Parashat Pinhas

Dedicated Leilui Nishmat Yehuda Ben Rita A’h

by David Pinhas and Family

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Parashat Pinhas

Bilaam’s Plot

The story of Pinhas begins at the end of last week’s parasha. In that parasha, Balak realized that B’nei Yisrael could not be cursed, not even by the great prophet Bilaam.

Chazal tell us that Bilaam advised Balak to work on a different plan. Bilaam knew that sexual morality is the foundation of B’nei Yisrael’s holiness, and that Hashem does not tolerate immorality. So Bilaam and Balak decided to entice the Israelite men to fall into immorality.

According to Chazal, the Midianite women invited the Jewish men into their tents to purchase merchandise. They gave the men food and drinks until they were filled with desire for the women. The women then produced their Baal-Peor idols and told the men that before they could have them, they had to worship the idols in degrading ways. Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Shimon, saw what was happening and how these men were falling into avoda zara. He decided that it was preferable to take the girls, as that would be a lesser sin than idolatry.

Zimri’s intentions might have been noble, but two wrongs don’t make a right! We don’t violate the Torah, and we don’t bring the bar down on our religion even if we think we’re protecting the Torah. For example, the Reform Movement allows Jews to drive on Shabbat in order to go to shul. This encourages them to go to shul (which is a Rabbinic law) but goes directly against a Torah law.

Pinhas Takes Action

Last week’s parasha ended with the words, “When Pinhas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon the Kohen, saw it [that Zimri had brought a Midianite woman into his family], he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, he went after the Israelite man [Zimri] into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the stomach. So, the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. Nevertheless, those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.”

Now this week’s parasha — which is named after Pinhas — begins as follows: “Pinhas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon the Kohen, turned back the wrath of Hashem from upon B’nei Yisrael, when he zealously avenged Hashem’s vengeance among them, so Hashem did not consume B’nei Yisrael in His vengeance.”

Pinhas was a kanai, which means that he was zealous to protect the honor of Hashem! Our Rabbis tell us that before Pinhas killed Zimri, he remembered a halacha and said to Moshe, “I received from you the teaching of one having relations with a gentile woman is to be executed by the zealot.”

Moshe replied to Pinhas, “Let the one who reads the correspondence serve as its executor.” Pinhas then took the spear in his hand and immediately killed both Zimri and the Midianite woman, Kozbi, with one spear.

According to the Torah, Pinhas acted l’shem shamayim—for the sake of Heaven, but that’s a very difficult level to achieve. Rabbi Diamond teaches us that there is no one living in our time that can say they acted one hundred percent l’shem shamayim. As great as a person can be today, we can never reach the level of Pinhas. There will always be some part of us that will be acting for our own kavod—honor. We must always keep that in mind when we think we’re being zealous.

The reason for the split between Pinhas’s act in last week’s Parashat Balak, and the praise given to him in this week’s parasha is because we had to wait to analyze if this act was truly l’shem shamayim, and it was.

Truth and Peace

In passuk 12 the Torah states, “Hineni noten lo et beriti shalom — I am giving him [Pinhas] My covenant of peace.” In that passuk, the vav in the word shalom is split. The halacha stresses that letters in the Torah must be written in one complete stroke, and if they are faded or if any part is missing, the work is invalid. But in this one passuk, in the word shalom, the vav must be written with a break in the line.

Rabbi Frand says regarding this split vav that Pinhas did not look to compromise with Zimri and Kozbi in the name of peace. Pinhas knew that there’s a point at which a person must draw the line and say, “Here, and no further!”

Of course, shalom is important, but there are two kinds of shalom. The letter vav can sometimes be a vav of inclusion (as in the English word “and”), but sometimes the vav can be used for distinction, a vav of division. When pursuing the cause of shalom, a person must remember that there are two “vavs.” Sometimes the “vav hahibur,” of inclusion, is appropriate, and he should say, “Yes, it is worthwhile to compromise.” At other times the “vav of hiluk,” or separation, is appropriate.

Rav Shlomo Breuer has a beautiful insight. He quotes the verse “Truth and Peace you shall love (Zechariah 8:19).” We must love peace. However, there is something that comes before peace…and that is truth. A person should not make shalom if making shalom is going to compromise the emmet, by causing him to throw out principles and values that he knows to be truth.

The Mishnah states, “G-d did not find any vessel to hold blessing, other than the vessel of peace (Uktzin 3:12).” Shalom is the receptacle; it is the vessel that holds everything. But a person sometimes must look and ask himself, “What will I be left holding?” If I compromise everything in the name of shalom, then what is this vessel of shalom left holding? It is holding nothing. Yes, peace, but remember the sequence of the verse: Truth and [then] Peace you shall love.

Pinhas’s Reward

Because Pinhas defended Hashem’s honor by killing Zimri and the Midianite princess, he was granted a covenant of shalom! Sforno explains that because of what Pinhas did leshem shamayim, he lived a very long life, and after 400 years his neshamah went into Eliyahu Hanavi who is everlasting until today!

Sforno goes on to explain that, “All deterioration that happens to the body is because of conflict of the opposites.” In other words, all disease and weakening with age only occurs because of internal conflicts! So, if we can find a way to live in peace within ourselves, eliminate our internal strife, daily worries, and stresses by realizing that everything we have is from Hashem, we too will live longer. We must know that our talents, our parnassah, our health, our family, and all that we have, is from Hashem. Our job is to just realize that Hashem is in control, and then we will be on our way to know that there’s nothing for us to worry about!

The following three seemingly unrelated instances tie together to show the Hand of Hashem. A woman, exhausted from her newborn’s cries, called her mother to come stay with her to help with the infant. Her mother packed her bags and rushed to stay with her daughter to give her a good night’s sleep.

Another woman was sweltering in her apartment building, because her air conditioning broke. She decided to go stay with her family overnight, hoping it would get fixed in the morning.

A family was vacationing away from their home. They went on a trip to Orlando and were scheduled to arrive back to their apartment Wednesday, June 23rd, 2021. Their young son was having a great time on vacation and begged his parents to stay one more night.

Three completely unrelated stories, with a common thread. The two women and the family all were residents of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida. These are incredible miracles from Hashem!! They were out the exact night the building collapsed last year.

It is All From Hashem

The following story is from the Torah Wellsprings, and it happened with the rebbetzin of Reb Chaim Sarna zt'l at the beginning of the Holocaust, when she was still a young girl. When the Holocaust began, whoever could escape did so, and this young girl tried to save her life by running into the forest.

She came to a large field, and from the distance, she saw a large, beautiful house. She was very happy. The house was far from the city, and it might be safe for her to hide there. She hoped that the people in this home would take pity on her and save her. With her final strength, she rushed through the courtyard, arrived at the house, and knocked at the door, shouting, "Good people, save me! Save me!"

The appearance of the man who opened the door frightened her. The man wasn't wearing an army uniform, but his mustache was styled like those of the Nazis. This man was the Nazi commander in that area, and the girl immediately realized the trouble she had fallen into. The man laughed a rolling laugh as he shouted, "A Jew!"

She almost fainted and had to hold onto the doorpost for support. He said to her, "Foolish Jew. You ran all this way to fall in my hands... I can kill you in a moment." But suddenly, he became serious and said, "Tell me, young girl, how did you get to my door?"

She showed him the path she took to reach his home. It was through the field, at the edge of the forest, and then through the courtyard. The man said, bewildered, "I have many dogs guarding my home. Why didn't they attack you? How did you pass them and remain alive?"

The girl looked back and saw tens of dogs. All of them had murderous teeth. She hadn’t noticed them earlier. She wouldn't have risked passing through the courtyard if she had seen them earlier. But the fact is that she did pass this courtyard, and she was alive and well!

The man thought that perhaps she had mystical strengths, maybe witchcraft. He told her, "Look, today you can sleep here. But tomorrow morning, I will send you out of here, and obviously, you will need to pass through the courtyard where I keep my dogs. And then I will see. If the dogs do their job... nothing will remain of you. But if you survive, I will know that you are protected from above, and then I give you my word that I will take care of you until the end of the war."

The rebbetzin said, "Don't ask how I passed that night because the night didn't pass! I cried and prayed the entire night, knowing what awaited me in the morning. I saw in my imagination hungry dogs eating me alive, ripping me to pieces. When it was daybreak, I prayed to Hashem, ''Save me, Hashem. Please, Hashem, I am a young girl. I place my life in Your hands; please save me."

The wicked person sent her out into the courtyard. She walked calmly; she didn't rush. She wasn't afraid. She focused on reminding herself that there is no one in the world other than Hashem. Hashem was with her, and the dogs didn't touch her. They didn't even bark. The man, who was a high-ranking Nazi officer, witnessed the miracle and had no choice but to keep his promise. He protected her until the end of the war.

This story teaches us that even wild animals can't cause harm, if Hashem didn't decree it. This isn't solely with regards to dogs. It also applies to dogs who appear like humans. No one can harm you unless Hashem commands so. "When Hashem accepts a person's ways, He will cause even his enemies to make peace with him." As in this story, the cruel Nazi saved this girl and protected her throughout the war. She was saved because of her emunah and because of her tefillot. Tefillah can turn everything around and save a person's life.

We are always at war with the yetzer hara—evil inclination who wants to tear us apart. But just as this young girl was saved from wild dogs with her emunah and tefillot, certainly whoever davens will be saved from the hands of the yetzer hara – including the snare of technology which rips and tears the neshamah of a Jew. Hashem will hear his tefillot and save him from the yetzer hara, and he will be saved and live well.

May we all learn the difference between “good shalom,” circumstances under which it is appropriate to compromise for the sake of peace, and “bad shalom,” where in order to make peace we give up on truth and forgo important principles. May we always stand up for the truth of Torah and be able to analyze and discern if what we’re doing is truly leshem shamayim. May we also know that Hashem runs the world and to accept challenges with peace within ourselves to live a long, fulfilling life.

Shabbat Shalom!

Rabbi Amram Sananes as written by Jack Rahmey

Discussion Points:

Do we ever push aside important principles in order to “keep things friendly” and “make things flow smoothly?”

Are we careful enough that when we take a stand on important issues, we are motivated by doing what Hashem wants, not by our own ego?

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