Parshas Pinchas deals with the
goriest incident in the Chumash. It starts when Moab and Midian send their
woman as prostitutes into the Israelite camp. The aim is to corrupt Israel,
seduce them to idolatry, and put them into heavenly opprobrium. The scheme is
initially successful and particularly brazen are Cozbi, a royal princess of
Midian, who is escorted by Zimri, a marquis of the tribe of Simon. The anger of
Hashem flares. He strikes Israel with a plague and tells Moshe to publicly hang
the ringleaders. Before action can be taken, though, Pinchas, the grandson, of
Aaron, the high priest, grabs a spear, bursts into the tent where two main
offenders are alone, and impales them through the orifices.
This action ends the incident.
The holy One, blessed be He, praises him saying Pinchas shared and acted out
His own jealousy (Number 25:11) and in doing so removed His fury from the
children of Israel. As a reward a covenant of peace is given to him and a
priestly covenant to him and his descendants forever. This can be understood to
mean that Pinchas would become cohen gadol and his descendants would have a
propensity for this high office as well (see Ibn Ezra on Numbers 25:12).
In the haphtarah for parshas
Pinchas, Elijah the prophet uses similar language, “I have been very zealous” (קנא קנאתי, 1 Kings 19:10). Based on this the Zohar
says that Pinchas and Eliyahu were the same person. The story of Elijah starts
with the coronation of Achav as king of Israel. The book of Kings condemns
Achav as doing more evil in the sight of G-d and provoking G-d more than all
the kings that came before him. He married Jezebel, the foreign princess of Tyre,
and made her queen of Israel. She is considered to be one of the most evil people
in the Tanakh. Ahab was a prolific idol worshipper and under him Jericho was
rebuilt with the attendant horrible curse for doing so fulfilled. Along with
Jeroboam king of Israel and Menasha king of Judah, the Mishna lists him as one
of the three kings who have no share in the world to come.
Elijah confronts Achav and
tells him that except by his word there will be no rain or dew in the land. He
then flees and hides out by a stream where G-d has the crows bring him bread
and meat from the table of Achav. Later G-d has him to stay by a widow who He
has commanded to support him. The widow is very poor so G-d gives her a jar of
flour and a jar of oil that will replenish themselves through the famine. When
the widow’s son dies, Elijah brings him back to life.
After three years Eliyahu
encounters Ahab. When they both blame the other for the drought, Elijah
challenges him saying that he will bring a sacrifice publicly and the four
fifty hundred prophets of baal will do likewise. Both will call upon the name
of their god and the god that answers with fire is G-d. The prophets of baal
try and fail. Eliyahu then erects twelve stones symbolizing the twelve tribes
of Israel and prays. Fire comes down from heaven and consumes the sacrifice.
The people see it, prostate themselves, and shout twice Hashem is G-d. They
then kill the prophets of baal.
Elijah tells Achav to celebrate;
however, it is a short celebration because a great rain storm descends. Ahab is
impressed but Jezebel is not. On the contrary she orders Eliyahu killed. Elijah
sees that his victory was a short lived one and flees. He dovens that G-d
should take his life, because Israel has totally abandoned the faith and are
looking kill him as the last of the prophets.
He then has a vision from
heaven. First there is a powerful wind so strong that it uproots mountains and
shatters boulders, but Hashem was not in the wind. This is followed by a
roaring pandemonium, but Hashem was not in the tumult. This is followed by a
great fire but Hashem was not in the fire. This is followed by a still small
voice and that was where Hashem was to be found. Hashem then tells Elijah that
horrible things have been decreed on Israel, and he is to appoint Elisha to
take his place as prophet.
Achav dies a slow miserable
death but the story doesn’t end there. Elijah in fact lives for quite some time
after that, but he doesn’t change a bit. When Ahaziah the son of Achav becomes
king he takes sick. He sends messengers to the lord of the flies, the god of
Eqron, in search of a cure. Hashem tells Elijah to meet the messengers and tell
them because they didn’t inquire of Him, Ahaziah will not get out of bed will
certainly die. Ahaziah sends distinguished delegations to Eliyahu to ask for
mercy, but they are consumed by fire from heaven. The last delegation is spared
after a very heartrending plea. Elijah then personally goes to the king and
tells him that he will not recover because he inquired of the lord of the flies
and asks him is there no G-d in Israel for you to inquire of His word.
The time then comes for Elijah
to be taken up to heaven in a storm wind. He gives his mantle to Elisha and
blesses him. A chariot of fire and horses of fire then appear and Elijah is
taken up to heaven in a storm wind.
From a literary standpoint
both Elijah and Pinchas are extremely likable especially because of their
fanatical devotion to the faith. The prophecy of the wind, clamor, and fire comes
to teach us that they were unique individuals. We are taught that there will be
times when religious truths will be found by means gargantuan physical force,
breathtaking beauty, or brilliant intellectual arguments, but not typically.
G-d is normally found in a dot
the size of the Hebrew letter yod, or even less, the thorn on the top of the
yod. These are the inchoate ideas that come when we are pondering a question.
Sometimes, also, Hashem is in the sudden insight. In both cases the idea must
be developed, inconsistencies resolved, and difficulties dealt with. If one
wishes to deny the still small voice, that is only seen in the recesses of the
mind it, is easy to do so. However for one who loves truth and hungers for
wisdom, the tiny glimmer is enough to beckon him forward. Even so the strength,
beauty, and brilliance in the still small voice are very great.
לע"נ הבן דוד שמואל בן נח ז"ל נלב"ע ט"ו באב תשס"ט.
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