בס''ד
From the ensuing reward
that Pinchos received, it was patently clear that his act, in which he ended
the lives of two people, was both noble and appropriate. However, when it first came to light what had
occurred, there were many who tried to discredit Pinchos highlighting some of
his more questionable ancestry, specifically the fact that some of his
antecedents had engaged in idol worship.
Therefore the Torah itself underlines the fact that he was the son of
Elozor who was in turn “the son of Aharon the Kohen”. All that remains is to understand what it was
exactly those who were vilifying him were insinuating by their disparaging
remarks and in what way the Torah nullifies these defamers.
Like it or not, we are all made up of components
of our parentage. This is not to say
that there is no uniqueness that is entirely us within our make up, but our
personality traits are to a great extent defined by the family into which we
were born. Some have more of one parent
than another, whilst others seem entirely composed of only one side, but in
general some of our strongest attributes can be linked to where we come
from. In the case of Pinchos, those who
maligned him tried to identify his pagan bloodline as the core contributing
factor to his act. That way of life that
was so imbedded within a culture of cruelty and bloodlust, was what was really
taking place within his behaviour. The
Torah therefore vindicates him by testifying to the fact that in truth the
motivation behind Pinchos’s act stemmed from being a descendent of Aharon, the
greatest lover of peace and the greatest proponent of unity.
When we look at ourselves and those around us,
there are surely qualities that we admire but perhaps some that we are averse
to. The question is what to do about it,
specifically where we do have sway, such as with our children and of course
with us? To try to quash those parts of the
character that are so deeply ingrained may be an exercise in futility and indeed
counterproductive. Rather what we should
be doing is trying to channel those attributes in positive ways in a context
where it can be utilised for good. Pinchos
himself may have had a genetically inherited desire for bloodshed, but using
his instinct for peace, he manipulated it towards this heroic action. If a child is stubborn, don’t berate them for
it or try to knock it out of them, rather value who they are and encourage them
to use that strength for tenacity in doing that which is right, no matter how
great an opposition to it. If there is a
fire that burns within someone that can overspill in a harmful manner, let them
use that fire to ignite themselves and others towards the truth. Hashem has blessed us all with tools that,
like all tools, can be used to destroy or create. Let’s try to ensure we use them in the way He
intended.
*May we
utilise the gift of Shabbos only for the good*
לעילוי נשמת לאה בת אברהם
לרפואה שלימה: שרה יעל בת
ברכה אסתר
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