Feature Tidbit

We Need another Turning Point

Shortly out of Egypt, we complained about G-d having taken us out of Egypt to kill us in the Midbar. We complained for water. We complained for food. We complained about the food we got when we complained for food. We showed continual lack of faith in HaShem repeatedly, throughout our sojourn in the Midbar. 3000 people died here. 17,400 there. Poisonous snakes here; a plague there. It's a good thing that G-d made ironclad promises to our ancestors.

And then came Pinchas. He didn't whine; he didn't kvetch. Something had to be done immediately and this time Moshe Rabeinu could not tell him what to do. He had to act on his own and he had to do it fast. Halachic discussion and p'sak would not have sanctioned what Pinchas did. But HaShem approved of his action in a very dramatic fashion. Not only did the plague cease, and not only was Pinchas given the perpetual gift of the Kehuna, and G-d's covenant of peace, but our history took a dramatic turn for the better. Finally, we seem to be ready to continue our journey into
Eretz Yisrael.

Almost forty years previously, another Pinchas type to the bold action of plunging into the Sea. Thanks to Nachshon's deed, the Sea split and the People passed through to safety.

Hur, son of Miriam had tried to stop the Golden Calf fiasco, and he was killed for his attempt. Things don't always work out for the better. But we need these kind of people. When we sit on the fence and watch bad things taking place and do nothing about it, that's when we compound the problems.

We are not supposed to consciously emulate the zealousness of Pinchas. We may not generalize from what he did and apply the same idea to everyday occurrences.
Pinchas' deed is not a blank check permission to take the law into our own hands. But we still can draw inspiration from Pinchas, and from Moshe & Aharon, and from many others of our predecessors. We, in our own ways, must learn to get involved, become active, become movers. We must always be guided by the spirit of the Torah, and IY"H we will succeed.

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