“And Moshe sent them, a thousand per tribe for the army, them and Pinchas, son of Elazar the Kohain, for the army...” (Bamidbar 31:6)
Moshe commanded each tribe to muster a thousand soldiers to wage a battle to take revenge on the Midianites who’d led the Jews into sin, and brought about a plague which killed 24,000 people. With these men, Moshe sent Pinchas, sending him into battle along with the representatives from each tribe.
Why did Elazar not accompany the soldiers? And if it was Pinchas, why was he singled out in being named the one to accompany the soldiers into battle against Midian? Rashi tells us three answers.
First of all, we have a principle that when one starts a mitzvah, he should go ahead and finish it. Since Pinchas cast the first stone, as it were, against Kozbi, the Midianite princess who lured the prince of Shimon into sin, he would be the one to finish the job.
Then Rashi says that Pinchas was also sent in order to take revenge for his grandfather Yosef (on his mother’s side) who was sold into slavery in Egypt by the Midianites. Finally, Rashi says that Pinchas went because he was the anointed “war Kohain,” who would accompany soldiers into battle and give them pep talks and raise their spirits.
Why does Rashi have to come up with so many reasons? Why can’t he just choose one and stick to it? The Sifsei Chachomim says the first reason, about having begun the war against Midian was insufficient, as he had actually intended to kill Zimri, and the Midianite Kozbi was an extension of that. Therefore, Rashi included the reason of Yosef.
However, just because the Midianites sold Yosef would not be enough of a reason, because that was good for him, as Yosef became king! Furthermore, that was so far in the past that any enmity was long forgotten. That’s why the other reason was needed.
Finally, Rashi adds that Pinchas was the anointed war Kohain. However, this fact would not be noteworthy enough on its own to necessitate mention of Pinchas by name. That is why, explains the Sifsei Chachomim, Rashi had to offer all these reasons why Pinchas was the one chosen to accompany the army in the fight against the Midianites.
One further idea can be inferred by Moshe’s choice of language when he commanded that an army be formed. Hashem had told Moshe to avenge Klal Yisrael’s honor, but Moshe told them they were defending Hashem’s honor. By using that language, and appointing Pinchas as the war Kohain, Moshe was underscoring that what Pinchas did to Zimri was based on his desire to end the desecration of Hashem’s name and honor.
So many things went into the decision that Pinchas be sent, and we only see a bit of the puzzle from the way Rashi explains it. This is just one instance, but Hashem is constantly putting together many different moving parts in our lives for multiple reasons. We cannot fathom the magnitude of calculations Hashem utilizes, and we certainly cannot begin to question the things that occur in the world and our lives, because we don’t see the big picture and all the things that have to fall into place just as they should.
On April 15, 1912, the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic. Supposed to be “unsinkable,” there weren’t enough life boats and over 1500 people died in the frigid waters. A man who heard the news of the tragedy prayed to G-d asking how He could let such a thing happen.
“Al-mighty G-d,” the man prayed. “You are all-powerful. You control the sea and the dry land, the heavens and the earth. Why did you let this tragedy occur? How is it that you did not stop the Titanic from sinking, and allowed all those people to perish?”
“Are you kidding?!” G-d replied. “Do you have any idea what I had to do to get all those people on one boat?!”
©2025 – J. Gewirtz
