Parshas Pinchas: At This Time

Dedicated to all of those on the front lines of fighting for Klal Yisrael in every capacity.

This Dvar Torah is being written on the fuel of a thought, a thought that kept leaking into my thoughts as I contemplated what to write…and it is definitively political.

 

This week’s parsha, Parshas Pinchas, is often associated with discussions of zealotry, even though Pinchus’ great act is recorded at the end of Parshas Balak, which was read last week. Pinchus’ renown comes from the fact that he took a spear and, with it, killed a Midianitess and a prince of the tribe of Shimon in one shot. He didn’t do it as a reaction. He didn’t do it in anger. He didn’t do it to show himself as smarter or stronger or holier.

 

Pinchus’ actions were spurred by an inherent understanding of the order needed in the world and how the actions of Zimri and Cosbi broke that order.  Pinchus was that finely attuned to the Divine will, even though he was the only one of his family who had not been elevated to the kahuna. Of course, that leads right into this week’s parsha’s actual discussion of Pinchus, which is that Hashem recognizes that Pinchus has the inherent nature of his immediate family and makes him a kohain.  

 

For some reason, knowing that it is Parshas Pinchas and that this week is the opening of the 2024 Olympics in Paris strikes a chord. Pinchus set himself into a dangerous situation – not only because those lured out by the Midianite women were, one might assume, not quite in their right mines due to enflamed passions, but also because those looking on might have reacted with violence to his action as a natural next step. And yet he still did that which was right.

 

One could, of course, immediately state that the Olympics are striking example of goals that are far outside of a Torah lifestyle, but the world is what the world is and the Israeli athletes who wish to represent the Jewish nation have stepped out of their tent, so to speak, and into a seethingly dangerous situation where once again passions are enflamed.

 

Balaam could not curse Bnei Yisrael, and so he found an alternate route. The State of Israel’s enemies could not crush Israel, and so they found an alternate route. Balaam sent women to seduce the men into sin. Just as Balaam was able to recognize Bnei Yisrael’s weak point, so it is today, only our weak point is international perception and, oddly enough, Israel’s own strength. Today, Israel’s enemy has been using an exceptionally well-honed PR campaign as well as professional protesters and they have enflamed the world.

 

Alas, today none of us are on a caliber anywhere close to Pinchus, for we live in an era of hester panim, of obfuscation. However, we can remember that what Pinchus did was, most importantly, a kiddush Hashem.

 

There is a general presumption that this upcoming display of nations showing their best athletes, but really their national pride, will see Israel met with ire that has a high likelihood of spilling into violence, especially when we have seen it before.

 

As Israel heads into this fraught situation, and, in truth, in the global situation that we now face, remembering Kiddush Hashem is incredibly important. The Jewish people, individually and collectively, must seek to be above other nations’ standards of behavior. This isn’t about whether Israel is right or wrong in its actions in Gaza – that is certainly far beyond my scope of understanding. Nor is this a statement of how one should react to the protestors directly – again a complicated question. Kiddush Hashem is about each of us as individuals.

 

We most often think of Kiddush Hashem as that which reflects Torahdig behaviour to others. There is, however, another element – which is inward. Facing a sea of hate and disparagement, we each have to know that our neshamos have unique missions and our worth and our value and our identity come from that, come from Hashem who assigned Bnei Yisrael a role. Remembering that fact, even when everyone around you is either acting against logic or cowering from reacting, leads to true kiddush Hashem.

 

May we each find the best way to fulfill our role in this world and may Hashem reveal emes to the world.

Parshas Balak – Was Balaam Holy?

 Dedication: Please Hashem, guard our nation from strife both internal and external!

Today’s Dvar Torah will be loosely cited and may not lead to a conclusion. It is, in some ways, a thought experiment. Certainly, these thoughts are answered by many great Torah minds in depth, but it seems beneficial to bring them to the forefront.

One of the most frequently spoken about topics in Jewish life, and one of the essential concepts in Jewish life, is bitachon. Trusting in Hashem means trusting that He is constantly and absolutely in charge. It sounds simple; it isn’t.

Those who master bitachon never want. This is the premise of being a baal bitachon. This statement, however, leads to many questions, especially for those of us who are not masters in our own bitachon. We’ve seen impoverished tzadikkim and incredible Torah teachers struck by terrible illnesses, which lead us to the question of – well if that’s never wanting, what will be for me!

It isn’t simple. In the sefer “Becoming a Ba’al Bitachon,” Rabbi Yechezkel Abramov, discuss the different understandings of this idea and spends time examining the opinion that Hashem gives baal bitachon the outcome they seek verses a baal bitachon sees in every outcome that Hashem has provided that which was best. Interestingly, these two ideas are critically important in this week’s parsha.

In parshas Balak, the Torah introduces Balaam. Balaam is considered the equal of Moshe in his ability to recognize Hashem in the world. He is the prophet of the nations, a balance to Moshe’s greatness.

Balaam fully recognized Hashem’s constant hand in this world so much that he received direct responses, which makes him far greater in bitachon than most people. Balak came to him because up until this point, Balaam had a magnificent record of having his requests fulfilled. One could even wonder if Balaam’s absolute faith that what he requested would be given made him a baal bitachon, equal to those whom we revere as tzaddikim.

 

On the other hand, when Balaam actually stood to pronounce curses upon the Nation of Israel, what came out were blessings. Hashem answered Balaam's prayers; He just answered them in the way that was best for the world and therefore best for Balaam. 

 

It is fascinating, when you read the parsha, to notice how calmly Balaam seems to react to each curse turned blessing. And when Balak rages at him, he says: “But I even told the messengers you sent to me, say ‘If Balak gives me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot transgress the word of the Lord to do either good or evil on my own; only what the Lord speaks can I speak” (24:12-13).

 

Balaam really does come across as a baal habitachon. And that leads to further questions. What does it mean  thatBalaam is a smarmy person who accepts money to curse a nation and later plots for the moral dissolution of the Israelite men? What does it mean that he is seen as a prophet by other nations and that a wicked king seeks him out in particular.

 

It means that Balaam was not a baal bitachon because while Balaam recognized that Hashem was the Master of the Universe and the One in charge, he felt no need to accept a moral code upon himself. Indeed, from his choices at the end of the parsha when he advices that the Midianite women go out to seduce the men of Israel, one can almost see an underlying defiance of the yoke of shemayim, one can sense a desire to find a work-around to the path Hashem has set for the world.

 

One of the most acknowledged facts about the Torah is that its “heros,” for lack of a better word, are human. They have flaws. So too, the “villains,” for lack of a better word,” have middos that we can emulate. Esav is renowned for kibbud av, Lot understood hachnassas orchim, and Balaam had bitachon. We look at people and too often we judge them only for their weaknesses and deficits rather than that which is good. This week, as we head into the three weeks when we mourn so much tragedy that has happened, let us look for the good in others and remember the importance of bitachon in our everyday lives.

 

Shabbat Shalom

Parshas Chukas – The Greatness Factor

 In a fascinating book I am currently learning with a friend, there is a commentary noted about Miriam and Miriam’s well. (Alas, the book - The Moon’s Lost Light by Devorah Fastag - is at home in Canada, where I am not, so this will be an imperfect citation.)  All of Bnei Yisrael could see the greatness of Moshe and the greatness of Aaron; they were not, however, quite so aware of the greatness of Miriam. Yes, she led the women in song after kriyas Yam Suf – and certainly the women looked up to her, but the whole of Bnei Yisrael still did not necessarily view her greatness on par with her brothers. Hashem wanted Bnei Yisrael to recognize Miriam’s inherent greatness, and so He removed the well that traveled with Bnei Yisrael in her zechus so that Bnei Yisrael could realize just whom it was that they had lost when she died.

 

The book brings up this commentary in order to discuss the fact that throughout history there has been the tendency to give less credit to women then to men, but Hashem draws no such distinction. There is, however, a broader lesson that can be discussed within the general realm of bein adam l’chavero.

 

What is greatness? The fact is that greatness is a human judgement factor. We see people who lead others or who excel in certain skills or who do extraordinary things and we attribute greatness to them, whereas we overlook the everyday mother of 8 who keeps her children well-fed and well-loved and filled with a feeling of positive self-image and we don’t think “ah, there is greatness.” We don’t look at a man who chooses a trade and learns it well and provides for his family physically and emotionally while still maintaining his davening and learning schedules and define him as great. We acknowledge them. We maybe praise them. But we don’t give them crowns of greatness.

 

The question of “greatness” might, however, really come down to the level of neshama. What was an individual’s tafkid, and what was their potential? The person holding down a steady job and being kind to their family might be “great” because that was the tafkid they need to achieve or because did so above and beyond what circumstances would have made one assume.

 

 

Everyone can’t be a “Great,” or the superlative loses its meaning. There are some people who we need to crown with leadership, spiritually, politically, or culturally. But it is within us to look at each person, to acknowledge each person, and try to see their greatness, to try not to overlook them as simple or average.

 

I wish you all a beautiful Shabbas.

 

 

 

Parshas Korach – Rallied

 

Dedicated to the brave chayalim who are protecting our homeland.

 

Over the last several months, we have all been following the somewhat befuddling events taking place on major university campuses, and spreading beyond. People are lining up to follow the anti-Israel contingent because they think that they are doing the right thing, but in so doing, they have reverted to plain old anti-Semitism – vandalising synagogues and taunting Jewish students.

 

Many of the people participating in these protests are not clear on the specifics; they don’t know what river or what sea and they ignore the non-stop history of violence against Israel that rarely lets up.  But they believe, they truly believe, that they are fighting for justice, for what is right.

 

While the context is vastly different, it is interesting to consider how mob mentality effected Bnei Yisrael when one well-spoken man spoke out strongly for what he perceived as justice even as it flew against that which was Divinely ordained. Korach stood up to speak against Moshe and Aaron monopolizing the leadership because perceiving this as truth allowed him to rationalize his jealousy. Datan and Aviram grabbed onto the spirit of Korach’s ire and fanned the flames of his sense of righteous indignation – Had Korach stopped to see who it was who was rallying to his side, had he remembered their history of rabble-rousing, well perhaps things would have ended differently.

 

What of the members of the nation who followed Korach, who stood against Moshe and Aaron? Sincerity is a lovely motivation, but one can sincerely believe in the wrong thing. Over the last decades, how often has the society we lived in revised its moral compass. What once was wrong is now right, because that is what happens when what is right and fair and just are determined by how we feel. Korach felt that Aaron as Moshe’s brother having the kahuna was unjust, that one family should not share the leadership, and he truly believed that. But his righteous indignation also blinded him to the simple fact that Moshe and Aaron had both been given their roles by Hashem.

 

The followers of Korach who were consumed by heavenly flame are not considered wicked or evil people. They were misled by their hubris and by the ever-human desire to create that which is “fair.” When people start clamoring for “fair” or “right,” however, they often forget that the universe has rules because the universe has a Ruler. Hashem appointed Moshe and Aaron to their respective leadership roles, and after that, nothing else mattered. Hashem declared a specific role for Bnei Yisrael, and a special homeland, and whether others think that is fair or just, doesn’t actually matter. What matters is whether we are following the right path as set out in the Torah, that we are doing the will of Hashem. When we don’t follow the will of Hashem, the blueprint of existence that Hashem gave us, then there are consequences.

 

The path of history is long and those who are shouting their righteous indignation and anti-Semitic poison now sincerely, it is sad to say, believe that they are fighting for justice. They ignore the non-stop rockets that have been sent into Israel for years, they minimize the barbarity of the attack on civilians, and they fail to acknowledge the hostages that are still being held. Over the last century society has chosen to believe that all people can come together and determine a rightness of being in the world, but this too is hubris – because politics and pride and jealousy color every decision made. Organizations like the UN and the International Court claim objectiveness when this is an impossible feat for the human psyche.

 

After Korach’s Levites perished, Hashem commanded Eleazar the son of Aaron HaKohein to gather the fire pans and beat them into a covering for the alter. They weren’t buried or hidden or destroyed. They were transformed and elevated so that ever after people could be reminded of that which had occurred and remember that Hashem has a plan, whether you like it or not.