The tale is told of the traveling maggid, who roamed from shtetl to shtetl, trying to make a meager living each week. He was not a particularly learned man, but he was smart in the ways of the world. So, in each new community, having persuaded the elders that his words of Torah were worthy of some of the community's funds, he would stand before the congregation on Shabbat morning and quote a pasuk from that week's Torah portion. Then he would pause, stroke his beard sagely, and with the words "That reminds me of an important lesson from Par'shat Pinchas…" and off he'd go, with his one "canned" drash.
Last week, as we ended Balak, we read of Pinchas – a grandson of Aharon the Kohen, but not an appointed leader of B'nai Yisrael in any other way – stepping up and stabbing through the belly both an Israelite prince (Zimri, a prince of the tribe of Shimeon) and a Midianite princess (Cozbi) with a single spear thrust. (As this is a family d'var torah, dear reader, I will let you figure out for yourself what the two of them were doing that enabled Pinchas to impale them both in this manner on a single spear…)
The text of Torah itself is clear: "vaTeyahtzar hamageyfah mey'al b'nei yisrael – then the plague against the Israelites was checked"; continuing in this parasha, Pinchas, we read "Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon haKohen hayshiv et chamati mey'al b'nei yisrael…l'chen emor Hineni noteyn lo et b'riti shalom – Pinchas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon haKohen has turned back My wrath from the Israelites…therefore I grant him My pact of friendship.". The pshat – the plain meaning – is that the plague rampant through the people in punishment for their idol worship had been halted by the force of Pinchas' act, and for sparing God the difficult task of punishing Israel, Pinchas was rewarded.
We all know, though, that the pshat is not enough. What do commentators say of Pinchas? In the Hertz chumash, the editor notes "By his promptness and righteous zeal, Pinchas stayed the moral plague that threatened to destroy the character of Israel…inspired by motives absolutely pure and holy, he is certainly a counterpart of [Elijah]."
Note that Pinchas, in the text, is specifically referred to as a grandson of Aharon. Aharon, the High Priest, is both Ohev Shalom – a lover of peace – and Rodef Shalom – a pursuer of peace. The Chatam Sofer writes that sometimes, in order to make peace, a person must be Rodef Shalom – but that is translated as to chase away the peace. Rabbi Yissocher Frand of the Ner Israel Rabbinical College writes that "Sometimes you need to protest 'This is not Emes [True], and I have to give up Shalom [Peace] for Emes [Truth].'" We, in our day, saw in the killing of Yitzchak Rabin the dangers of one person taking upon himself the mantle of deciding how to treat a rodef – a pursuer. And yet, that type of zealotry still draws praise today.
Is there no place in this world for zealotry?
After all, many of us at the Library Minyan consider ourselves zealous in our commitment to our Judaism. By our acts, we forcefully advocate a position that has detractors on all sides. And, as we look to other segments of the Jewish community, we see many who share the depth of our commitments – but to their own beliefs, practices and causes.
Is only one of us right? No. I would say that zealotry does, in fact, have a place – but its place is limited, and its ardor must be focused.
Look back at the tale of the traveling maggid. Any humor in that story is dependent, in large part, on the sense that communities were separate from each other. They would not share experiences, let alone people, on a constant basis. That world, of course, is different from the world in which we live. We are Jews, we are Americans. We are Californians; somewhere, I'm still a New Yorker too. Some of us live in Beverlywood, others in Beverly Hills or Carthay or elsewhere. We are of the community of Temple Beth Am, but also maybe of the Pressman Academy community or, as kids grow older, of Milken or of Shalhevet or of New Jew. At the same time, there are those in our communities who also have feet firmly planted in other communities – at Ikar, or at Pico Egal or at B'nai David Judea.
Several of the communities that join together in this neighborhood were brought together in tragedy recently. As a parent, I cannot begin to comprehend the life-changing anguish that would come from the sudden, tragic and accidental death of a child. Too many have suffered that, and the death of even one more child is too much more.
We saw, in this tragedy, a different kind of zealotry – a truly rewardable zealotry. People from all over the Beverlywood and Pico-Robertson communities changed their plans and made time in their live to pray with a family in pain, to sustain their bodies, to try to restore their spirits. And, when medical knowledge was not enough, there was a funeral and now a shiva, and soon months and years of finding a new way to live.
Food was brought to hospital waiting rooms, and now to a shiva home. Prayers said; tehillim read. Study sessions held, minyanim organized. Young children, who should not have to know about their peers experiencing losses like this, have bravely gone to be with their friends to bring back some of the proper joys of a childhood summer.
These zealots came from Congregation B'nai David Judea, from Temple Beth Am, and from other congregations; the children attend Harkham, and Maimonides and Pressman and other schools, Jewish and not Jewish. Some are followers of a way we call Orthodox; some in a way we call Egalitarian or Conservative. Some are called Rabbi – both men and women – but most are not. They work together, side by side, doing what comforts this family, rather than what might be comforting to those trying to help. These many zealots have pushed to the side so many of the differences between them, to focus on their common commitment to comforting this family.
So, if that's zealotry, I'm all for it. We can all argue about whether Pinchas could have taken another course of action. But if the reward for Pinchas was God's brit shalom – the covenant of peace – how much greater should be the reward for these zealots, who bring sustenance and healing to a family in their misery?