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1. Peace Through Strength
At the end of last week's Parsha, the Jewish people arrived at a place
called Sheetim, where some of them began to commit acts of sexual immorality
and idolatry with Moabite women. G-d was angry at their sinful behavior
and a lethal plague then struck, killing 24,000 Jews. A prince from the
Israelite tribe of Shimon by the name of Zimri son of Salu committed a
particularly vile act by publicly engaging in sexual relations with Cozbi
daughter of Zur (a Midianite woman whose father was a prince of Midian)
in full view of Moshe, the elders and the Jewish people. At the sight
of this act of depravity, Pinchas (the grandson of Aaron the High Priest)
took a spear and killed the two offenders, bringing about an immediate
end to the plague. At the beginning of this week's Parsha, G-d praises
Pinchas' act. The Torah tells us: "G-d spoke to Moshe, saying: 'Pinchas
son of Elazar son of Aaron the Priest turned back My wrath from upon the
Children of Israel when he zealously avenged my vengeance among them…
Therefore say: I hereby give him My Covenant of Peace…'" (Chap.
25, verses 10-12).
The Question:
What is the meaning of the "covenant of peace" granted by G-d
to Pinchas?
The Answer:
The Kotzker Rebbe, Rabbi Menchem Mendel of Kotzk (1787-1859), says
that much of the world mistakenly thinks that peace means to concede to
those who are stronger or more forceful. But the truth is, says the Kotzker
Rebbe, that peace achieved through inner weakness cannot last. True
peace comes through a prolonged struggle, one without any displays of
frailty. Only peace achieved through strength, which may entail suffering
and even pain, will have the fortitude to stand firm, never to fail or
collapse. We see, then, that the covenant of peace granted to Pinchas
signified his strength of character and determination, thanks to which
the plague was ended and peace restored for the Jewish people.
The Lesson:
In recent years, many Israelis fell prey to the temptations of a fast
and easy peace, one that was based on a seemingly simple and straightforward
solution - yield to Palestinian demands across the board in exchange for
promises of tranquility. After a bruising, century-long conflict between
Jews and Arabs, the determination and resolve of many Israelis were battered
and weakened, leading them to consider compromising on Zionism's most
sacred tenets, such as reclaiming and settling the entire Land of Israel.
But weakness only breeds contempt, and Israel's foes were quick to sense
the deterioration in Israel's tenacity, which only gave them an incentive
to make further demands on the Jewish state. To achieve peace, Israel
must begin by reaffirming its sense of national purpose and meaning and
it must be willing to demonstrate the courage of its convictions, regardless
of how others may react. Adhering to one's beliefs may often involve painful
dilemmas, but there is simply no alternative. As the past eight years
of Oslo have amply demonstrated, yielding on matters of principle is no
recipe for reconciliation. We saw above that Pinchas was granted the covenant
of peace because he did not shy away from standing up for what he believed
in. The fact is that peace can only come about not when we must say "yes"
to all of our enemies' demands, but rather when we are strong enough to
tell them "no".
2. Looking Forward to the Temple
The Parsha devotes two chapters (Chap. 28 and 29) to the various sacrificial
offerings that are to be brought in the Temple on the Sabbath, the New
Moon and the Festivals. Before describing these offerings, the Torah discusses
the daily Tamid, a sacrifice that is to be brought twice a day (in the
morning and afternoon) every day. It says: "G-d spoke to Moshe, saying:
Command the Children of Israel and say to them: My offering… you
shall be careful ("Tishmeru" in Heb.) to offer to Me
at its appointed time" (Chap. 28, verses 1-2).
The Question:
What is the meaning of the verse "My offering… you shall be
careful ("Tishmeru") to offer to Me at its appointed
time"?
The Answer:
The Sefat Emet, Rabbi Yehuda Leib of Ger (the second Rebbe
of Ger, 1847-1905), says that the word "Tishmeru" can
also be understood to mean awaiting and anticipating something, as it
does elsewhere in the Torah. We can therefore read the verse to mean:
"My offering… you shall anticipate (or: look forward) to offer
to Me". Thus, says the Sefat Emet, even when the Jewish people
are living in Exile, they can fulfill this verse by eagerly anticipating
the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and the restoration of the sacrificial
service there. Through such anticipation, says the Sefat Emet, we become
partners to the sacrifices brought by our ancestors when the Temple was
still standing. Hence, the verse is emphasizing for us the necessity to
yearn for the Temple's return to Jerusalem.
The Lesson:
As modern Jews living in the 21st century, it may be difficult for us
to feel the lack of a Temple in our lives, or even to comprehend the meaning
behind its rituals. After all, how does one miss something that he personally
has not experienced or known in his own life? Nevertheless, we saw above
that hoping for the return of the Temple to Jerusalem must not remain
in the category of a distant, visionary wish for the future - rather,
it is a central element in Jewish theology and belief, and must play a
part in every Jew's daily consciousness. The media and others often portray
Jews seeking to renew Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount as extremists,
castigating them as apocalyptic troublemakers and agitators. Leaving aside
the complex halachic (Jewish law) and even political issues involved,
what the media and other critics fail to understand is that the longing
for the Temple is an essential component of mainstream, traditional Jewish
thought.
Our prayers are filled with repeated requests to rebuild the Temple and
our ritual nostalgically reenacts many of its customs. Three times a day,
every day, when a Jew completes the Shemoneh Esrei (the central
prayer of each service), he does so by asking G-d: "May it be Your
will, our G-d and the G-d of our forefathers, that the Temple be rebuilt
speedily in our days and that you grant us our portion in your Torah,
and there we shall worship You in awe as in days of old and in previous
years." At this time of year, in the weeks leading up to Tisha
B'Av (the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, the day upon which
both of the Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed) it is especially important
to bear this lesson in mind.
Though various reasons are offered as to why the Temples were destroyed,
one can make a good argument that a key factor in both cases was the failure
of the Jewish people to fully appreciate the sanctity and uniqueness of
having G-d's House among them, perhaps because they started to take it
for granted. If indeed it was a lack of appreciation that caused us to
lose the Temple, then our best chance of regaining it is to redouble our
desire for its restoration, which can be accomplished by praying and hoping
for its imminent return. Though some people may regard such sentiments
as extremism, the fact is that they have a different, far more accurate
name: Judaism.
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Michael Freund served as Deputy Director of Communications and Policy
Planning in the Prime Minister’s Office from 1996 to 1999. He is currently
an editorial writer and syndicated columnist for the Jerusalem Post. Comments/Feedback/Subscribe:
parsha_sheet@hotmail.com
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