Rabbi's Sermons

Shabat Shalom!

This week's portion is called: Parashat Pinchas. It tells the story of Pinchas the Kohen, Aharon’s grandson, who at the end of the previous portion, murdered a couple (Israelite and Midianite), who sinned by provoking assimilation with the daughters of Midian, who, in turn, invited the people of Israel to idolatry. Curiously, for this extreme act of fanaticism, God blessed him, saying: “¹² Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace. ¹³ And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel”.

The story of Pinchas represents, in fact, a model of action, according to which conflicts are resolved using the violence of fanaticism, jealousy, without commitment and also, perhaps, without thinking. However, this week's portion features another pattern as well. Later, in chapter 26, Moshe conducts a census of all the families, or all the "houses of their fathers", in order to divide the properties among them, that is, to determine which area of the Land of Israel each family would receive, when the people entered the Promised Land. But what would happen to a family that had no - "parental home"? What if the father of the family were deceased and had no children heir, but only daughters? Was that a valid reason, so a family would not receive an inheritance? This question was posed by the daughters of Tzlofchad. five brave young women, who insisted on their rights to be considered. Their names are worth remembering: Machla, Noa, Chogla, Malka and Tirza. They asked for justice and Moshe listened. He consulted God, who agreed. God decreed that if a person died and had no male children, his property would move into his “house”, even if the deceased only had daughters.

The two stories thus represent two models of solving a problem: the first is spontaneous violence against the use of words and the second, the use of words to obtain justice. Both models were apparently accepted by God. On the one hand God congratulated Pinchas and on the other He acceded to the demand of Tzlofchad’s daughters.

God's words, however, can be interpreted differently. Rabbi Neftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin, known as the Natziv of Volozhin, offers an interesting interpretation of the pact that God made with Pinchas: "Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace", it is a pact that protects Pinchas himself, from his own fanatic zeal: God blessed him with SHALOM, with peace, so that he would stop being fanatic or get angry. The danger in a fanatic people is that their feeling of fanaticism persists because of their ideology. That is why God blessed him, so that, on the contrary, he would always be calm and with a state of peace. That is, according to this interpretation, God blessed Pinchas to walk in the paths of peace from that moment on, since God prefers the paths of peace, rather than the violent fanaticism paths of Pinchas.

If we look at the words of this Parasha, we can ask ourselves, how do we react and handle ourselves when in conflict? With violence and by force? Or with an angry argument? Or maybe we just give up? Our reactions probably depend on our personality, and vary with each and every one of us, in different situations. But it is worth mentioning that in Israel, which has traditionally been forced to resolve conflicts with its neighboring countries by physical force, many times it has shown different examples: For example, recently a protest by the families of single mothers, opted for the example of the daughters of Tzlofchad, marched to Jerusalem, and sat in front of the parliament building as act of protest against the economic plan, which would not allow them to live in dignity during times of war. Here, in USA, some recent protests in Los Angeles against President Trump’s immigration laws, started initially as calm and eventually turned very aggressive. A fair and determined fight against injustice, against moral opacity, should be without the use of physical force, without destruction.

When we feel hurt, the difficulty is twofold: it is difficult to muster up the courage, stand up, speak, and believe that our words will finally be heard. It is especially easy not to get carried away with passion and lose control, as was the experience with those protests in Los Angeles. Last Sunday started the days known as: “Bein Hametzarim”, which are three weeks prior to Tisha Be’Av, the 9th of Av, the date in which we will remember the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.

According to tradition, the first temple was destroyed due to moral corruption, and the second temple, due to hatred between brothers. This is a good time to remember that it is our right and our duty to fight for a better society for all, without unnecessary hatred, without unnecessary violence and with mutual respect. This portion of the Torah is a good time to remember the daughters of Tzlofchad, who were a better alternative to the violent fanaticism of the many "Pinchases" that are between us, a violent fanaticism that still exists in the world, and which has created, for so many wars, so much hatred, so much pain. Let us learn from this portion of the Torah that the ways of SHALOM - PEACE, are the true way, in the words of the book of Proverbs 3:17: "דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם וְכָל נְתִיבוֹתֶיהָ שָׁלוֹם" - Darkeia, darkei noam vechol netivotea SHALOM - His ways are delightful ways, and all its paths are of peace”.

Shabat Shalom!

Rabbi David Laor

July 18^th, 2025