Newsgroups: soc.culture.jewish
Subject: A Byte Of Torah I,XXXIII Pinechas
From: ToraByte <CFRQC@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Wednesday, 22 Jul 1992 23:59:48 EDT
Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center

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                                     A                                   BS"D
   Volume I                       B Y T E     The Electronic
     Issue XXXIII                   O F          Torah Weekly
                                 T O R A H
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                           Dvar Torah of the Week
                           ----------------------

"And Hashem spoke to Moses, saying : Pinechas, the son of Elazar (who is)
the son of Aaron the Kohein, turned My wrath away from the Children of
Israel, in that he was jealous for My jealousy among them, and I did not
destroy the Children of Israel in My jealousy." (Numbers 25:10,11)

 These verses are bewildering. Why does the Bible write the word,
"saying"? It teaches us that Moses was instructed to tell the Children of
Israel that Pinechas was to be recognized and rewarded for his deed, and
not punished or despised (Or HaChayim). This was necessary because
Pinechas had two strikes against him. One, it was known that his mother's
father was an idol worshiper. Two, the person who he killed was a Tribal
prince, one who seemingly was greater in stature than Pinechas himself (Rashi).
 Why does the Bible say "jealous" twice? Pinechas' jealousy and zeal for
Hashem's honor and glory was a reaction to the two areas that the Children
of Israel sinned: idolatry and harlotry (Keli Yakar).
 What is meant by "turned My wrath away ..." and "I did not destroy the
Children of Israel"? Twenty four thousand people were killed (see
Numbers 25:9). All of these people belonged to the tribe of Shimon.
However, Pinechas' actions stopped Hashem from spreading His anger and
judgement to the other tribes of Israel (Rabbeinu Bachya).
 What is meant by "My jealousy"? Hashem commanded the Children of Israel
to worship Him exlusively (R. Aryeh Kaplan, cf. Ibn Ezra). Hence, when the
Children of Israel transgressed via idolatry, they violated this command,
and were thus castigated.


                             Mussar of the Week
                             ------------------

"Pinechas, the son of Elazar (who is) the son of Aaron the Kohein, turned
My wrath away from the Children of Israel, in that he was jealous for My
jealousy among them, and I did not destroy the Children of Israel in My
jealousy." (Numbers 25:10)

 This verse is mystifying. Why does the Bible say that Pinechas was
"jealous for My jealousy among them"? Pinechas killed the prince of the
tribe of Shimon within the encampments of the tribe of Shimon. Hence, the
Bible is letting us know the praise of Pinechas. Pinechas endangered his
life, by performing his act of zeal in front of the the tribe of Shimon, in
order to sanctify Hashem's name (Keli Yakar). This can be an inspiration
for us. There come times in our lives when in order to be true to ourselves,
to Hashem and to our religion, we must take a stand on the issues facing
us. It is in this way that we can bring about a sanctification of Hashem's
name, even if it means that there exists a risk for ourselves.

Please direct any comments, questions, etc. back to me here at CFRQC@CUNYVM,
or on internet CFRQC@cunyvm.cuny.edu. Please pass it on to a friend. If you
want to subscribe, please send e-mail to listserv@israel.nysernet.org
with the msg: SUB bytetorah <first name> <last name>.  --Zev Itzkowitz
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