Pinechas – Action and Reward/2

Pinechas – Action and Reward

Exegetical Approaches

Overview

Vigilante Justice

Pinechas acts outside of the judicial system, taking the law into his own hands when he kills Zimri. This position subdivides...

Pinechas Leads the Way

Pinechas is the first to punish any of the worshippers of Baal Peor. His killing of Zimri paves the way for others to punish the rest of the offenders.

Sources: PhiloOn the Life of Moshe I:LVAbout Philo, JosephusAntiquities 4:6:9-12About Josephus,

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Pinechas Acts as a קנאי

Pinechas takes on the role of a "zealot", the special circumstances of which allows one to act without due process of law.

Sources: Yerushalmi SanhedrinSanhedrin 9:7About the Yerushalmi, Bavli SanhedrinSanhedrin 82aAbout the Bavli, Targum Pseudo-JonathanBemidbar 25:4-13About Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, RashiBemidbar 25:3-13About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, RalbagBemidbar 25:3Bemidbar 23-25 Toalot 13-16Bemidbar 25 Toelet 1About R. Levi b. Gershon, Netziv

Zimri's sin – These commentators connect Zimri's sin to that of the rest of the nation, but emphasize the aspect of his illicit relations with a non-Jew over the idolatry. Most of these exegetes¹ add a component of rebellion to his actions as well, having Zimri question the decision to kill the offenders, and/or asking Moshe why consorting with a Midyanite is problematic, if after all Moshe, himself, had married Tzipporah,² also a Midyanite.³

The judges' role – According to most of these commentators,⁴ Hashem commanded Moshe to set up judges to punish those who had sinned with Baal Peor.⁵ Though it is not explicit in the text, Rashi and Ralbag maintain that they did in fact do so, and had at least begun to punish the worshipers before Pinechas' actions.⁶

Why were the judges' actions insufficient? – Zimri's public and defiant act called for its own retribution.

Why was Pinchas permitted to act on his own?

• In accord with halakhah – According to all of these commentators,⁷ Pinchas was acting according to the law that a zealot is allowed to kill one who is engaging in sexual activity with a non Jew, while they are in the midst of the act - "הבועל את הנכרית קנאין פוגעין בו".⁸
• Prevent a desecration of Hashem – Shemuel in the Bavli and the Netziv add that Pinchas took matters into his own hands and did not consult first with Moshe since this was a חילול ה' and quick action was needed to prevent any further desecration.
• Prevent punishment – According to R. Yitzchak in the Bavli, Pinechas saw that the angel of death was beginning to destroy the nation and decided to act so as to save the nation from punishment.

Why didn't Moshe act?

Why did Pinchas' act stop the plague? –

• According to Rashi, Ralbag and Netziv, the plague was a response to the idolatrous acts of the nation at large. If so, and the perpetrators of that sin were already punished by the judges, it is not clear why the plague only stopped once Pinechas acted.⁹
• According to Bavli Sanhedrin and Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, it is not clear when the plague started, and whether it was in response to the idolatrous actions of the nation or just the sin of Zimri. It is possible that Hashem had commanded the killing of the idolaters to assuage His wrath but had not personally punished anyone;¹⁰ only after Zimri's defiant act, did He do so. Thus, punishing Zimri specifically was necessary to stop the deaths. According to the Bavli, Zimri was accompanied by 24 thousand men from his own tribe, implying that it was these men (rather than the larger nation) who were killed.

Pinchas' priestly reward – According to all these commentators Pinechas was rewarded with some new status:

• Perpetual priesthood – Bavli Sanhedrin¹¹ maintains that Pinechas was promised that the priesthood would always remain in his family.¹²
• High Priesthood – Ralbag and Targum Pseudo Jonathan assert that Pinechas was promised a promotion, that he and is descendants would be the high priests.¹³
• Priest – According to Rashi, until this point Pinechas was not a priest at all. Only those anointed with Aharon and their descendants to be born thereafter had been given the position. Pinchas who had already been born at the time had missed out.

הִנְנִי נֹתֵן לוֹ אֶת בְּרִיתִי שָׁלוֹם – Targum Pseudo-Jonathan asserts that this is a promise of eternal life¹⁴ while Netziv suggests that Hashem was granting Pinechas the inner trait of peace. Since the act of killing, however justified, has the potential to change someone's character, Pinchas was promised that he would not become quick to anger but instead have a calm demeanor.¹⁵

Crux of the position –

Following Orders

When Pinechas killed Zimri, he was simply heeding the command of Moshe to kill those who had participated in the sin of Baal Peor. This approach subdivides regarding what differentiated Pinechas from other leaders in Israel:

Pinechas Alone was Loyal to Moshe

The other judges were either unwilling or unable to carry out the killings. Only Pinechas did not hesitate to fulfill Moshe's directive, and garnered the courage to stab the offenders.

Sources: SifreBalak 131About Sifre, ChizkuniBemidbar 25:6-13About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach, SefornoBemidbar 25:4,8,11-13About R. Ovadyah Seforno, Hoil MosheBemidbar 25:4,6,12-13About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi

Zimri's sin –

The judges's role –

Why didn't the judges act? –

Why didn't Moshe act?

Was Pinchas a judge? –

What would have happened if Pinchas did not act? –

Pinchas' reward –

Crux of the position –

Pinechas Killed the Worst Offender

Though other judges also heeded Moshe's command and punished the offenders, it was Pinechas' deed which assuaged Hashem's wrath because he killed Zimri, the most public and esteemed of the wrongdoers.

Sources: ??Ibn EzraBemidbar 25:4-13About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, AbarbanelBemidbar 25:1Bemidbar 25:12 QuestionsBemidbar 25:12About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel,

Zimri's sin –

The judges's role –

Why didn't the judges act? –

Why didn't Moshe act?

Was Pinchas a judge? –

What would have happened if Pinchas did not act? –

Pinchas' reward –

Crux of the position –

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Sources: Bavli SanhedrinSanhedrin 35aAbout the Bavli, TanchumaBalak 19About the Tanchuma, R. Yosef Bekhor ShorBemidbar 25:6, 11-12About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, RambanBemidbar 25:5Bemidbar 25:12-13About R. Moshe Nachmanides, ShadalBemidbar 25:6,13About R. S.D. Luzzatto,

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¹ Netziv is the exception.

² To read more about Moshe's marriage to Tzipporah, see Moshe and Zipporah's Marriage.

³ Thus, though these commentators do not explicitly say that Zimri was worshiping idolatry through his cohabiting with Kosbi, they present Zimri acting as a representative of his tribe, clearly connecting his actions and themisdeeds of the people.

⁴ Yerushalmi Sanhedrin does not address the issue.

⁵ The word "אוֹתָם" in Hashem's directive does not refer back to the phrase "רָאשֵׁי הָעָם" in the earlier part of the verse, but rather to the Israelites of the verse before. According to this read, the term "שֹׁפְטֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" of verse 5 refers to the same people as the "רָאשֵׁי הָעָם" of verse 4, and Moshe fulfills the command exactly as directed.

⁶ Bavli Sanhedrin mentions the convening of the courts, but does not say explicitly whether anyone had yet carried out the killings.

⁷ It is unclear if Shemuel and R. Yitzchak in the Bavli disagree with Rav and do not think that this is a case of "קנאין פוגעין בו", or if they are simply adding a second possibility to explain Pinchas' actions.

⁸ Rav in the Bavli and Rashi add that, before acting, Pinchas sought the approval of Moshe who did not tell him explicitly to kill the couple but suggested that it was the right thing to do.This is in accordance with the law that states that though a person viewing such a deed might act on his own zealousness, an authoritative figure may not tell him explicitly to kill.

⁹ When commanding the judges to punish the people, Moshe says that in doing so "וְיָשֹׁב חֲרוֹן אַף ה' מִיִּשְׂרָאֵל", suggesting that no more would be needed to stop the plague.

¹⁰ Though the end of the plague is explicit in the verses, there is no mention of when it began.

¹¹ See also the first possibility raised by Ralbag who suggests that this is actually a promise that his blood line will perpetuate, and therefore that their will always be priests from his descendants.

¹² This position is picking up on the word "עוֹלָם".

¹³ The two see in this reward a measure for measure component. Since Pinchas atoned for others, he will continue to be able to do so. In addition, since he killed Zimri in the gut, that portion of sacrifices will be his in the role of priest. This specific suggestion might in part be motivated by the fact that Pinchas and his descendants were in fact high priests. Ralbag points out that the fact that there are known to be some high priests from other lines does not refute this possibility, since the promise could have been conditional.

¹⁴ a better textual hook for this idea might be the words בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם, that Pinechas will somehow manage to be a priest forever.

¹⁵ This, too, is measure for measure. Pinchas had calmed Hashem's wrath so, now Hashem is ensuring that Pinchas himimself not be filled with anger.