Our Torah portion, Pinchas, opens with the reward that Hashem gave to Pinchas for his zealous act. Pinchas performed a dangerous act, risking both his body and his soul. Although the Torah states that for a sin like the one committed by Zimri ben Salu, “zealots may strike him,” there is no obligation to do so. In fact, if someone asks whether to carry out such an act, “he is not instructed to do so.” Yet Pinchas summoned the courage and took action.
The Jerusalem Talmud says that Pinchas’s act was “not with the consent of the Sages,” and they even “sought to excommunicate him.” They refrained from doing so only because “the spirit of holiness came upon him and declared: ‘And it shall be for him and for his offspring after him a covenant of eternal priesthood.’” Hashem revealed that Pinchas’s deed was so beloved that He rewarded him with a remarkable gift — eternal priesthood.
To Save the People of Israel
From this we learn the greatness of Pinchas’s act. Before Hashem announced that Pinchas “turned back My wrath from the Children of Israel,” Pinchas knew that what he was doing was “not with the consent of the Sages.” He had learned Torah from Moshe Rabbeinu, and just as he received from him the halachah of “zealots may strike him,” so too he knew the halachic detail that “he is not instructed to do so,” and that this act was “not with the Sages’ approval.” In other words, his act of zeal was both a physical self-sacrifice and a spiritual one — for he risked excommunication — and yet he still rose and acted zealously for Hashem.
Pinchas saw the dire spiritual state of the Jewish people — they had fallen into a terrible spirit of folly, committing severe sins that brought a devastating plague. Pinchas thought: What is the worth of my body and soul, if by sacrificing both I can turn back Hashem’s wrath and save the Jewish people?
From the Essence of the Soul
Such behavior — zealousness for Hashem and for the Jewish people, through true self-sacrifice — stems from the essence of the Jewish soul. The root of the soul is higher even than the Torah itself, and therefore self-sacrifice manifests in areas beyond the measured boundaries of Torah. The Torah does not demand this level of sacrifice — but the Jew, because of his essential bond with Hashem, gives himself over with no calculations.
This self-sacrifice brought Pinchas the reward of “a covenant of eternal priesthood for him and his offspring after him.” This reward too is above Torah’s regular framework. According to Torah law, the priesthood is inherited from father to son. Pinchas himself was not a kohen and could not have passed on the priesthood. But since he acted with zeal for his G-d — with a zeal that transcended the boundaries of Torah — Hashem gave him priesthood “for him and his offspring,” in a way that also transcends Torah’s limitations.
To Go Out and Save
This teaches us a lesson for our generation: when we see the state of the Jewish people today, we must go out with self-sacrifice to influence and inspire other Jews to keep Torah and mitzvot. Even someone who still needs to learn and deepen their own understanding of Torah is still expected to put aside his own individual good in order to help save the Jews around them.
Through this kind of work, we merit the revelation of “Pinchas is Eliyahu” — the harbinger of the redemption — speedily, in our days.
(from the teachings of the Rebbe, Likkutei Sichot, vol. 18, translated from Sichot HaShevua)
