Pinchas 5774

By Rabbi Daniel A. Kripper
Beth Israel, Aruba

This parashah tells the story of Pinchas, Aaron the Kohen Gadol’s grandson, a young man who dramatically proved his loyalty to pure monotheism.  His feelings of fervor and dedication were so strong that, when he saw the sons of Israel involved in idolatry and promiscuity, he decided to take the law into his own hands.  While others stood paralyzed, not taking any stand, Pinchas decided to punish the sinners; he took a spear and killed them, in front of everybody.

By way of reward for his timely and well-meaning, though violent, intervention, God promises Pinchas and his descendents a covenant of eternal peace.

Nevertheless, from the classical interpretation of our sages, the Pinchas episode constitutes a unique event, which should never be emulated or repeated.

The peace covenant promised to them is not a true peace, for as has been pointed out, one of the Hebrew letters of the word shalom, the vav, appears in the biblical text cut in half.  Perhaps this is how they wanted to specify that, in spite of his passionate and perhaps justified action at the time, his example should be treated cautiously.

It is interesting to note that the term kanai or “fervent” can also be used for “fanatic.”  It would seem that the line between enthusiasm and radical intransigence is extremely thin, and both concepts can be easily confused.

Let us recall that the word “fervent” comes from the Latin verb fervere, which means to boil.  Just as a steam engine cannot operate without boiling water, many noble causes could not prosper without the passionate enthusiasm of their defenders.  But just as boiling water, zealousness can also be dangerous.  The inflexible person can turn into a fanatic who does not tolerate other opinions, different from his/her own.  Fanatics are a potentially destructive and damning factor for peace.  Fanatics tend to erase the distinction between what is important and what is comparatively trite.  They do not only confuse the trees with the forest, but also perceive individual trees as if they were forest.

In this troubled world where we live in, there are times when acts of violence are not just unavoidable but even necessary.  Both individuals and nations often need to defend themselves, before the attack of hostile forces that aim to overpower them.  When a peaceful settlement is impossible, sometimes the only option is to resort to violence, “in extremis”, to the purpose of defending legitimately justified causes.

In the words of Prof. Akiva Ernst Simon, Judaism is a religion of peace, not a pacifist religion.  That is, it ideally stands for peace, but not for a peace at any cost.

This has been the fate of humankind throughout history, and everything signals that it will continue to be so.

But Judaism warns against the trap of glorifying violence.  Violence may be occasionally unavoidable, but it should never be a cause for boasting.

Throughout its short history, the modern State of Israel has repeatedly had to resort to violence, because of defensive or security reasons, but always with a feeling of regret, as a necessary wrong.

The person who best defined the Judaic position towards peace these last few days is Rachel Frenkel, a scholar in Jewish law and mother of Naftali, one of the three young Israelis brutally murdered by their Palestine abductors last month.

Confined in the sadness of her home, she was informed a few days later of the murder of a Palestinian teenager in Jerusalem, the same age as Naftali and presumably in retaliation.

Rachel made a parenthesis in her drama and raised her voice in solidarity with Suha, mother of the Palestinian boy.  “We do not know what happened in Jerusalem, but if the murder of the young Arab was due to nationalistic causes, it is horrible and despicable.  There is no difference between blood and blood.  A murder is a murder, no matter the nationality and age,” Frenkel claimed, in an attempt to quench the thirst for vengeance that pushes forward these days among both populations.  “There is no justification, no forgiveness, and no atonement for any murder.”

For violence, even when unavoidable, engenders more violence and diminishes the divine image in the universe.

Rabbi Daniel A. Kripper

Beth Israel, Aruba