Feature Tidbit Challenge, Goal, Stepping Stone (Cont. - sort of) Parshat Balak ended at a most unusual point, as far as Portions of the Week go. "The toll of the plague was 24,000." Not the usual upbeat note that sedras are supposed to end on. Not even the end of a story. In fact, writes R. Eliyahu KiTov, an intentional cliffhanger, so that we can become involved with the thoughts andfeelings of the original incident. When Pinchas picks up a spear and kills Zimri and Kosbi, he plunges the whole nation into tizzy. Members of the tribe of Shimon were filled with outrage that their venerated leader was killed by this "grandson of a Midyanite". Others, who had no doubts that Zimri was sinning, still questionedthe action of Pinchas. We can even say that those in Moshe Rabeinu's close circle - and perhaps Moshe himself - were shocked that Pinchas did not ask for Moshe's instructions and advice. In fact, says the Rambam, had Pinchas asked a halachic question, he would have been told that he may not do what he did. Had Zimri turnedon Pinchas as the spear was on its way and had Zimri killed Pinchas in order to save his own life, he would have been justified in doing so. (Contrast this last point with a RODEIF-NIRDAF situation. A is pursuing B to kill him. C determines that the only way to stop A and save B is to shoot A. A, defending and saving himself, kills C. Halacha says that A is a murderer. By virtue of his pursuit of B, he forfeited his right to justifiably kill A. He has no claim to HABA L'HORG'CHA... But Zimri would have been justified in saving his own life by killing Pinchas. That's how "borderline"Pinchas' action was. So no one knew what to make of the situation. Nor do we, so to speak, at the end of Parshat Balak. Stay tuned to the continuing story. Think about it first. Ponder the seriousness of the situation. Then continue with the beginning of Parshat Pinchas. And the only way that the situation is resolved, is by G-d Himself. When He calls Pinchas the son of Elazar and the grandson of Aharon, He is answering the questions and doubts. When He acknowledges Pinchas as the one whose act saved the people from further devastation by the plague, He is setting the record straight. WhenHe gives Pinchas His covenant of Shalom and the covenant of the Kehuna in perpetuity, G-d is saying that Pinchas acted correctly. But what about the rest of us, throughout Jewish history? And this question goes both before and after the fact. Confronted, as we have been throughout our history, with a myriad of situations with tough decisions to make - how do you decide on a course of action? The first answer is relatively simple. We do that which halacha demands of us; we avoid that which halacha forbids. We follow the guidelines of Torah, mitzvot, halacha. A life-threatening situation that arises on Shabbat, pushes aside Shabbat. A person who chooses to wait until after Shabbat before driving to the hospitalis wrong. He has not honored the Shabbat; he has dishonored G-d. We know, or try to know, what situations call for "be killed rather than violate", and which call for "violate rather than be killed". If this covers 80% or 90% of our dilemmas of all types, we're okay. It doesn't mean that mistakes and poor judgment won't sometimes manifest themselves, but at least we know how to evaluate a situation. But it's the other 10-20% of the cases that are the tough ones. Hand-in-hand with "what does the halacha say?" goes a particularly difficult question - "does this particular case fit the criteria for the application a specific halacha?" And we don't often have the luxury of asking a Rav for a psak or looking something up.Or having a group discussion about it. Maybe this is the message of the Pinchas story. You cannot generalize from it. You can't copy it. It let's us know that difficult, near-impossible situations can and do arise. Looking back and seeing the results is not a fair way of evaluating a situation. Even Yosef's statement to his brothers that they were bringing about G-d's Plan, does not take away the seriousness of their actions. It might bring about the results G-d wants, but we must behave in a proper way. We cannot know what will ultimatelybe the results and effects of our deeds. And therefore, that cannot be a factor in our decision. Bottom line. We must do the best we can in the most proper way, and hope and pray that our actions are desirable before G-d and in the eyes of our fellow Jews. Not always easy. [The Pinchas Homepage]
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