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Strength, Courage, and Pride

 

Parashat Pinhas continues the story that we began reading at the end of the previous parashah, Parashat Balak.  After Bilam was unsuccessful in his attempt to place a curse upon Beneh Yisrael, he suggested to the king of Moav a different tactic for destroying them – to send the women of Moav and Midyan to lure Beneh Yisrael to immorality and idol-worship.  Tragically, the plan worked.  Hashem delivered a plague that killed 24,000 men among Beneh Yisrael who sinned with the women of Moav and Midyan.  The plague stopped only when Pinhas – the grandson of Aharon Ha'kohen – stood up and killed two public violators, a man from Beneh Yisrael and a woman from Midyan.

 

At the beginning of our parashah, the Torah names these two people whom Pinhas killed – Zimri, a leader of the tribe of the Shimon; and Kozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midyan.

 

When naming the man who was killed, the Torah says: ושם איש ישראל המוכה אשר הוכה את המדינית – "And the name of the slain man from Yisrael, who was slain together with the Midyanite..." (25:14).

 

The Keli Yakar points out that the Torah here twice mentions that Zimri was killed: איש ישראל המוכה אשר הוכה.  This seems unnecessarily repetitive, as though Zimri was killed twice.

 

The explanation might be that Zimri was already "dead" even before Pinhas killed him – because, despite his position of leadership, he went along with the crowd, he followed the tide.  Rather than muster the strength to oppose the scandalous behavior – like Pinhas did – Zimri decided to go along with it, to participate, to be "one of the guys."

 

When a person lacks the courage to stand up for his values and principles, if he is just swept away by the current, he surrenders his individuality.  He loses his "life" – his uniqueness, his purpose and his mission.

 

How did Pinhas muster this strength and courage?  Where did he find the inner resolve and conviction to go against the tide?

 

The answer is found in the way the Torah introduces Pinhas: פינחס בן אלעזר בן אהרון הכהן – "Pinhas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon Ha'kohen." 

 

Rashi, at the beginning of our parsha, writes that the Torah here is emphasizing Pinhas' distinguished lineage.  The people were questioning Pinhas' right to do such an act, since his maternal grandfather was an idol-worshipper.  Hashem therefore emphasized that Pinhas was also the grandson of Aharon, the great tzadik.

 

Pinhas felt pride in his family background, in his belonging to a family of righteous people.  The rest of the nation was acting one way – but he was too proud in who he was, in what his family stood for, to participate.  This pride is what gave him the strength and the courage to resist the tide.

 

Parents need to ensure that their children take pride in their family's "brand," in what their family represents.  In order to resist the social pressures that they will, undoubtedly, face, they need this sense of pride to anchor them in place, to help them set firm, inviolable boundaries, to know that there are things they don't do, places they don't go, and activities they don't get involved in.  And parents engender this pride by making it clear what their "brand" is, what their family is about, what they stand for, and what values they hold dear.

- Joey Haber

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