פרשת פנחס
This week’s parsha tells us how Pinchas heroically executed Zimri and Kuzbie in order to quiet God’s anger from the Jewish people. In return for Pinchas’s bravery he received a reward that no human in recorded history ever received – the Kehuna. Before telling us about Pinchas’s fateful act the Torah traces his lineage back to his grandfather Aharon Hakohen. Why was this necessary?
R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz explains that ostensibly, Pinchas preformed a very violent act. Were it not for the fact that Pinchas’s motivations stemmed from a deep love for his creator and for Klal Yisroel, his act would have certainly been condemned. For this reason the Torah went out of its way to show us that Pinchas was the grandson of Aharon Hakohen, a man who had dedicated his life to the peace and love of the Jewish people. This way every one would know that just as Aharon was a peaceful man, so too Pinchas’s motivations stemmed from a peaceful and loving source when he preformed this seemingly violent act.
R’ Chaim goes on to explain that in general whenever a Jew does any act he must first ensure that his intentions are noble. Specifically when it comes to a person’s interactions with another Jew he must be extremely careful to verify that he is motivated solely by the intent to help his fellow Jew and out of his love for him. This is not an easy task but R’ Chaim asserts that this is what the Torah demands of us. We must love each and every Jew, regardless of his status or background, and display that love in each one of our relations.
The great Kabalistic work the Tomer Devorah adds that we must view each and every one of our fellow Jews as family. Just as we would spare no time or expense to help our family, that should be our attitude toward our fellow Jew. Similarly we should not focus on the weaknesses of our peers, but rather try to concentrate on their strengths and cover up their faults. Perhaps it would be appropriate to relate the resolution I found in my fathers diary after he passed away. My father accepted upon himself to love each and every Jew like his own brother and to attempt to help any Jew who approached him with any means available to him. And if for some reason there was nothing he could do, he would listen to there pitiful plight sympathetically and Daven for them with great fervor.
R’ Chaim added that even when we are forced to distance ourselves from another Jew due to his unacceptable behavior, we should not be motivated by hatred or anger, but rather by a pure desire to help that person. This can be seen through the story of Pinchas. The verse testifies about Pinchas that his sole desire was to defend god’s honor, and he had no personal animosity toward Zimri. R’ Chaim offers another illustration of this principle from Avraham Avinu. We find that Avraham was commanded by Hashem to exile his firstborn son, Yishmael. At first Avraham was hesitant to execute this command, but he eventually capitulated. Yet later, when Hashem commanded Avraham to offer up his son as a sacrifice, Avraham responded by asking Hashem, “Which son”? Hashem said, “The one that you love”. Avraham said, “I love both of them equally”. From here we see that although Avraham sent away the wicked Yishmael from his house, he still loved him and treated him with the greatest respect. R’ Chaim concludes by saying beautifully that even when Hashem destroyed the Beis Hamikdash and exiled us from the land of Israel, when the non-Jews entered the Holy Temple to desecrate it, they found the Cherubim facing each other, an apparent sign of Hashem’s deep love for the Jewish people. We too must follow Hashem’s example and foster feelings of friendship and camaraderie, even to the most distant of Jews.
This concept of how important it is to love each and every Jew can also be found in the Seforno, (Parshas Behaloscha). When the Jews sinned, Moshe Rabenu told Hashem that he could no longer lead the Jewish people and that if Hashem were unwilling to help him then he would rather be killed. The Seforno explains this interesting dialog in a most ingenious way. Moshe said to Hashem, “It is difficult for me to lead the Jewish people because although I have preformed many miracles and kindness for them, they still don’t fully trust that my intentions are purely for their benefit. Therefore Hashem, I ask of You to please appoint the seventy elders so that every one will feel that at least one leader is on their side and wants to help them. (Presumably amidst the 70, each Jew would find at least one he felt he could fully trust). And if Hashem you do not wish to do this because you are worried that my honor will be hurt, then please kill me and allow the beloved Klal Israel to feel that they have a leader who they could love and trust fully.” We see from these powerful words of the Seforno how important it is for a leader to love his people and for the people to feel loved by their leader, and that Moshe was willing to die for this principle. Similarly in this week’s Parsha Yehoshua is chosen as Moshe’s successor because of his excellence in this quality – the ability to understand each and every Jew as the verse says, “Yehoshua was a spirited man” and Rashi explains, a man who is capable of understanding the spirit oh each and every Jew – a title which could only be gotten through deep love and caring for each individual.
I would just like to conclude by saying that not only should we foster feelings of love for are fellow Jews in our hearts, but we should express our love outwardly as well. This is why the Gemara in Shabbos (10) says that when one gives a gift to his neighbors he should make sure to let the neighbor know that the gift is from him. This Gemara is teaching us how important it is to generate feelings of warmth and love towards are fellow Jew that one’s normal instruction of modesty and humility seem to be waived.
May Hashem help us to engender the proper feelings of love and respect for each and every Jew!