english PINCHAS 2013

THE RIGHT WAY TO REBUKE

Our Parasha starts off in the middle of a story. Last week, at the end of parashat Balak, Pinchas put his life on the line and avenged the immoral act of Zimri ben Salu , the Nasi of the tribe of Shimon, with Kozbi bat Tzur, princess of Midian.  By doing so, he stopped the plague that had already taken a toll of 24,000 Jews, from wiping out the rest of the nation. In this week’s parasha, Pinchas is rewarded with priesthood and immortality.

The question, of course is, why isn’t Pinchas rewarded immediately in the pesukim of last week’s parasha?

The answer is one that makes us think. Not every time there is an impulse to give rebuke is it correct to do so. And even if one is to avenge the honor of Torah, there is also a way to do it. Impulsivity can ruin everything. We must pause and hold ourselves . Pinchas’ act was justified only because first, he got Moshe’s approval. He avenged in accordance with the Torah: first, he asked the Rabbi. The Torah holds us in suspense in order to tell us that the one who makes a מחאה   , a protest, needs to be checked thoroughly  to ascertain exactly what his intentions and motives are.  Is this person the suitable person to make the protest? And, what is the proper time and way to make the protest? All these points must be carefully examined before deciding if the person is deserving of praise and reward. This is the lesson the Torah teaches us by putting the reward on pause. That only after careful examination is rebuke and protest praiseworthy.

R’ E. Lapian zt”l draws on a beautiful point in Ashrei, one of which  we remind ourselves three times daily. The reason why our Rabbis instituted our saying Ashrei so many times throughout our lives is to remind ourselves of the kindness of the Creator, so that we can follow in His ways. Only at the very end of Ashrei, we say שומר ה’ את כל אוהביו ואת כל הרשעים ישמיד Hashem watches over all His loved ones, and He will eradicate all the wicked. This teaches us that first one must be טוב לכל good to everyone, רחמיו על כל מעשיו merciful to all His creation;  סומך לכל הנופלים supporting all those who are falling…משביע לכל חי רצון  fulfilling the wants of all the living… צדיק בכל מעשיו  righteous in all acts, and then, and only then, one can be ואת כל הרשעים ישמיד  one who fights the wicked… 

It is so much easier for a parent to punish a child then to talk to him. It is much simpler to just kick a kid out of class or school than to deal with him. The right way is to consult a wise, experienced Rabbi who is considered a Daat Hatorah, one whose mind is constantly thinking Torah and Halacha. If not, if a teacher or parent does not consult with such an authority, he will take upon himself part of the responsibility for what this child will go through in life, because of such a “simple mistake”.

There is a Torah. And there are people who are not following in its ways. If we treat them like people as we teach them the laws, relating to them with respect and dignity, they will be more receptive to what the Torah has to tell them…

LEADERS OF TOMMOROW

People look around, and ask out loud or to themselves – who will become the great leaders of the Jewish people of the next generation? Who will guide and lead the community? Some people look towards those who are sharp tongue or from prominent families. Others look towards those with high I.Q., expecting that from there will come greatness. However, this is rarely the case. As a matter of fact, if we look at the leaders of today as well as of the past we cannot stop and notice that these factors were not what “makes it or breaks it”. The leaders of today, many of them, came from ordinary or even broken homes, poverty, not the “top of the class”, etc. So, what happened? The Midrash defines the sole factor of the true leaders of the future.

G-d said to Moshe: Yehoshua served you a lot and attributed to you great honor. He would get up early and go to sleep late in your house of gathering to set up the benches, to spread the cloths .. he should take his reward ..(Midrash Raba 21,14). This is odd. A great man like Yehoshua, who was extremely studious, never leaving the study hall and putting in all the hours to watch his teacher Moshe and learn from him the ways of Torah and its laws – this was not what accredited to him leadership. But, mopping the floors after class, putting up the benches and folding the table clothes – that’s what did it ? That’s what made him big?   All of the hours he put into the learning did not stand for his credit – just being the Gabbai of Moshe is what did it?

R’ Zeev Getzel shlita, in his sefer Ashira, offers us a new light on the matter. If, for instance, one were to pass by a store at 2 a.m., and notices through the shop window, someone cleaning up and putting things where they belong. One can figure that the fellow inside is not a regular worker. A regular worker does not work at 2 a.m. To set up the shop at this late hour is none other than the owner of the store or someone who loves the owner of the store, and the work itself.

Yehoshua was not just a janitor, heaven forbid. He did not just set up the tables. He would get up early and go to sleep late setting up the place to make sure that people would love coming to learn in the study hall as much as he did. To him, it was personal. And this is a totally different level of learning Torah. “One does not learn Torah with perfection unless he loves G-d with all his heart, with all his soul, and with every part of his being.” (Midrash Tanchuma Noach )   Yehoshua’s dedication to the study hall, to his love for Torah, was eminent through his making sure that everyone was comfortable and enjoying Torah as much as he did. This is why he became the leader. Not the amount of hours. Not anything else. Rather, it was his dedication to the ideal and value.

The leaders of the people in the future, the true leaders, are those who are dedicated to the ideals and values that they are steadfast in…

DESERVING A REWARD

G-d asks us: “Who preceded Me that I must pay him?” – Who praised Me before I gave him a soul? Who circumcised his son before I gave him a son?  Who put a mezuzah on his door before I gave him a house? Who built a sukkah before I gave him a place to build one? Who made Me a lulav before I gave him the money to buy one? Who attached tzitzit to his clothes before I gave him clothes to wear?” (VaYikra Rabba 27)

This Midrash seems to suggest that every mitzvah we do is perceived by G-d as merely a necessary and expected expression of appreciation for all the goodness He has bestowed on us. If so, is there any room for doing mitzvot simply out of a desire to serve our beloved Master? Moreover, when we return our souls to G-d after our lifelong journey, how can we hope to be rewarded for living according to the Torah? We shall see that our Parashah provides an answer to these questions.  But first, a little background…

Another Midrash makes this comment on Pinchas’ zealousness in punishing the two brazen sinners, Zimri and Cazbi:  בדין הוא שיטול שכרו  – Pinchas deserved his reward – the “Covenant of Peace” (Midrash Rabbah 21). This meant that Pinchas merited joining the rest of his family in becoming a Kohen. According to Targum Yonatan, this meant that G-d made Pinchas immortal, and will give him the privilege of announcing the Final Redemption and the coming of Mashiach. But how can we understand this concept of rightful reward in light of the previous Midrash, which suggests that no reward is due us for performing mitzvot, which are our duty and obligation to G-d?

There is a well-known saying from Kotzk which can give us a handle on this paradox: “A person is not measured by how many mitzvot he has done, but rather, by how much of his heart he put into his mitzvot – even just one.”

There are relatively few Torah-mandated mitzvot (mitzvot d’oraita) that we encounter on a daily basis. In fact, Rav Wolbe, zt”l, reckoned that there are only nine (out of 248) such positive Commandments: * Reciting Shema * Wearing tzitzit *Putting on tefillin *Praying *Learning Torah *Making a blessing after eating bread  *Giving charity  *Respecting and standing up for elders and parents  *Resting on Shabbat.   How well we serve G-d is more or less determined by this small group of mitzvot. The key to observing these mitzot well, however, is qualitative, depending upon how much thought we put into them. (Devoting thought is more easily said than done, since proper concentration is difficult when mitzvot are encountered frequently.)

Rabbi Yehudah Tzadkah zt”l writes that if a person does a mitzvah out of sincere ahavat HaShem (love of G-d) and not only out of yirat shamayim (fear of G-d), he can legitimately ask G-d for reward. This is because a mitzvah done with ahavat HaShem goes beyond what we are commanded. Doing a mitzvah out of love of G-d expresses one’s inner desire to fulfill G-d’s Will. This is also true when one does something with mesirut nefesh (self-sacrifice). Ultimately, the quality of and dedication to the mitzvah justify G-d’s rewarding us.

Pinchas is an excellent example of going beyond what one is commanded to do – הלכה ואין מורין כן.  He acted out of the pain he felt in witnessing desecration of G-d’s Name and great disrespect for Moshe. In punishing Zimri and Cazbi, he put his life on the line, and therefore merited immortality.

We can apply this concept of improving the quality of our actions to many aspects of life as well: family, relationships, work – to name just a few. This means putting the emphasis on quality over quantity, and putting our thoughts into what we do. The fact is that the daily schedules of a wide spectrum of people, are very similar. But those who make an effort  to ensure quality in each and every one of their activities and engagements generally succeed in life much, much more than those who do not.