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Wisdom for Living
Rabbi Noah Weinberg on the Parashah
7 min read
"God spoke to Moshe, saying: “Pinchas son of Elazar son of Aharon the Kohen, turned back My wrath from upon the Children of Israel, when he zealously avenged My vengeance among them, so I did not consume the Children of Israel in My vengeance." (Bamidbar 25:11)
This week's Torah portion describes how Pinchas merited a covenant of peace with God in reward for being a kana’i. The Hebrew term "kana’i" is often mistranslated as fanatic or extremist. But the true definition of “kana’i” is someone who passionately cares about doing the right thing, regardless of its consequences. His personal well-being takes a back seat to the will of Hashem and the needs of the Jewish people. He firmly believes that if he does what is right, the Almighty will take care of him.
Pinchas was a true kana’I, zealot , for the Almighty. He saw the terrible desecration of God’s Name wrought by Zimri, who brazenly took a Midianite princess named Kozbi into his tent before the entire nation. Pinchas risked his life to kill the two of them, which ended the devastating plague that destroyed 24,000 Jews who had been seduced into idolatry by the Midianite women.
The Midrash (Tanchuma, Parashas Balak 21) says that for Pinchas to succeed in his mission , twelve miracles had to occur. Among the miracles listed: An angel shut Zimri and Kozbi’s mouths so they could not scream; the blade of his sword miraculously extended long enough to pierce both of their bodies simultaneously; Pinchas was given exceptional strength that enabled him to lift their bodies while impaled on his spear; the handle of his spear did not break under the weight of the bodies. The final miracle was that the attempt of Zimri’s supporters to kill Pinchas was thwarted by an angel.
What was Pinchas thinking? How could he have undertaken this mission? The Talmud states that you are not allowed to rely on a miracle: “A person should never place himself in danger and expect a miracle to happen, because perhaps the miracle will not take place, and if it does it will diminish his merit'' (Shabbos 32a). Hashem put us in a world that operates according to certain rules, and we need to act responsibly by making a reasonable hishtadlus, effort, based on the circumstances we face. We cannot count on miracles.
Even our patriarchs did not rely on miracles. When Avraham Avinu went to fight the four kings to redeem his nephew Lot, the Midrash says he went with the intent to die al Kiddush Hashem, sanctifying God’s Name (Bereishis Rabbah, 43:2). He figured he was going to die. He had also been prepared to die several years earlier, when placed in Nimrod’s fiery furnace, rather than worship idolatry.
Pinchas was different. He did not assume that he was going to die al Kiddush Hashem; he relied on a miracle. How do we know? The Talmud teaches that Pinchas deceived the tribe of Shimon – the supporters of Zimri, their prince – by pretending that he wanted to join Zimri and partake in the depravity. They allowed him entry, saying, “Even the perushim [ascetics] have permitted this act!” (Sanhedrin 82b). If Pinchas had been killed, it would have caused an even greater chillul Hashem, a desecration of God’s Name, because the Jewish people would have mistakenly thought that Pinchas had become an active participant in this brazen sin! Therefore, Pinchas must have thought that the Almighty would miraculously save him, in order to avert the potential chillul Hashem.
But what about the Talmudic principle of “Ein somchin al hanes -- we may not rely on a miracle”? How could Pinchas put himself into danger and assume that a miracle would take place?
There is one exception to the rule of “we may not rely on a miracle” and that is when someone undertakes to save the Jewish people. As the Alshich writes, “One cannot rely on miracle and say, ‘I will learn Torah for the sake of Heaven and God will provide for me.’ That is concerning an individual. But one who tends to the needs of the nation should not be afraid that any obstacle will stop him. Rather, since he is tending to their needs for the sake of Heaven and placing his trust in God, God will act on his behalf.” (Alshich, Vayikra 13, Parashas Tazria)
God promises that the Jewish people will survive for eternity. If the only way to save them requires a miracle, as was the case for Pinchas, then one can count on that miraculous strategy to get the job done.
At the same time, Pinchas had to make the effort to implement the best strategy he could come up with. He pretended to be joining Zimri’s ranks, he concealed his spear by turning it into a walking staff, and then he relied on the Almighty for a miracle. He knew Hashem was going to enable him to succeed because he was acting solely to save Am Yisrael.
During the economic downturn at the beginning of the twenty-first century, a nurse specializing in pain management came to treat me. “Rabbi,” she asked, “what do you hope to achieve with my help?” I told her that I wanted to be strong enough to go fundraising in America.
The nurse was taken aback. ”Don't you realize that America is going through one of the worst economic periods in recent history? How can you raise money in such a climate?”
I answered her, “It all depends what I’m raising money for. If I’m raising funds for my private yeshiva, then the downturn in the economy will affect me, but if I’m raising money to save the Jewish people, then I don’t have to worry about the limitations created by a bad economy.” To save the Jewish people, you can count on a miracle.
To those of us living in Israel, it is obvious that the Jews here are relying on miracles. There is no other way to explain our survival and our commitment to remain here while surrounded and outnumbered by a vicious enemy who wants to destroy us. Neighboring countries are determined to build weapons to wipe us off the face of the earth, while at the same time, the rest of the world is becoming more and more anti-Semitic. We cannot rely on them to protect us.
But more than six million Jews do live in Israel, without looking to flee the country. Israel consistently ranks in the top fifteen countries in the world happiness index. Tourism is booming. Ultimately, the reason we feel safe and secure despite our precarious situation is because we are relying on a miracle. We know Hashem will take care of us.
As individuals we cannot rely on a miracle, but as a nation we can bank on it.
Today, because the Jewish people are disunited and assimilating, we need a miracle perhaps more than ever before. Millions of our brethren are on the brink of being lost to their people forever. We need miracles – to bridge the gap, to understand each other, to reach out to our brothers and sisters and bring them back to their Father in Heaven.
We can count on God to do miracles if we dedicate ourselves to creating a renaissance to bring back our people. We just need a few good men, kana’im, zealots, like Pinchas – not fanatics, but serious people who are not self-absorbed and who passionately care about doing the will of God, regardless of the consequences.
The Jewish People needs you! Make the commitment, and remember: When working on behalf of the Jewish people you can rely on miracles. If we are true kana’im, the Almighty will empower us to do the seemingly impossible.
