Pinchas: Going against your grain

Pinchas went against his grain when he slayed the Jewish prince Zimri who was openly cohabitateing with the Midianite princess Kazbi. Kazbi’s father, a powerful Midianite prince, coerced her into venturing among the Jewish men as a common harlot. Zimri, a Jewish prince grabbed her by the hair and dragged her before Moses. “Moses,” he shouted. “If I am not permitted to sleep with this woman, who permitted you to marry Tziporah the Midianite?” Zimri proceeded to debase the reluctant Kazbi in public.

Aghast, Pinchas watched Moses stand silently by. He screamed to his great uncle, “Moses, did you not teach us that men who behave like Zimri may be executed by zealots?” Moses did not say yes or no. He said, “The reader of the letter is the agent of its execution.” Pinchas rose like a warrior with spear in hand and slayed the licentious couple. G-d appeared to Moses and told him to inform Pinchas that his act had restored the peace.

The question is how did Pinchas’ act of violence restore peace? His was not an act of peace. His was an act of zealous vengeance. Why did G-d proclaim that Pinchas restored the peace?

The answer is that G-d was not talking about peace among people. G-d was talking about peace between G-d and us. When there is discord between G-d and His people, there is discord among the people. Resolving the peace between G-d and us eventually facilitates peace among us too.

To understand how Pinchas’ violent act restored peace between G-d and the Jews, we must return to the beginning.

The Reincarnated Couple
Our journey of life begins at birth. However, this is merely the latest leg of our journey. We are each the reincarnations of those who lived before us; our role is to correct their failures and build upon achievements. It is fascinating to peek behind the veil and discover who is reincarnated from whom. Did you know that Zimri was reincarnated from Shechem and Kazbi was reincarnated from Dinah?

Nearly three hundred years earlier, Jacob’s righteous daughter Dinah went for a stroll among the people of Shechem. The prince of that city, who unsurprisingly went by the name Shechem, abducted and raped her. After Shechem was executed by Dinah’s brothers, the Jewish mystics taught that his soul put up a valiant defense before the heavenly tribunal. It is unfair to punish a sinner who was nurtured from the cradle in an environment of sin. I am sure, charged Shechem, that if I were born into Jacob’s family and Dinah were born into my father’s family, the tables would have been turned and I would be righteous.

To prove Shechem wrong, G-d ruled that they both be reincarnated. This time, Shechem would be born to a Jewish family and Dinah would be born to a Midnanite family. The Jewish Shechem, otherwise known as Zimri, appeared to flourish at first. He did so well that he was appointed a prince among Jews. Dinah was also born into royalty and became a Midianite princess otherwise known as Kazbi.

All was fine until G-d cued the moment and set the stage. Dinah in the guise of Kazbi was now strolling among Jewish men dressed as a harlot and passed Shechem in the guise of Zimri. Would Kazbi proposition a reluctant Zimri or would Zimri proposition a reluctant Kazbi? As it turned out, Zimri grabbed Kazbi by the hair because she was the reluctant harlot. She did not want to be there, and Zimri did. This argument put the lie to Shechem’s defense. The couple was executed, and their souls returned to heaven. Shechem to his punishment and Dinah to her reward.

Dinah and Shechem, or Kazbi and Zimri, followed their natural impulses. This one to righteousness, the other to licentiousness. But who put a stop to them? Pinchas. And what was his story?

Pinchas was a reincarnation of two souls: Nadab and Abihu, Aaron’s two sons. You might recall that these two sons burst into the holy of holies to gaze upon G-d and they perished. They were holy people willing to die for a chance to gaze upon G-d. However, they were wrong for breaking G-d’s rule and bursting into a room that G-d forbid them entry.

Nadab and Abihu also followed their natural impulses. Theirs was a holy nature so they followed their impulse into the holy of holies, but they still did what they wanted to do. Not what G-d wanted them to do. In this sense, Nadab and Abihu were like Shechem, Dinah, Kazbi, and Zimri. They all followed their natural impulses.

So long as we follow our impulses, we are driven by what we want. Not by what G-d wants. For peace to break out between us and G-d, we must do as G-d does. As G-d provides what we desire so must we provide what G-d desires even if it goes against our grain.

Pinchas
Pinchas was the first protagonist in this story who exercised impulse control and did as G-d wanted. When Pinchas, whom the Torah describes as a zealot, beheld the licentious couple, his first impulse was to kill them. But he resisted the impulse zealously. Nadab and Abihu acted zealously and look where it got them. Not closer to G-d but further from G-d. The same was true of Zimri.

So Pinchas went against his grain and asked Moses what to do. He waited for Moses’ approval before venting his zeal. By reigning in his impulse and going against his grain, Pinchas flipped the generational narrative. Rather than going with their grain, Pinchas set a new tone—going with G-d’s grain.

This restored the peace between G-d and the Jewish people. When we go against our grain and do what makes G-d happy, G-d goes against His grain and does what makes us happy even when it is unwarranted by our behavior.

G-d First
The moral of this story is that under every circumstance and at every turn we must always ask ourselves, what G-d would do. We must never ask which path feels right to us. We should always ask, which path would G-d tell me to take.

If we are consistent and persistent it will eventually become second nature. When that happens, there will be no discord or jealousy. It will be a time of peace, serenity, stability, and security for the entire nation of Israel. May that day come speedily in our days, Amen.

Rabbi Eliezer (Lazer) Gurkow, currently serving as rabbi of congregation Beth Tefilah in London, Ontario, is a well-known speaker and writer on Torah issues and current affairs.