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for Shabbat Pinchas Why break a tiny story into two readings: the first for the action and the second for the awards ceremony? Etz Chiam quotes Moses of Coucy who says that the break between the two portions of the story is intended to teach us "never to rush to reward extremism." We are to wait until later events clarify whether the zealot's intention was pure. Commenting further, Etz Chiam says that the Torah shows disapproval of violence in two ways, in verse 11, "the letter yod in Pinchas' name is traditionally written smaller than the other letters to show that when we commit violence, even justifiable, the yod in us (standing for the name of God and for y'hudi, Jew) is diminished thereby." And in verse 12 the letter vav in shalom is written with a break in its stem. This suggests that the sort of peace one achieves by destroying one's opponent will inevitably be a flawed, incomplete peace. So, breaking the story into two portions is intended to make us reflect on the results of zealotry. Also in Etz Chaim it states the Talmud claims that had Pinchas asked the rabbinical court if it was permitted to kill Zimri and Cozbi, citing halakhah to justify his request, the court would have told him: "The law may permit it but we do not follow that law!" That is to say we don't fault God for rewarding Pinchas, but we do not approve of Pinchas as a model for human behavior. Shabbat Shalom. |
