“I give him my covenant of shalom; it shall be for him and for his seed after him a covenant of everlasting priesthood –because that he was zealous for his God and effected appeasement for
the Children of
Israel.” (Bemidbar
25:12)
Said Rabbi Yehoshua: Great is shalom,
for the covenant of priesthood was made with shalom, as is written: “I give him my covenant
of shalom” (Mashchet
Derech Eretz Zuta, Perek Ha Shalom, Mishna 8)
“Pin’has
ben El-azar son of Aharon the priest” – said The Holy One, Blessed Be He: It is right that
he receive his reward “Therefore say: Here, I give him my covenant of
shalom.” – Shalom, which was
awarded Pin’has, is great, for the world cannot function without shalom, and
the entire Torah is Shalom, as is written: “Its paths are paths of
pleasantness, and all her ways are of shalom.”. If one comes from a
journey, he is greeting with shalom, and every morning he is greeting with
shalom, and at evening he is greeting with shalom, Shema Yisrael is concluded with “He spreads a shelter
of Shalom over his people”, the Shmoneh
Esreh is concluded with shalom,
the priestly benediction is concluded with shalom.
Said Rabbi
Shimon ben Halafta: There is no vessel containing a blessing like shalom, as is
written: The Lord will give strength to his people, the Lord will bless his
people with Shalom.”
(Bemidbar Rabba, 21)
In reward for calming the anger and
wrath of The Holy One, Blessed Be He, He blessed him with the attribute of shalom, -- that
he not be angry and easily offended. For by nature, the act which Pin’has
performed, i.e., killing someone with his own hand, tends to perpetuate in the
heart the quality of cruelty. But Pin’has acted for the sake of heaven, so
therefore he was blessed that he remain an easy-going and peaceful person, that
his act not produce a personality defect.
(Haamek Davar 25:12)
“THROUGH ANGER ONE
COMES TO SIN” (Rashi, Berachot 29b)
“Now Israel yoked themselves to the
Baal of Pe’or, so the anger of God flared up against Israel.
God said to Moshe: Take all the heads of the people
and impale them to God, facing the sun, so that the flaming anger of God may turn from Israel. . . When
Pin’has son of El’azar son of Aharon the priest saw, he arose from the midst of
the community, taking a spear in his hand; he came after the man of Israel into
the private-chamber, and he thrust
through the two of
them . . . and the plague was held back from the Children of Israel. . .
Therefore say: Here, I give him my
covenant of shalom.” (Bemidbar 25)
Study of these passages and of the whole story of
Pin’has’s reaction indicates that anger and aggression are the central motifs.
It is most important that in a society marked by a great degree of violence and
aggression (and international
surveys have indeed given Israel ‘high grades’ in comparison with other
societies) there should be discussion of the sources of anger and aggression.
Aggression may be divided into two
categories:
1.
Instrumental aggression which is intended to achieve important
and desirable human goals. For example, when one uses threats and violence in
order to steal money from another
which he needs for a certain goal. In this case, violence is a means of
achieving a goal.
2.
Emotional or reactive
aggression: Here we are talking about an aggressive or violent reaction to
a threat or provocation (real or imagined) a reaction which is immediate and spontaneous. For example,
a child who is constantly harassed may explode at some point and hit another
child, or destroy some object. In this case, the aggression is a result of the
accumulated rage. Occasionally it may succeed in removing the source of the
threat or provocation.
The assumption is that man has a
greater degree of control over instrumental aggression – for it requires
thought, planning and establishment of goals – than over reactional aggression,
which sometimes overwhelms a person.
In the Pin’has narrative, various forms
of aggression can be identified, even though in specific instances it may be
difficult to differentiate between the different types of aggression.
The first anger in the parasha is
attributed to The Holy One, Blessed Be He, -- “The anger of God . .” Since “Torah spoke
in the language of man”, here too, in God, as it were, anger flares up when
reality does not conform to the God’s anticipations.
Human anger derives from a covert
belief, obviously irrational, that man is all-powerful, and that all the world
must adjust to his expectations. When reality slaps him in the face, proving that he has does not
have complete control, he tends to anger.
It is interesting to note that The Holy
One, Blessed Be He, also gets
angry when the Children of Israel act contrary to his desire – and ours is not
the only parasha mentioning God’s anger. This presents a problem; The Holy One,
Blessed Be He, is indeed
all-powerful and controls everything. How, then, can one explain His anger
which may lead to a desire to destroy the object of the anger? Dare one even
suggest that He, as it were, feels that despite his being King over kings of
kings, his might is limited?
A plain reading of the text has The
Holy One, Blessed Be He, moving from anger to aggressive and violent action;
ostensibly this is a clear example of emotional-reactional aggression.
According to this reading, there is no
wonder that sooner or later mortals who identify with God and His ways, behave
similarly. Do we discern here imitatio dei? “Walk in His ways” is usually illustrated by “Just as He is merciful, so, too,
you; just as He is slow to anger .
. .” Can this principle be expanded by adding, “Just as He is wrathful, so you,
too, be wrathful?”
The continuation of the parasha may
provide us with a key to solving this perplexing question. Pin’has, son of
Elazar, who was zealous for God, walks in the ways of God and adopts God’s
anger when “he sees”. (Biblical commentators offer different
explanations of this “seeing”, but the text itself does not detail what he saw.
We are reminded of “And Kayin said to Hevel his brother . . and he rose up . . . and he killed
him.”(Bereishit 4:8). Here, too, we have a sequence of verbs: “And he rose up . . and he took . . . and he came . . . and
he thrust”).
Was it the result of sober evaluation
and reasoned conclusions? Was this act carefully planned, aggression ‘in cold
blood’? If so, the Torah is describing a violent act which serves Pin’has’s
aims. Or did Pin’has act out of uncontrollable fury; had there been no anger,
he might not have acted as he did. (It is interesting to note that mass murders
of the Shoah were not always the result of uncontrollable anger, but were carefully calculated by the
Nazi regime.)
As a rule, our sources do not see anger in a
positive light:
·
“One who is angry is as one
who worship idolatrously.”
·
“Whoever is angry, if
he is a wise man, his wisdom leaves him”. (Bavli, Pesahim 66b)
·
“Whoever reaches a
state of anger, comes to err.” (Sifri, Parashat Matot, 157)
Yet The Holy One, Blessed Be He, often becomes angry when confronted
with events and incidents which are, in his estimation, a threat to His reign
over the world!
Perhaps the words of our Sages condemning anger were
directed not towards anger itself, but towards to the emotional force which it
can reach. There is a symmetry
between the force of the anger and the blood level. In such cases, one may lose
control over his emotions, and the anger which overcomes him may lead to
destructive aggression. Perhaps in this way we can explain the comparison of
anger with idolatry; whoever becomes angry faces the danger that another god,
i.e., anger, will overcome him and direct his behavior.
The Theory of Evolution claims that anger and
aggression, in certain situations,
help man survive. When man is threatened and is forced to cope with real danger, anger lights a warning
signal, and aggression helps man defend the organism against the danger. How,
then, did anger and aggression come to be the objects of such severe criticism
and censure? Why was Pin’has, who had reacted violently, in need of “a covenant
of shalom?”
It is difficult to know what Pin’has’s thoughts were
as he acted. The ‘holes’ in the Biblical narrative enabled different
commentators to complete the story in different ways. For example, Rashi –
following Chazal: “He saw an act and he recalled a halacha.” Was Pin’has angry? If so, what was
the intensity of the anger? Plain reading of the text does not indicate any
loss of control by Pin’has (in contrast to Moshe striking the boulder); the
number of actions described as taking place between the seeing and the act
indicate the possibility of delaying the spontaneous reaction – he definitely
had time “to count to ten”.
As suggested, the problem may not lie in the anger
itself; sometimes anger and aggression fulfill a vital function. But in order
to prevent anger from becoming idolatry and causing man to sin, man requires
brakes, i.e., intellectual, rational, moral, and realistic tools which can rein
in the expressions of anger and aggression. But there’s another side to the
coin. Precisely when a person is
very angry, it becomes difficult
for him to activate these tools, to curb his anger and to sublimate it in order
to chose the suitable reaction. It may be that only very special people have
the ability not to lose control when “blood” and anger “flow to their heads.”
Thus, perhaps, we can understand the significance of the act of Pin’has -- who
was awarded the covenant of shalom -- as an exceptional and irregular
incident which should not set the general rule. (Our Sages argue that had
Pin’has consulted with those in authority, they would not have advised him to
act as he did).
Circumstances have transformed Israeli society into
one saturated with anger and violence. We would do well to internalize the
comparison of anger with idolatry, and to leave the fury and the vengeance to
The Holy One, Blessed Be He. It is
desirable that we focus on the brakes, on the powers of restraint and the
sublimation of anger which bursts forth, and so will we not proceed from the
anger to the sin.Control, restraint, channeling and sublimation may reward us in time with a covenant of shalom.
Dr. Yosef (Joop) Meyers is a
psychologist and a journalist
***
Reply to
readers’ comments published in Shabbat Shalom of Parashat Balak
In my article on Parashat Bemidbar, I dealt with an
analysis of the nature of the eish zara, the ‘outside fire’ – that fire which consumed Nadav and
Avihu - which is mentioned in
Parashat Shemini and again in Parashat Bemidbar. I based my analysis on the
commentary of the Netziv from Volozhin, who posited that the ‘fire’ was
spurious religious enthusiasm. He
points out that the desire to attain additional sanctity leads to
destruction. The Netziv informs us that, paradoxically, the fire of
enthusiastic love of God can be eish zara -- ‘outside fire.’ Some of the readers were not happy with
the exegesis of the Netziv --
especially Prof. Gavriel Cohen who sharply attacks this approach,
considering it to be untrue. We
stress: It is every man’s right to disagree with the Netziv and to present a different
understanding. Prof. Cohen, for example, is of the opinion that the eish
zara was a positive phenomenon which should serve as a paradigm. Perhaps he
does not discern any connection between that eish zara and our current
situation. But we cannot avoid the
clear fact that, according to the Netziv’s opinion, every generation has its eish
zara, and there exist those people who utter innumerable words about
holiness, and, enthused with “we shall go up and we shall conquer it”, are
leading to destruction.
In contrast to others, I agree with the Netziv’s
explanation, and especially with his diagnosis of the appearance of some
variant of eish zara in every period. I am of the opinion that, in the
light of the Netziv’s words, we must search out these people who are leading us
today – amidst words about kedusha and geula – in the direction
of eish zara. The midrash in Bereishit Rabba directs us and helps us,
like a compass in a magnetic field, in the search after the eish zara factors
among us:
“And
Kayin said to Hevel his brother” – What
were they discussing? This one said – In my area shall the Beit Hamikdash be
built, and this one
said -- In my area shall
the Beit Hamikdash be built, and the result was “And Kayin rose up
against Hevel his brother and killed him.” (Bereishit Rabba,
22). The first murder in human history of mankind
occurred against a background of a controversy over “Yerushalayim HaShelema”
– “Greater Yerushalayim.” The
desire to rule over the Temple Mount at all costs. When each side is convinced
that it is struggling over something holy, there can be no place for
compromise, and the religious fervor becomes violent and dangerous, leading to
bloodshed. These thoughts are
more apt and valid today than ever before, -- “What was is what will be,
and what was done is that which will be done, and there is nothing new beneath
the sun.”
This powerful midrash is worthy of much
consideration and thought; it teaches us that attributing holiness to soil –
even to the soil of the Temple Mount – is dangerous, bearing within it the
seeds of disaster of war and bloodshed. Does this mean that the Temple Mount is
not holy? Not at all. The meaning is that the Temple Mount is holy as a symbol,
an idea, a goal. The Temple Mount is but a symbol of justice and righteousness
– “Zion will be redeemed by justice and those who return to her in
righteousness.” (Isaiah
1:27)
Today we live in a situation in which many prefer to
bury their heads in the sand and not to see where we have sinned with eish
zara. Many refuse to see how
we have turn the expansion of the boundaries of Eretz Yisrael and the
occupational rule over 3,000,000 Palestinians into a holy goal, which – as is
clear to us today – has caused severe damage. It is clear to all today that the
religious language and terminology
employed by rabbis and leaders do not leave any place for compromise and
accommodation, inasmuch as they relate to Eretz Yisrael in terms of
super-sanctity -- religious
enthusiasm which is nothing more than eish zara.
One of our readers claims that the search for peace
is taking place with
super-zealousness. This claim is baseless. There is no great enthusiasm
in the search after compromise and accommodation. By definition, compromise and arrangements are things which
people accept upon themselves grudgingly,
through sober assessment of reality, yielding on important things for
the sake of more important things. There is an increase of understanding today
that by continuing to tread the path of zealotry, of exclusivity, of ‘rights’
(our right to Eretz Yisrael, our rights to Jerusalem, etc.) we are on the path
of destruction and murder, of harming innocent parties, and of perpetuation of
the bloody conflict. To what may this be compared? To one who conducts his
social life – with his wife, his neighbors, his fellows at work – with an
approach of “truth is in my pocket and I will fight for it at all costs.” Such a person is doomed to a bitter
life. On the other hand, there is the one who believe that “even though I am
right, I must partially concede for the sake of higher values.” This person’s life will be
characterized by activity and creation, by achievement in all important areas.
It is time we resemble the second person and not the first.
Shammai
Lebovitz
Yoel Yosef Fine,
ז"ל
On
the third anniversary of the passing of Yoel, on Monday, 25 Tammuz (16.7.01) at
20:15, we will meet for a evening
of limmud in his memory
Professor
Uriel Simon will lecture on:
Two Poems by
Yehuda HaLevi
Miriam,
Jonathan, Devorah, Naomi and Ephraim Fine
The
meeting will take place in Machon Pardes , Pierre Koenig St., - Talpiot,
Yerushalayim
What’s happening in the
movement?
In the week before Tisha
B’Av, we will conduct study evenings within the framework of the Bet Midrash
L’Shalom, in different locations throughout the country. Details in the coming issue.
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