"Sarah Palin was sent by God." This idea bubbled to the surface last week as people tried to make sense of Gov. Palin's resignation. Forget about whether you think highly of Sarah Palin or not. The question is whether this kind of thinking -- about our political leaders, or about anything -- is all right.
Parashat Pinchas is named for the grandson of Aharon, the Kohen Gadol. At the end of last week's reading, the Israelites were caught up in a literal orgy in celebration of the gods of Moab. This was even more extreme than the creation of the Golden Calf in Exodus, which had at least been an attempt somehow to represent the Israelites' own God. God sends a plague. Pinchas witnesses an Israelite man and a Midianite woman together, and he runs them both through with a single spear. The Torah reports that his act instantly stopped the divine plague of punishment.
God then says, in the lines that begin our parasha: "Pinchas...has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his kin'ah for Me...It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all time, because he was k-n-a for his God and made atonement for the Israelites" (Numbers 25:11, 13). As a reward for his action, God makes Pinchas and his heirs the high priests forever.
If the Israelite and the Midianite deserved to die, there was no question that what Pinchas did was summary justice, even vigilante justice. Jewish tradition looks at it in two ways. On the one hand, Pinchas is taken as the model for Mattathias and the Maccabees, the heroes of Chanuka. On the other hand, the Talmud states that if Pinchas had taken a step back and consulted a Beit Din (rabbinical court), the rabbis would not have permitted his action.
Is Pinchas a model for passion, or for zealotry? The Hebrew root koof, nun, alef used in the parasha might be translated either way. Zealotry means an uncompromising, all-encompassing dedication to what God wants, with no room for doubt. A zealot is someone you can't debate with, or disagree with -- if you do, you are challenging God. (That's what some of the more zany articles about the response to Sarah Palin are about.) A zealot believes that the ends always justify the means.
Passion is different. You can be passionate about a cause or a belief, without losing respect for people who disagree. You can be passionate and entertain the possibility that the picture is not black and white. You can be passionate in a way no one can doubt, without harming other people in the process.
So was Pinchas passionate, or was he a zealot? Does the Torah recommend passion or absolute zeal?
Well, Pinchas sure looks like a zealot, someone willing to kill for his cause -- for God's cause. And sometimes we need zealots, people who brook no compromise and don't hesitate to cross lines to do what is necessary. Sometimes -- but rarely. We may have needed Pinchas at that time, and we needed Mattathias, or we would not be here.
But not even all wars call for zealous behavior. The Talmud says that only in very, very limited circumstances do the ends justify the means. Even PInchas himself might not have been permitted to do what he did. And in our daily lives, where passion is called for, Pinchas-like zeal is not. That may be why the Torah rewards Pinchas not just with the eternal priesthood, but also "My covenant of peace" (Numbers 25:12). Because he was so quick to take extreme action, God hastens to grant him the quality of peace, which he did not have before. To temper his zeal with a concern for other people, so that he could in the future act with passion.
Sarah Palin is passionate, that's for sure. Her ideas, her public service should be in the realm of debate and discussion. She's not a messenger from God.
Passion flows from an individual's heart, just as zeal does. But passion is inviting and inspiring. We all need occasions and causes that draw from the kind of force that motivated Pinchas. When we find them, we should act -- not with dangerous zeal, but with boundless passion.
Parashat Pinchas is named for the grandson of Aharon, the Kohen Gadol. At the end of last week's reading, the Israelites were caught up in a literal orgy in celebration of the gods of Moab. This was even more extreme than the creation of the Golden Calf in Exodus, which had at least been an attempt somehow to represent the Israelites' own God. God sends a plague. Pinchas witnesses an Israelite man and a Midianite woman together, and he runs them both through with a single spear. The Torah reports that his act instantly stopped the divine plague of punishment.
God then says, in the lines that begin our parasha: "Pinchas...has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his kin'ah for Me...It shall be for him and for his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all time, because he was k-n-a for his God and made atonement for the Israelites" (Numbers 25:11, 13). As a reward for his action, God makes Pinchas and his heirs the high priests forever.
If the Israelite and the Midianite deserved to die, there was no question that what Pinchas did was summary justice, even vigilante justice. Jewish tradition looks at it in two ways. On the one hand, Pinchas is taken as the model for Mattathias and the Maccabees, the heroes of Chanuka. On the other hand, the Talmud states that if Pinchas had taken a step back and consulted a Beit Din (rabbinical court), the rabbis would not have permitted his action.
Is Pinchas a model for passion, or for zealotry? The Hebrew root koof, nun, alef used in the parasha might be translated either way. Zealotry means an uncompromising, all-encompassing dedication to what God wants, with no room for doubt. A zealot is someone you can't debate with, or disagree with -- if you do, you are challenging God. (That's what some of the more zany articles about the response to Sarah Palin are about.) A zealot believes that the ends always justify the means.
Passion is different. You can be passionate about a cause or a belief, without losing respect for people who disagree. You can be passionate and entertain the possibility that the picture is not black and white. You can be passionate in a way no one can doubt, without harming other people in the process.
So was Pinchas passionate, or was he a zealot? Does the Torah recommend passion or absolute zeal?
Well, Pinchas sure looks like a zealot, someone willing to kill for his cause -- for God's cause. And sometimes we need zealots, people who brook no compromise and don't hesitate to cross lines to do what is necessary. Sometimes -- but rarely. We may have needed Pinchas at that time, and we needed Mattathias, or we would not be here.
But not even all wars call for zealous behavior. The Talmud says that only in very, very limited circumstances do the ends justify the means. Even PInchas himself might not have been permitted to do what he did. And in our daily lives, where passion is called for, Pinchas-like zeal is not. That may be why the Torah rewards Pinchas not just with the eternal priesthood, but also "My covenant of peace" (Numbers 25:12). Because he was so quick to take extreme action, God hastens to grant him the quality of peace, which he did not have before. To temper his zeal with a concern for other people, so that he could in the future act with passion.
Sarah Palin is passionate, that's for sure. Her ideas, her public service should be in the realm of debate and discussion. She's not a messenger from God.
Passion flows from an individual's heart, just as zeal does. But passion is inviting and inspiring. We all need occasions and causes that draw from the kind of force that motivated Pinchas. When we find them, we should act -- not with dangerous zeal, but with boundless passion.
