Torah Portion - July 17, 2008
Passion & Zeal
Parashat Pinchas - Numbers 25:10 - 30:1 Rabbi Mark S. Kram 7/16/08
Passion drives us! Our passion helps us build a happy life. I am passionate about my family and my obligations to them. I am passionate about right and wrong, ethical behavior (I try my best!), and doing good in the world. I am passionate about being a rabbi, strengthening Beth Or and working with each of you to create a sustainable Jewish community in
The passion I see in Beth Or members – doing everything you do – working (and sometimes sweating) daily on the grounds, planting, clearing, fixing computers or electricity, creating programs, seeing to it that our “home” is clean, neat and proud is wonderful! I see this every day.
However there is another kind of passion. Passion unchecked, which can lead one down a dangerous and possibly treacherous path.
That kind of passion can be dangerous – the passion or zeal of those who would rather destroy us because of our “pagan or infidel” ways (for ex., 9/11). Extremists of any religion, including Judaism, who would choose what we might call the “dark” side of passion – we frankly could do without.
In our Torah portion, Pinchas reacted passionately against those who violated a core Torah Law – in this case, the Israelites joining in the sacrifices and observances to the Moabite gods. He took the law into his own hands and publicly ran a spear through a man and a woman who flaunted God’s word!
We are told that his action stopped God’s plague upon the people. Only 24,000(!) were killed prior to Pinchas’ action (note that only 3,000 were killed at the Golden Calf incident!). On the other hand, Pinchas acted without the legal steps required by Torah – there was no due process, no legal testimony heard, and he acted in defiance of all judicial procedures prescribed by the Torah.
Yet, in spite of this, God rewards Pinchas for his passion, his zeal, and gives him His “Covenant of Peace.” Why? Why should such an act of unchecked passion, earn this special reward? Is this the passion we would reward?
The rabbis shared our concern because they comment that the Covenant of Peace granted protection against Pinchas’ inner enemy – the enemy lurking inside him. That is, the internal struggle that would cause him to regret his act of killing a human being in the way he did.
What do you think?
SHABBAT SHALOM!