PARASHAT PINCHAS

The Parsha opens with an introduction to Pinhas the son of Elazar the

grandson of Aaron the High Priest.

Moshe has guided the people for forty years and taught them to love

Hashem and to abide by the Torah.  Their worship of Hashem is pure and contains none of the immoral, sexual excesses that mar the religious practices of the Midianites who dwell nearby.  The Midyanite women led the Israelite men astray by inviting them to their religious

festivals and seducing them through idol worship.  The Israelites’

participation in these unholy acts threatens to destroy Israel.

To put a stop to these flagrant violations of Hashem’s commandments,

Moshe orders that the offenders all be hanged.  To make matters worse Zimri, a prince of the tribe of Simeon, in open defiance of Moshe, brings his Midyanite woman, Cozbi, into the Israelite camp and flaunts his immoral association with her in open view.  When Pinchas sees this, he becomes enraged, takes a spear follows Zirmri and Cozbi into their tent, and skewers them to death.

Pinchas the son of Elazar the grandson of Aaron, now receives his

reward.  Because of his “zealousness for the Hashem,” and the promptness with which he acted in upholding the morals of Israel, Moshe informs him that he will be rewarded with an everlasting

priesthood and that thereafter the high priests would be chosen from

among his descendants.

However, this does not conclude the encounter with the Midyanites.  It

was and still isn’t Israel’s policy to wage war upon any friendly nation but, because the Midianites had deliberately plotted to destroy

the Jews, they are now our enemies, and war is waged against them.

When someone says they want to kill you and destroy your people and country we should believe them.   has been our misfortune throughout the ages that we have not learned our lessons from history.

It is interesting that in this parsha when we see the rise of Pinchas

as the future high Priest and Hashem blesses him also with his

covenant of peace, it is Joshua the son of Nun that is chosen to

represent the people as their next great leader.

Moshe before all the people places both his hands on Joshua’s head and ordains him the next leader of the Jewish people as they enter into the land of Israel.  It is with this public display that Moshe places

honor and dignity upon Joshua so that the people will hold him in high

esteem as their next true leader.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Gabe  Elias