters of Zelafhad inherit their father's portion of the land, and

Joshua inherits Moses' role as leader.

The issue of zealousness is especially urgent in the context of a

generation of inheritors. A generation which depends upon traditions created by

others and which continues them is especially prone to the dangers of banality.

When you continue to behave as in previous years,

holding tight to what the forefathers have created, a great yawn overcomes you,

endangering the religious routine. It is hard to discern God's presence in the

life of normative halakhah. It is difficult to feel

the intimate touch of the Divine in the thicket of rules and standardized

details. Experientially speaking, the halakhah threatens religious emotions.

Zealousness sends us back from the halakhic life to the life of

religious experience. The zealot does not act as one obeying a command, out of

a sense of normative duty. Rather, he acts from a deep feeling of

identification with the value that, to his mind, has been denigrated. That is

why if a zealot "comes to ask [the court for a decision regarding his

planned deed, he is not to be instructed" (Sanhedrin 82a). Zealousness

is not a matter of halakhic legislation, but rather an outburst of action

spurred by recognition of an emergency. The zealot does not settle for

observing the halakhah while hoping that God will steer history towards

correction of the problem; he seeks direct contact with the reasons underlying

the halakhah, and with its foundations, assuming personal responsibility for

them. He reads the verse, It is a time to act for the Lord, your Torah has

been disobeyed (Tehillim 19:126, and

see Berakhot 54a) as addressed to him personally, in both manners that it may be read: "I

must act personally for the Lord when I see the Torah being hurt" and "I

must disobey the Torah [halakhah] in order to act for the Lord."

That is why zealousness became important in the generation of Joshua

and Pinhas. It came to proclaim that even though a

generation had passed since the Torah was given amidst fire and thunder, the

holy flame continues to burn in the hearts of the new young leadership.

Of course, zealous action is fraught with dangers. The zealot is driven

by powerful emotions and may occasionally lose clarity of thought and a

critical perspective. Emotions and intuitions are bad counselors; they tend to

lie frequently. As a result, there have been many catastrophes brought about by

zealous acts. Another danger stems from the role of manipulators, who cynically

exploit the religious fervor of the zealots for their own illegitimate ends.

The difficulty of properly directing zealousness derives from the very

definition of its mission – by nature, zealousness does not respect limits. The

above discussion showed that the zealot is not bound by the limits of the halakhah,

all the less so by other kinds of limits. This leaves the zealot without any

objective criterion by which to judge and criticize his own

actions. The zealot requires heavenly assistance and divine grace to help him

understand his path and act properly. Zealotry appears when the zealots believe

that they have indeed been granted knowledge from Above. Their frequent

failures prove to us – retrospectively – that they are not always right, and that

sometimes they act blindly.

Despite all of these dangers and pitfalls, we must admit to the value

of the zealot's religious fervor, of the way he lives an unmediated religious

life. He who fears zealousness and disposes of it entirely is apt to find

himself trapped in a chilly religious life consisting of meaningless halakhic

discipline and fraught with severe motivational problems. Few are those who

manage to navigate successfully between these two dangers and grasp the stick

at both ends.

This discussion has no practical educational conclusions. I tried to

point to the charm of zealot's experience and its vital power, while not

disregarding its great dangers. It seems that we lack a magical formula that

would allow us to properly determine the limits of zealotry and neutralize its

dangers ahead of time. This does not imply that we must uproot it entirely. A

complete avoidance of risk through a blanket opposition to zealousness invites

its own danger – danger of the loss of religious vitality. There seems to be no

solution which promises a rose garden; God only knows!

If only we could be infused with Pinhas's

fervor without ceding careful and painstaking reflection, as is the manner of

the halakhah, of which it is said, Behold, My word is like fire – declares

the Lord! (Jeremiah 23:29).

Dr. Ronen Ahituv lives in Mitzpeh Netufa and teaches at Bar

Ilan University, at the Oranim

College, and at the Jordan Valley Regional College.

Five events occurred to our ancestors on the 17^th

of Tammuz and five on the 9^th of Ab – on

the 17^th of Tammuz the tablets

was cancelled and

the city was invaded and Apostomos burnt the Torah

and stood an idol in the sanctuary.

(Mishna, Taanit 4:1)

When

Moshe saw how they had sinned by making the calf, he said: How can I give them

the tablets? I will be obligating them to observe serious mitzvot

and I will be condemning them to death by divine power, for it is inscribed

upon them, You shall have no other gods

before Me. He turned to go back. Seventy elders saw him, and ran after him;

he held the top of the tablet, and they held the top of the tablet. Moshe was

stronger than all of them, as is written (Devarim 34): And in all the strong hand and

Israel.

(Avot De'Rabbi Natan 2:3)

All of the types of holiness,

and branches of the Torah, and they are sanctified through the Torah's holiness…Do

not imagine, God forbid, that the Temple and the Tabernacle are intrinsically

holy objects! God dwells among His sons, and if they, to a man, have

transgressed the Covenant (Hosea 6:7), all holiness is removed from them, and they

become like profane vessels "intruders came and desecrated it." Titus

entered the Holy of Holies with a prostitute and was not harmed (Gittin 56b) because its holiness had been removed. More

than that – the Tablets – the writing of God – are not holy in

themselves, but only for your sake when you observe that which is written in

them…no created thing is holy in itself, but only in that Israel observes the

Torah.

…None of the holy places are

founded in religion… [As for] Mount Sinai, the place of religion, as soon as

the Divine Presence left it – the sheep and cattle climbed up it (Shemot 19:13)!

(Meshekh

Hokhmah Shemot 32:19;12:

21)

Our Rabbi Moses exemplified this

when he broke the tablets as soon as he saw the people transgress the

commandment make no idol or image for yourself.

We must understand that the expression idol or any image applies not

only to the golden calf made by Israel, but to every natural existent: Nation,

land, homeland, flag, army, idea, a personality, and so forth, whenever they

are treated as being holy.

(Y. Leibowitz: Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashiyot

HaShavu'a, pg. 401)

Readers Respond

(A response to Amos Bardea's article, "The Relationship Between

the Firstborn and the Chosen," from the parashat Korah

issue)

Something is missing for me in Amos Bardea's

article, "The

Relationship Between the Firstborn and the Chosen."

Rachel and Leah may be added to the list of siblings for whom the

firstborn and the chosen are switched; more importantly Miriam should be added.

Here is an addendum, taken from my article (slightly edited) entitled, "Na'amah: Brother and Sister, and That Which

is Between Them," from Korot MiBereishit (Ruti Ravitzki, editor), Sifrei Hemed & Yediot Aharonot, 1999, pg. 90.

The story of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses serves as the exception that

proves the rule. Only one passage in Scripture lists all three of them as the

leaders of their generation: For I raised you up from the land of Egypt and

before you (Micah 6:4). The Torah's narrative

points to precisely the opposite order of names. Miriam looked after the infant

Moses, participating in his rescue (Shemot 2). However,

even there she suffers from a lack of status; she is not referred to by name,

but merely as his sister. Since Aaron was only three years old at the

time (Shemot 6:20), it is reasonable to

assume that she was the firstborn to her parents, even if she is occasionally

entirely missing from the standard male genealogies (Shemot 6:20), and other times she is listed last (I Chronicles 5:29) as sister to Aaron and

Moses (Bamidbar 26:59). When she assumes a

secondary role in the Exodus from Egypt – during the singing of the Song of the

Sea – she is called Miriam the Prophetess, sister of Aaron (Shemot 15:20), related to the elder brother, who is also called

a prophet (Shemot

7:1) in the sense of being

Moses' assistant in the execution of his redemptive mission. This unusual

situation between a sister and her brothers – she is the elder sibling and she

demands status equal to theirs – leads, in the context of a patriarchal

society, to open conflict: She questions Moses' unique status, mobilizing the

help of her other brother, Aaron (Bamidbar 12:1-2). God immediately responds: He summons the three according to the

traditional order, reversing the order of their births. And the Lord spoke

Tent of Meeting! (verse 4). Miriam is punished and

Moses makes it clear – by means of his prayer for her recovery – that the younger brother is to extend his protection to his

sister, and not the reverse. This completes the reversal within this unusual

family, making Micah's formulation – Moses, Aaron, and Miriam – sound

like the closing speech of the chorus in a Greek tragedy, after the deviant

hero has paid the price for his hubris and the social order has been

re-established. It is interesting to note that the Sages had Miriam giving

birth to Hur (paralleling Aaron's marriage to Elisheva, also of the noble tribe of Judah). In this way we

are indirectly presented with an additional reference to the three leaders when

they gain victory over Amalek: And Joshua did as Moses told him, to fight

supported his hands, one to each side of him (Shemot 16:10,12). It seems to me that according to the Sages, Hur here represents his mother Miriam in a dramatic scene which

collects together the leaders of the Exodus with the leader of the entry into

the Land.

Leah Shakdiel, Yeruham

Dr. Amos Bardea, author of the article, replies

Indeed, Leah's comments open up a discussion which

is interesting in its own right; what is the status of the firstborn daughter,

both in Egyptian as well as in Israelite culture? The plain meaning of the text

has it that the plague of the firstborn only affected the males and the

replacement of the ritual function of the firstborn with the Levites also only

involved males. It seems to be true that in a patriarchal society a first born

male enjoyed an elevated status in the family not given to first born

daughters, and there is no room to expand upon that here. In my article I tried

to display the tension between the chosen son and the firstborn son as it is seen

in Scripture. Scripture, and especially the book of Bereishit, tends to present

characters as contrasting members of pairs. Moses and Aaron form a definite

pair even if an important additional character is waiting in the wings. Within

that pair, Moses is the chosen one, Father of the prophets and prophetesses (it

is interesting that all of the other prophets followed Moses chronologically,

making Moses the first of he prophets, excepting his sister Miriam, who

preceded him).

If

you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider contributing towards its

publication and distribution.

·       

Hebrew edition distributed in Israel $700

·       

English edition distributed via email $ 100

Issues

may be dedicated in honor of an event, person, simcha,

etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10

days in advance to appear in the English email.

In

Israel, checks made out to Oz VeShalom may be sent to

Oz VeShalom-P.O.B. 4433, Jerusalem 91043.

Unfortunately there is no Israeli tax-exemption for local donations.

US

and British tax exempt contributions to Oz VeShalom

may be made through:

New

Israel Fund, POB 91588, Washington, DC 20090-1588, USA

New

Israel Fund of Great Britain, 26 Enford Street,

London W1H 2DD, Great Britain

PLEASE

NOTE THAT THE NEW ISRAEL FUND IS NO LONGER ACCEPTING DONATIONS UNDER $100.

PEF

will also channel donations and provide a tax-exemption. Donations should be

sent to P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607,

New York, New York 10017 USA

All

contributions should be marked as donor-advised to Oz ve'Shalom,

the Shabbat Shalom project.

About us

Oz

Veshalom-Netivot Shalom is a movement dedicated to

the advancement of a civil society in Israel. It is committed to promoting the

ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts which have always been

central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz

Veshalom-Netivot Shalom shares a deep attachment to

the land of Israel and it no less views peace as a central religious value. It

believes that Jews have both the religious and the national obligation to

support the pursuit of peace. It maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us

to create a fair and just society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs

is not an option but an imperative.

Oz

Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's

programs include both educational and protest activities. Seminars, lectures,

workshops, conferences and weekend programs are held for students, educators

and families, as well as joint seminars for Jews, Israeli Arabs and

Palestinians. Protest activities focus on issues of human rights, co-existence

between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of particular religious

relevance.

5,000

copies of a 4 page peace oriented commentary on the weekly Torah reading are

written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot Shalom

and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent overseas

via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il

Oz

Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's

educational forums draw people of different backgrounds, secular and religious,

who are keen to deepen their Jewish knowledge and to hear an alternative

religious standpoint on the subjects of peace and social issues.

Oz

Veshalom-Netivot Shalom fills an ideological vacuum

in Israel's society. Committed both to Jewish tradition and observance, and to

the furthering of peace and coexistence, the movement is in a unique position

to engage in dialogue with the secular left and the religious right, with

Israeli Arabs and with Palestinians.