Parashat Pinhas- Respecting Those Who Do the Dirty Work
A deadly plague raged through the Israelite camp in response to the nation’s illicit relationships with the woman of Moav and idolatrous worship of Pe’or. Twenty-four thousand people had already been killed, and then Zimri, the tribal leader of Shimon, committed a public offense with a Midyanite princess – in full view of the people and their leaders. Finally, Pinhas, a grandson of Aharon, approached the violators and killed them – thus bringing an end to the ravaging plague.
We might have expected Beneh Yisrael to congratulate and thank Pinhas for his heroism, to give him a "Hazak U’baruch" and shower him with honor for saving the nation. Instead, the Sages teach, the people scorned and vilified Pinhas, accusing him of wanton violence and killing a respected public official. For this reason, God had to speak to Moshe – as we read in the beginning of Parashat Pinhas – and tell him that Pinhas will be rewarded for his act of zealotry. In contrast to the people’s accusations, Pinhas acted courageously and out of a genuine desire to defend the honor of God, and he will be rewarded accordingly.
Zealotry is certainly a dangerous business, as it is legitimate only if the individual acts entirely out of a sense of devotion to God, without any personal agendas at all. In fact, even Moshe Rabbenu – one of the most righteous men who ever lived – did not kill Zimri because Zimri had ridiculed him before committing his offense, and thus there might have been a tinge of personal vindictiveness involved. Certainly, then, we cannot profess the kind of absolute sincerity required to justify acts of Kana’ut (zealotry).
Nevertheless, the story of Pinhas and the nation’s reaction to his act teaches an important lesson relevant to the modern-day version of zealots – the Rabbis of every community. Pinhas undoubtedly knew that his act would be met with considerable controversy and opposition, that this was the unpopular move. He would have much preferred to continue minding his own business, studying Torah and ignoring what was going on. But he felt he had to act for the sake of the people, to atone for the sins of Ba’al Pe’or and end the plague that threatened to annihilate Am Yisrael.
Similarly, it would be much easier for Rabbis to say only what their constituents want to hear, to tell touching stories, to focus only on what’s right about their communities, and to avoid sensitive, touchy subjects. But if they would do this, they wouldn’t be doing their job, which is to teach the people what the Torah demands and to try to correct the spiritual ills in their communities. When a Rabbis stands at the pulpit to address the sensitive, unpopular issues of modesty, Shabbat observance and Kashrut, they – like Pinhas – are doing God’s dirty work, so-to-speak, performing the task that nobody else wants to do. And when they do this, they know they are not necessarily endearing themselves to the people. Quite to the contrary, they will likely arouse resentment and opposition by certain members of the congregation. But they speak of these matters anyway – because this is precisely what the job of the rabbinate is all about: teaching the people to do what the Torah demands.
Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (1810-1883) famously commented that a Rabbi who has no adversaries is not a Rabbi. If he avoids contentious issues, if he minds his own business, stays out of trouble, and tells his community only what they want to hear – then he has failed them, and has not fulfilled his obligation as spiritual leader and guide.
God rewarded Pinhas with an eternal covenant of peace ("Beriti Shalom" – 25:12). The Sages explain that Pinhas restored peace and harmony between God and Beneh Yisrael by stepping in to stop the desecration of God’s honor, and for this he was rewarded with God’s special blessing of peace. Communities should recognize that the Rabbis who speak out against breaches in Halacha do so for this reason – to restore the Jewish people’s special relationship with God. If we allow Rabbis to do their job, and we do our share to build and maintain a peaceful relationship between our nation and God, then He will, in turn, grant all of us His everlasting blessing of peace, for us, our families and all Am Yisrael, Amen.
