Rabbi's Corner

In this week’s parashah, Parashat Pinchas, we read the following: “And HaShem spoke with Moshe saying: ‘Pinchas, son of El’azar, son of Aharon the Priest, turned away My anger from upon the B’Nei Yisrael, when he zealously avenged my vengeance in their midst, and I did not destroy the B’Nei Yisrael in my vengeance.’” (BaMidbar 25:11) We read at the end of last week’s parashah how Pinchas executed the Israelite prince Zimri and the Midianite woman Cozbi as they were flaunting their sexuality in front of the B’Nei Yisrael. In this week’s parashah, we read how Pinchas is heralded as a hero due his zealousness and, in fact, is rewarded a “B’rit K’hunat Olam” (a Covenant of Eternal Priesthood) for his actions by Hashem. In light of the violence and destruction that has taken place across this country in recent weeks, perhaps we should look at the role zealousness and vengeance and how they play out in today’s world.

A few years ago, I happened to be in Eretz Yisrael shortly after the bodies of Gilad Shaer, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach were found. They had been abducted and murdered by Hamas terrorists. These murders were evil and vicious, and for many of our people, they put the final nail in the coffin effectively ending any possible chance for peace between the so-called “Palestinians” and Israelis. It was not long after that the body of Mohammed Abu Kh’deir, a young “Palestinian,” was found. It was determined that young Israeli vigilantes killed this boy as an act of vengeance for the murders of the three Israeli boys. Immediately there were those who declared a moral equivalency between the actions of the “Palestinian” terrorists and the Israeli vigilantes. But was this true?

When the three Israeli boys were found murdered, “Palestinians” danced in the streets and distributed candy in celebration. When Abu Kh’deir was found, Prime Minister Netanyahu condemned the action, and the Israeli authorities promptly tracked down and arrested the perpetrators. The Israeli news media condemned the Israeli vigilantes while the “Palestinian” media mocked the disappearance and slaughter of the three Israeli teens. While there is obviously no moral equivalency between the humanity of Israeli culture and society and the savagery of Radical Islam that continues to spread like COVID-19 throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world, it is an incontrovertible truth that the death of innocents is always abhorrent and can never be tolerated in a civilized world.