Dear Friends,
The genius of Torah – in that we read it over and over again year-after-year, is that key messages are repeated and reinforced. For some teachings, it is not enough to learn the lessons only once; they must be revisited recurrently.
Such is the case in the opening vignette of this week’s Torah portion, and it is especially salient in recent years and recent days.
In short, we encounter the episode of Pinchas, who through his zealotry, slew an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were together, and a plague which had been upon the Israelites then ceased. The question of the probity of zealotry is reopened, even when Torah appears to reward Pinchas for his, perhaps, righteous deed. Although many commentators over the years have tried to square the circular peg and justify Pinchas’ impulsive act, many more find this a shameful act of zealous, impulsive, supercilious violence, which should be condemned, not celebrated.
In essence, Torah elevates this zealotry, just so later scholars can denounce it.
Zealotry commonly leads either from violence, or to violence, or both. We have witnessed it so recently on January 6, and in many of the too-many mass murders which have become too commonplace, especially over the recent July 4th weekend. In too many instances, the “shooters” – I prefer to call them murderers or terrorists - selected their victims to comport with their xenophobic or racist ideologies, thus committing zealous hate crimes. And, moreover, their comrades who share affection for their websites, social media posts, diatribes or manifestos, further elevate their violence, and extol the zealotry.
Thus, this behavior becomes circular. One perpetrator, even if killed by the police, or as of late, captured, tried and convicted, becomes a martyr to the ungodly cause.
The answer is for all of us to decry zealotry, and not to countenance it from elected leaders of those who support them. The only way to silence the roar of the self-righteous zealot is with the louder roar of justice and true righteousness.
This week, the Torah rolls around again to make the point anew. Just in case we had forgotten it since last July 4th and the killing in Highland Park, Illinois, or killings in San Bernardino, or Orlando, or Pittsburgh, or…
For a peaceful Shabbat of Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
The genius of Torah – in that we read it over and over again year-after-year, is that key messages are repeated and reinforced. For some teachings, it is not enough to learn the lessons only once; they must be revisited recurrently.
Such is the case in the opening vignette of this week’s Torah portion, and it is especially salient in recent years and recent days.
In short, we encounter the episode of Pinchas, who through his zealotry, slew an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were together, and a plague which had been upon the Israelites then ceased. The question of the probity of zealotry is reopened, even when Torah appears to reward Pinchas for his, perhaps, righteous deed. Although many commentators over the years have tried to square the circular peg and justify Pinchas’ impulsive act, many more find this a shameful act of zealous, impulsive, supercilious violence, which should be condemned, not celebrated.
In essence, Torah elevates this zealotry, just so later scholars can denounce it.
Zealotry commonly leads either from violence, or to violence, or both. We have witnessed it so recently on January 6, and in many of the too-many mass murders which have become too commonplace, especially over the recent July 4th weekend. In too many instances, the “shooters” – I prefer to call them murderers or terrorists - selected their victims to comport with their xenophobic or racist ideologies, thus committing zealous hate crimes. And, moreover, their comrades who share affection for their websites, social media posts, diatribes or manifestos, further elevate their violence, and extol the zealotry.
Thus, this behavior becomes circular. One perpetrator, even if killed by the police, or as of late, captured, tried and convicted, becomes a martyr to the ungodly cause.
The answer is for all of us to decry zealotry, and not to countenance it from elected leaders of those who support them. The only way to silence the roar of the self-righteous zealot is with the louder roar of justice and true righteousness.
This week, the Torah rolls around again to make the point anew. Just in case we had forgotten it since last July 4th and the killing in Highland Park, Illinois, or killings in San Bernardino, or Orlando, or Pittsburgh, or…
For a peaceful Shabbat of Shalom,
Rabbi Douglas Kohn
