Parasha Pinjas 5782
Sefer Bamidbar (Numbers 25:10-30:1)
In this Parasha we can see the Creator's zeal, as well as His great patience toward us...
"And Israel dwelt in Shitin, and the people began to commit prostitution with the women of Moab, and they called the people to the offerings for their gods, and the people ate of them and bowed down to their gods. And Israel clung to Baal of Peor, and the Creator, blessed with Israel, was enraged.
And the Creator said to Moses, take the leaders of the people and hang them before the Creator in the light of day.
And the wrath of the Creator will turn away from Israel. And Moses said to the judges of Israel, Kill each of the people who have attached themselves to Baal of Peor. And behold, a man of the house of Israel approached his brothers with a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, and they were weeping at the door of the Tabernacle. And Pinhas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the Priest, saw it, and stood up from the midst of the congregation, took a javelin in his hand, and went behind the prince of Israel, and thrust the javelin through both of them through their bellies, and the plague stopped from among the children of Israel.
And the total number of those killed in that plague was twenty-four thousand. Then the Creator spoke to Moses, saying, "Phinchas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the Priest, has turned away My wrath from the children of Israel by being jealous for My cause before them and not destroying the children of Israel in My jealousy. Therefore say to him, 'Behold, I have granted him My covenant of peace, and it shall be for him and for his descendants after him the covenant of the Priesthood forever, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the children of Israel.'" (Bamidbar-Numbers 25:1)
We can observe how the Blessed Creator has patience with the People (in this way he also acts with us)
Let's analyze what happened:
1 The people of Israel begin to prostitute themselves and assimilate with the women of Moav.
2 Participate in pagan sacrifices and eat them.
3 The people bow down before the gods of Moav.
4 Israel clings to the idolatry of Moav.
We can observe a progressive development. First, the people began to prostitute themselves with pagan women. Perhaps this was motivated by passion and desire (by evil instinct).
Then he tells us that it is no longer just carnal passion, but that he is beginning to participate in idolatrous rites. They move to a more dramatic step, and now they themselves bow down before idolatry and reverence it.
Then came the most serious point: not only do they serve idolatry sporadically, but they also cling to it.
What makes the situation even more serious is that it's not just the people who are acting this way, but also Israel—that is, the important and renowned people of the people.
After all this, the wrath of the blessed Creator is kindled. For we see that the Creator was truly patient and merciful with them, and only at the very end, with the final straw, did the Creator decide to take action against the people.
Then we see the great event "Pinchas son of Eleazar son of Aaron, stood up from the midst of the congregation, took a spear in his hand and went behind the prince of Israel and thrust the spear through both of them through their bellies, and the plague stopped among the children of Israel."
A deed driven by zeal. Our sages say, zeal for the Divine cause is something good and worth acquiring.
The quality Kanaut (Zeal) appears five times in the Tanakh, and the vast majority allude to it being a good quality, worthy of imitation and praise.
The Creator himself was described with this quality, precisely in the second of the Ten Commandments when he speaks about idolatry, he tells us: "The Kana" jealous God.
The prophet Nahum tells us that the Creator is a jealous God. In Joshua, too, he alludes to the Creator acting in this way.
There is a precept that commands us to conduct ourselves in the same way as the Creator, that is, to imitate Him. Therefore, we learn that the quality of Kanaut "Zeal" (Le Shem ha Shamayim) (Zeal for the Divine Cause) is something good and worth acquiring!
We all know or 'feel' when we are going down the wrong path, complications or rebukes will begin to arrive, the blessed Creator is very patient and merciful but His own love and zeal set a limit...
Let us not wait for the final straw; let us act quickly and do Teshuvah (Let us rectify our sins and return to Hashem).
Dedicated to the healing of the sick in Am Israel and the world and to the success of all those in need.
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