- May 8, 2002
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Hi all!
Yesterday, we (Jews around the world) read Numbers 25:10-30:1. The reading opens with God retroactively sanctioning Phineas' action in 25:7-8 and promising him two things: "My covenant of peace, and it shall be unto him and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood."
The latter covenant is relatively easy to understand. Our Sages agree that the High Priesthood was to remain the exclusive domain of the descendants of Phineas. The descenants of his siblings & the descendants of his uncle Itamar, while certainly priests, could not be High Priest; God awarded that to Phineas & his descendants exclusively.
But what is "My covenant of peace"? Zealots & extremists the world over, of every stripe, have looked at Phineas as some kind of exemplar (re; the "Phineas Priesthood" idiocy of far-right white racist nuts in the US, anti-abortion extremists, etc.). Orthodox Judaism believes that this view is erroneous in the extreme & that Phineas & his act are very misunderstood.
While God did retroactively sanction what Phineas did, Phineas' zeal is certainly no example for us to emulate. First, before anyone in our day & age should even think of emulating Phineas, they should first check to see whether they are on Phineas' spiritual level. We believe that Phineas was at spiritual heights that such as we can scarcely imagine; his pristine moral purity and utter selflessness are simply unattainable by such as us, in this day an age. Phineas' example is far too dangerous to be emulated; the difference between what he did and cold-blooded murder is far too fine for us to understand.
But what is "My covenant of peace" and why did God promise it to Phineas just then? Our Sages believe that it was a promise of inner peace, that Phineas, ever sensitive to the sanctity of human life, should not be consumed by doubts, regrets and emotional turmoil, when he realizes that here, he has just killed two people, sinners yes, but two people who were created in the Divine Image. Our Sages teach that, "Whoever saves one life, it is as if he had saved an entire world. Whoever destroys one life, it is as if he had destroyed an entire world." God had mercy on Phineas that he should not be consumed by the enormity of what he had done & thus gave him His "covenant of peace." [BTW, under Jewish law, a priest who killed someone, even in entirely justifiable self-defense, was permanently disqualified from officiating at the altar in the Temples. Our Sages teach that the servive at the altar brings life into the world; thus, one who took life cannot serve there.]
The reading of Numbers 25:10-30:1 is paired with I Kings 18:46-19:21. This reading teaches the limits of Phineas-like zeal. Elijah, by his own repeated admission to God (19:10 & 19:14), had, "been very jealous for the Lord of Hosts." Yet for all that, there is something very profound that the great prophet does not understand, prompting God to teach him a lesson:
"And He said: 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.' And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice."
When thunder and zeal have done their best, the "still small voice" will, in the end, prove far more effective.
Be well!
ssv
Yesterday, we (Jews around the world) read Numbers 25:10-30:1. The reading opens with God retroactively sanctioning Phineas' action in 25:7-8 and promising him two things: "My covenant of peace, and it shall be unto him and to his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood."
The latter covenant is relatively easy to understand. Our Sages agree that the High Priesthood was to remain the exclusive domain of the descendants of Phineas. The descenants of his siblings & the descendants of his uncle Itamar, while certainly priests, could not be High Priest; God awarded that to Phineas & his descendants exclusively.
But what is "My covenant of peace"? Zealots & extremists the world over, of every stripe, have looked at Phineas as some kind of exemplar (re; the "Phineas Priesthood" idiocy of far-right white racist nuts in the US, anti-abortion extremists, etc.). Orthodox Judaism believes that this view is erroneous in the extreme & that Phineas & his act are very misunderstood.
While God did retroactively sanction what Phineas did, Phineas' zeal is certainly no example for us to emulate. First, before anyone in our day & age should even think of emulating Phineas, they should first check to see whether they are on Phineas' spiritual level. We believe that Phineas was at spiritual heights that such as we can scarcely imagine; his pristine moral purity and utter selflessness are simply unattainable by such as us, in this day an age. Phineas' example is far too dangerous to be emulated; the difference between what he did and cold-blooded murder is far too fine for us to understand.
But what is "My covenant of peace" and why did God promise it to Phineas just then? Our Sages believe that it was a promise of inner peace, that Phineas, ever sensitive to the sanctity of human life, should not be consumed by doubts, regrets and emotional turmoil, when he realizes that here, he has just killed two people, sinners yes, but two people who were created in the Divine Image. Our Sages teach that, "Whoever saves one life, it is as if he had saved an entire world. Whoever destroys one life, it is as if he had destroyed an entire world." God had mercy on Phineas that he should not be consumed by the enormity of what he had done & thus gave him His "covenant of peace." [BTW, under Jewish law, a priest who killed someone, even in entirely justifiable self-defense, was permanently disqualified from officiating at the altar in the Temples. Our Sages teach that the servive at the altar brings life into the world; thus, one who took life cannot serve there.]
The reading of Numbers 25:10-30:1 is paired with I Kings 18:46-19:21. This reading teaches the limits of Phineas-like zeal. Elijah, by his own repeated admission to God (19:10 & 19:14), had, "been very jealous for the Lord of Hosts." Yet for all that, there is something very profound that the great prophet does not understand, prompting God to teach him a lesson:
"And He said: 'Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.' And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice."
When thunder and zeal have done their best, the "still small voice" will, in the end, prove far more effective.
Be well!
ssv
