This week's Torah portion deals with a number of subjects -- it begins "unfinished business" from last week's portion and goes on to make an accounting of the leaders of the tribes of Israel; it raises the question of women's rights to own property, and deals with the succession of power from Moses to Joshua. The portion concludes with the order of services or sacrifices that were offered on the holidays ordained by God in the Torah. All in all, a very intensive portion.

How much like life in our own time. Life does not come in small, easy to measure and deal with portions. Daily we are assailed by an assortment of issues, tested by a plethora of problems, and faced with a full measure of matters that need resolution. We exist in our own time and place, but we must pay the "penalty" of what has transpired before, and we must plan for what is yet to come. We must bear the responsibility for our history and our progeny. We must concern ourselves with issues at home and abroad -- in China, the Middle East, in Europe, in the former Soviet block, and in the Far East. Elections in Taiwan, Russia and here in the U.S. are of vital concern to us. How very much like this week's Torah portion!

It begins -- as every week, every aspect of life does -- with last week's unfinished business! We read about Balak and Balaam, who had been motivated by one objective: cursing the Israelites. God brought their efforts to naught, making it impossible for Balaam to say even one bad word about the Israelites. Instead, he praised them with the words we use as we enter our house of prayer, “How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your dwellings O Israel...” (24:5) So evil lost and God triumphed, we presumed...

However, the portion went on to tell us of the Israelites cohabiting with the daughters of Moab, sacrificing to their gods, feasting at their idolatrous feasts, worshipping Baal Peor. This idolatrous and adulterous misbehavior of the Israelites resulted in the wrath of God, who commanded that the leaders be hanged. Moses ordered the judges to kill all those who have joined in the worship of Baal Peor. Yet, despite the evident wrath of God, Zimri ben Salu, a Simeonite prince, flaunts his defiance - the Midrash says he even compared himself Moses, claiming that both of them had Midianite wives - and fornicated in public with his own Midianite. As a consequence, a plague broke out among the Israelites. Last week's portion ended with the words, "When Pinkhas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand." (25:7-9) Had it not been for the zealous action of Pinkhas, the plague would have continued!

Still, there are several problems with this incident. First, there was no trial. Pinkhas had taken justice into his own hands, circumventing the judicial procedure outlined in the Torah. Second, Zimri’s family could easily have sought to avenge the blood of their felled relative on this zealous cohen. After all, the Torah does not excuse killing "on moral grounds." Only accidental killing was to be forgiven. However, the text in the Torah tells us that the Lord saw things differently. To help protect Pinkhas, the Lord announced that He was entering into a “Covenant of Peace” with him. In addition to helping to protect him from any personal revenge against him, it also served to vindicate him of any legal wrongdoing and assured that he and his descendants would continue in the priesthood. Yet, the fact is that despite the Covenant of Peace he is awarded, he was not a candidate for leadership after Moses. His action is a unique response to a specific situation; it must not be construed as legitimate Jewish policy! In fact, the sages make it very clear in the Talmud and commentaries that committing such a zealous act is not recommended or condoned.

Next we read in the text a list of the heads of families, or the leaders and elders of the different families of Israel. This suggests to us that, in fact, the whole issue of the transgression of Zimri may well have been posturing for succession of leadership among the tribes of Israel. Zimri took a Midianite woman, just like Moses did. He listened to her and did things according to her upbringing. The difference between Zimri's Midianite and Moses' is their background. Tzipora, Moses' wife, was the daughter of a priest that lost his standing among his people because he came to know and worship God. Zimri's woman was called "Kozby," a name that comes from the root "kazav" which means lie! She was a daughter of the head of a clan, an ancestral house in Midian. The text continues and tells us, "The Lord said to Moses, 'Harass the Midianites, and defeat them; for they have harassed you by the trickery with which they deceived you in the affair of Peor, and in the affair of Kozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister; she was killed on the day of the plague that resulted from Peor.'" (25:16-18) Different upbringing, different results. Different men choose different wives. Some deserve to be leaders, others do not. Yet, in the same breath, we must mention Pinkhas. He, too, had his own style and his own "law." The Talmud says that the elders in his days wanted to put him on trial, because he acted without warning, witnesses, testimony, interrogation -- without "due process." The zealousness of Pinkhas is as dangerous, in its own way, as the idolatry of Zimri and Kozbi. Both must be rejected.

We see a parallel in the events relating to the succession of leadership that have taken place in Israel. Yigal Amir, that misguided religious fanatic, took the law into his own hands and killed a leader whom he thought was doing the wrong thing in the eyes of the Lord. The sages of our times, the judges of Israel, condemned his actions. No Jew can be prosecutor, judge, jury, and the agent of punishment all in one. We did not do it with our worst enemies, with Haman or Eichman -- we dare not do it with our political leaders. However, the transgression of Yigal Amir cannot buy the election of the slain leader's successor. The people of Israel have a right and an obligation to choose men who will lead them, and choose they did. In a lawful and orderly fashion, the office of prime-minister was transferred from Shimon Peres to Benyamin Netanyahu. Once again we can proudly recite, “How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your dwellings O Israel...” (24:5)

Amen

This week's Torah portion is very eclectic -- which means that it deals with a number of subjects. It is called Pinkhas, which is the name of a grandson of Aaron, the high priest. The event that propels Pinkhas to the limelight actually begins in last week's portion -- while travelling in the desert, the Israelites were cohabiting with the daughters of Moab, sacrificing to their gods, feasting at their idolatrous feasts, worshipping Baal Peor. This idolatrous and adulterous misbehavior of the Israelites resulted in the wrath of God, who commanded that the leaders be hanged. Moses ordered the judges to kill all those who have joined in the worship of Baal Peor.

Yet, despite the evident wrath of God, Zimri ben Salu, a Simeonite prince, flaunts his defiance - the Midrash says he even had the khutzpah to compare himself Moses, claiming that they both had Midianite wives - and then he went on to behave in a lewd manner, in public, with his own Midianite wife. As a consequence, a plague broke out among the Israelites. Thus, last week's portion ended with the words, "When Pinkhas son of El'azar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand." [25:7-9]

Pinkhas action, which may or may not be considered laudable, is most definitely not proper! Pinkhas took justice into his own hands, acting as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner -- circumventing the judicial procedure outlined in the Torah. Zimri’s family could easily have sought to avenge the blood of their felled relative on this zealous young priest. After all, the Torah does not excuse killing "on moral grounds." Only accidental killing was to be forgiven. However, the text in the Torah tells us that the Lord saw things differently. So we read in today's portion, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Pinkhas, the son of El'azar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel." To help protect Pinkhas, the Lord announced that He was entering into a "Covenant of Peace" with him. In addition to helping to protect him from any personal revenge against him, it also served to vindicate him of any legal wrongdoing and assured that he and his descendants would continue in the priesthood.

This "unfinished business" issue is followed by the mundane business of an accounting of the leaders of the tribes of Israel, which, in turn, is followed by the question of women's rights to own property, and deals with the succession of power from Moses to Joshua. The portion concludes with the order of services or sacrifices that were offered on the holidays ordained by God in the Torah.

I could not help but compare this week's portion to current events in the life of the people of Israel in our reborn national homeland. Pinkhas is the second generation -- born after the Israelites left Egypt. Like him, we have a leader in Israel today, Benjamin Netan'yahu, who was born after the state came into being. The Israelites got tired of being a unique people, and began to intermingle with the people they came across. The third generation Israelis, likewise, wish for no more than the simple pressures of sovereignty. They want to live in peace, free to pursue "life, liberty and happiness." In the process of this pursuit, the Israelites of old intermingled with the Medianites, followed their ways, and polluted themselves into near oblivion. Our modern Israeli counterparts have done the same. They have exposed themselves to their enemies, they have turned on one another, and they are finding the living getting not better but worse. Netan'yanu, like Pinkhas, jumped into the breach -- to try and stop the plague.

However, times are different, and the "Pinkhas solution" no longer works. Today's young leader finds himself compelled to continue the policy that draws him and his nation deeper and deeper into the vortex. Conceivably, part of his problem is the "unfinished business" nature of his agenda. He may realize full well that he is not acting in the best interest of his nation -- but he is obliged to commitments made before his coming to power. Yitzkhak Rabin, may he rest in peace, and Phin'on Peres, have taken the ship of state into the uncharted waters of coexistence with a PLO led Palestinian Authority -- and it is a shark infested waters, to be sure. Netan'yahu opposed that course of action -- but now that he is at the helm he is a prisoner of the system that has been built in the fifty years of the existence of the state -- and the fifty years of pre-state shadow government. The system is far from perfect -- as a matter of fact, it is close to impossible to navigate. Winston Churchill said that democracy is the worst system of government invented by mankind -- but better than anything else ever tried. Well, Israeli democracy is the worst that democracy can offer: multiparty, "coalition," rule that can only exist with constant compromise between parties with platforms that have nothing in common except their desire to sit at the seat of power and share in the perks that come with the position. Still, one is left wondering, how can anyone be quite as shallow, lackluster and cynical as some of the men that run for office and serve as the representative of our people. Promises are made that cannot and will not be fulfilled; deals are struck that contradict other deals and other promises. The very trappings of statehood are compromised for political expediency. The least protected citizens -- the very young and the very old -- lose ground, while the well connected receive opulent rewards that they have not earned and do not deserve. And the leader, who was never given a chance, who was never accepted -- even after winning the largest mandate to govern that any leader has ever had in Israel, lives down to the worst expectations and predictions of his many, all too many detractors. To be sure, his mandate came from the new election law -- but that law was passed legally and democratically in the administration of the party that is today in the opposition.

So Pinkhas was a hero for a day -- and Bibi is the most popular fall guy in the history of Israeli politics. Still, life goes on, and just as we read in this week's portion, women fight for their rights, there is no accounting for the leaders of Israel, and the list of the services that we find at the end of this week's portion falls victim to apathy and a sense of futility. However, we must not despair and we must not give up. God will fulfill His promise, and will bless us with peace.

Amen

A couple of summers ago, Leah and I were visiting our daughter, Tahl, in the finger-lakes area of upstate New York. We took a day trip to see some of the sights and sites in that lovely, pristine area. Before the heat of the day peaked, we came upon a marker of an historic site -- a National Park in Seneca Falls, New York, called The Women's Rights National Historical Park. We drove down a street shaded by lovely old maple and birch, silver pine and spruce trees, made a left turn and arrived at a series of small houses with the legends, 'Stanton home,' 'McClintock House,' 'Visitor Center,' and 'Education and Cultural Center' housing the Suffrage Press Printshop.

This small National Reserve, authorized by Congress on December 8, 1980, commemorates the women's struggle for equal rights, and the first Women's Rights Convention, held at the Wesleyan Chapel in Seneca Falls, N.Y. on July 19 & 20, 1848 -- exactly 150 years ago.

Three hundred women and men attended the Convention, at the conclusion of which, 68 women and 32 men signed the Declaration of Sentiments drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton. She was the driving force behind the 1848 Convention, and for the next 50 years played a leadership role in the movement for women's rights. Somewhat overshadowed in popular memory by her long time colleague Susan B. Anthony, Stanton was for many years the architect and author of the movement's most important strategies and documents. Though she became increasingly estranged from the mainstream of the movement, particularly near the end of her career, she maintained to the end her long time friendship with Anthony.

The early women's rights movement built on the principles and experiences of other efforts to promote social justice and to improve the human condition. Chief among these were the anti-slavery Abolition movement and the Temperance movement, both heavily influenced by Quaker activists. Elizabeth Cady Stanton had an early introduction to the reform movements, including encounters as a young woman with fugitive slaves at the home of her cousin Gerrit Smith. It was at Smith's home that she also met her husband, Henry Stanton in 1840. Soon after their marriage they traveled to London, where Henry Stanton was a delegate to the World Anti-Slavery Convention. There she met Lucretia Mott, the Quaker teacher who served in many of the associated Temperance, Anti-Slavery, and Women's Rights organizations with which Stanton is associated. Denied her seat at the convention, as were all the women delegates, Mott discussed with Stanton the need for a convention on women's rights. The plan came to fruition when Mott again encountered Stanton in the Summer of 1848 in the home of fellow Quaker Jane Hunt. Stanton, Mott, Wright, Hunt, and Mary Ann McClintock made the plan to call the first women's rights convention, initiating the women's rights movement, and Stanton's role as a leader in that movement. In 1851, Susan B. Anthony was staying at the home of fellow Temperance worker Amelia Bloomer, while attending an anti-slavery meeting in Seneca Falls. Stanton encountered Bloomer and Anthony on the street. She recorded the meeting in her diary as follows:

"How well I remember the day! George Thompson and William Lloyd Garrison having announced an anti-slavery meeting in Seneca Falls, Miss Anthony came to attend it. These gentleman were my guests. Walking home after the adjournment, we met Mrs. Bloomer and Miss Anthony, on the corner of the street, waiting to greet us. There she stood, with her good earnest face and genial smile, dressed in gray delaine, hat and all the same color, relieved with pale blue ribbons, the perfection of neatness and sobriety. I liked her thoroughly, and why I did not at once invite her home with me to dinner I do not know... "

History records the lasting relationship between these two women as well as the strains that resulted from their different roles and priorities. Unwilling to commit to a vigorous travel schedule until her children were grown, Stanton wrote many of her speeches for delivery by Anthony. As the years wore on the two held closely together, splitting with many other women as well as Gerrit Smith and Frederick Douglass, over the idea that suffrage for black men, after emancipation, should take precedence over suffrage for women. Along with Matilda Joslyn Gage, the two led the National Woman Suffrage Association, opposing the concept of "precedence" accepted by the less radical American Woman Suffrage Association.

Almost 30 years after the Seneca Falls Convention, Stanton and Gage authored the Declaration of Rights of the Women of the United States, which Anthony presented, uninvited, at the Centennial celebration in Washington in 1886. The Declaration was signed in the Centennial Books of the NWSA by Stanton, Anthony and Gage, as well as many later arrivals to the movement such as Virginia Minor and Lillie Devereux Blake. Also signing the original Declaration were Lucretia Mott, Mary Ann McClintock, and Amy Post, all of whom were present at the first Convention.

Elizabeth Cady Stanton died in 1902, and like Anthony and Gage, did not live to see women's suffrage in the United States. She is nonetheless regarded as one of the true major forces in the drive toward equal rights for women in the United States and throughout the world. The statue of Stanton, Mott and Anthony housed in the US Capitol was used as the symbol of the American Delegation to the 1995 Peking Conference.

This week's Torah portion, Pinkhas, from Bemidbar 25:10 to 30:1, deals with a number of subjects. It begins with "unfinished business" from last week's portion concerning the improper behavior of the wanton Midianite woman Kozby bat Tzur, and goes on, after making an accounting of the leaders of the tribes of Israel, to raise the question of women's rights to own property, in the passage about the daughters of Zelophekhad, who died in the desert leaving no male heirs.

It is interesting to note the differences between the women in the Torah: Sarah, the first Jewish mother, was supported in her right to an opinion by God Himslef, "And God said to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in your sight because of the lad, and because of your slave; in all that Sarah has said to you, listen to her voice; for in Isaac shall your seed be called." [Gen. 21:12] We are also aware that Rebecca exercised her 'rights' in the matter of her going with Abraham's servant to wed Yitzkhak, as well as the blessing of Jacob. It is much less known that Laban abrogated Leah and Rakhel's right of inheritance, as we read that when Jacob asked them if they would leave Kharan with him, "And Rachel and Leah answered and said to him, Is there yet any share or inheritance for us in our father’s house? Are we not counted by him as strangers? for he has sold us, and has quite devoured also our money." [Gen 31:14,15]

In ancient Mesopotamian society there was no discrimination between sons and daughters, as is evident in the Code of Hamurapi -- but this had changed with the rise of patriarchal society. Nakhor and Laban, though close blood relatives of Abraham, did not show the respect he had for the womenfolk in his household. Israelites differed from Egyptians in the role of women in their habitations. Moshe was trained and influenced by women: his mother, Yokheved, his sister, Miriam, his adopting mother, Pharaoh's daughter, and his wife, Tziporah. He knew that he could not rule on the rights of women in a convincing manner if he could not invoke a Godly adjucation. So, when the daughters of Zelophekhad came to him, he asked God to give the answer to their query. The text reads, "And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'the daughters of Zelophehad speak right; you shall surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers; and you shall cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a man dies, and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter.'" [Num. 27:6-8]

So the issue was resolved for the Children of Israel there and then -- but not for the world at large. The Suffrage movement had to wait for Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony and those that came after them -- and the Equal Rights Amendment could not pass even in the second half of the twentieth century! There is still much to be done before humanity will learn the lessons of the Torah, to proclaim liberty throughout the land and to ALL the inhabitants thereof -- with no distinction or discrimination between genders, creeds or lands of origin, color of skin or shape of face and body. The Fatherhood of God not only implies but dictates the brotherhood of all of His creation. May this lesson not be lost on any who seek His grace, who wish to live in peace in His world under His protection.

This week's Torah is called Pinkhas, which is the name of a grandson of Aaron, the high priest. In last week's portion we read that while traveling in the desert, the Israelites began cohabiting with the daughters of Moab, sacrificing to their gods, feasting at their idolatrous feasts, worshipping their 'god,' Baal Peor. This idolatrous and adulterous misbehavior of the Israelites resulted in the wrath of God, who commanded that the leaders be hanged. Moses ordered the judges to kill all those who have joined in the worship of Baal Peor.

Yet, despite the evident wrath of God, Zimri ben Salu, a Simeonite prince, flaunts his defiance - the Midrash says he even had the khutzpah to compare himself to Moses, claiming that they both had 'Midianite wives' -- and then he went on to behave in a lewd manner, in public, with his own Midianite wife. As a consequence, a plague broke out among the Israelites. Thus, last week's portion ended with the words, "When Pinkhas son of El'azar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand." [Num. 25:7-9]

Pinkhas' action, which may or may not be considered laudable, is most definitely not proper! Pinkhas took justice into his own hands, acting as prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner -- circumventing the judicial procedure outlined in the Torah. Zimri’s family could easily have sought to avenge the blood of their felled relative on this zealous young priest. After all, the Torah does not excuse killing "on moral grounds." Only accidental killing was to be forgiven. However, the text in the Torah tells us that the Lord saw things differently. So we read in today's portion, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, Pinkhas, the son of El'azar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for my sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jealousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my covenant of peace: And he shall have it, and his seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting priesthood; because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the children of Israel." [Numbers 25:7-13] To help protect Pinkhas, the Lord announced that He was entering into a "Covenant of Peace" with him. In addition to helping to protect him from any personal revenge against him, it also served to vindicate him of any legal wrongdoing and assured that he and his descendants would continue in the priesthood.

I would like to present to you a commentary based upon the name of this descendant of the house of Aaron. His name was only given to two men, to him and to the son of Eli, the high priest who served God before Samuel became the "seer" and prophet, the man of God who anointed both Saul and David kings over Israel. Pinkhas the priest is mentioned in the "line" of the Levites who lived in Egypt at the beginning of the time of Israel's redemption from Egypt. "And Eleazar Aaron’s son took one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bore him Pinkhas; these are the chiefs of the fathers of the Levites according to their families." [Ex. 6:25] The next time we hear about him is in last week's portion and in this week's, where the events of Zimri conclude. Pinkhas was a priest who was loved and respected, and whose zeal for God was well known. It is suggested that his name comes from two Hebrew words: "Pen" -- meaning 'lest' and "khas" -- meaning spare out of pity. The sages suggest that Pinkhas was destined to be zealous and unforgiving for the transgression that could have destroyed Israel in a critical moment of their formative years.

This behavior of Aaron's grandson is compared to Pinkhas, son of Eli the priest at Shiloh. Eli's son was far short of the mark set by his namesake, and fell victim to the loss of the Ark of the Lord to the Philistines in the days before Samuel became seer. So this other Pinkhas died in shame, and his wife, upon hearing the news, gave birth to a child, and died in childbirth, without even giving a name to her child. We read the text, "And when she was dying the women who stood by her said to her, Fear not; for you have borne a son. But she answered not, nor did she regard it. And she named the child Ikhavod (meaning no honor), saying, The glory has departed from Israel; because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father-in-law and her husband. And she said, The glory has departed from Israel; for the ark of God has been captured." [I Samuel 4:20-22] The lesson is obvious -- the second Pinkhas didn't live up to his name, and brought ignominy to Israel.

God's protection is sometimes offered by seeking peace, forgetting the hurt and the insult and learning the path of humility. But at other times, we must learn from Pinkhas, and strike without pity, to keep the tribe alive! This is what we have had to do for the survival of Judaism in the post Holocaust era, and we shall have to continue to do this until the enemy realizes that we shall not allow any more holocausts -- not to this people, not in this new era of pride and sovereignty.

This Shabbat marks five years of the terror-bombing of the Jewish Community Center in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Eighty six innocent victims died that day -- and the guilty are yet to be found to pay the penalty for this dastardly deed. Let us hope that the Argentine government and police will soon remedy this situation. The victim's blood calls to us out of the earth, "Remember! Zakhor!" If their blood is not 'paid for,' they shall not have rest nor honor. Jewish blood is not 'hefker' -- free for the taking.

God's covenant still holds, God is faithful, and the People Israel will yet see a day of peace and contentment. We should never lose sight of this promise, we should never give up hope -- God is faithful, He will fulfill His promise.

Amen

Pinkhas 5761

This week’s Torah portion is from the book of Bamidbar, Numbers, chapter twenty five, verse ten to chapter thirty, verse two. It is called Pinkhas, which is the name of a grandson of Aaron, the high priest. We first heard his name in the sixth chapter of the book of Shmot, Exodus, where the leaders of the House of Israel are mentioned, and Aaron and his sons are mentioned as Levites. "And Eleazar Aaron’s son took one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bore him Pinkhas; these are the chiefs of the fathers of the Levites according to their families." [Ex. 6:25]

Our portion deals with a number of subjects, from an accounting of the leaders of the tribes of Israel, to the question of women's rights to own property, to the succession of power from Moses to Joshua, and finally it concludes with the order of services or sacrifices that were offered on the holidays ordained by God in the Torah.

It starts, though, with Pinkhas. It starts, actually, with events we read about in last week’s portion, where we were told of the Israelites cohabiting with the daughters of Moab, sacrificing to their gods, feasting at their idolatrous feasts, worshiping Baal Peor. This idolatrous and adulterous misbehavior of the Israelites resulted in the wrath of God, who commanded that the leaders be hanged. Moses ordered the judges to kill all those who have joined in the worship of Baal Peor. Yet, despite the evident wrath of God, Zimri ben Salu, a Simeonite prince, flaunts his defiance - the Midrash says he even compared himself Moses, claiming that both of them had Midianite wives - and acted in a lewd manner in public with his Midianite woman. As a consequence, a plague broke out among the Israelites. Last week's portion ended with the words, "When Pinkhas son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he got up and left the congregation. Taking a spear in his hand, he went after the Israelite man into the tent, and pierced the two of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. So the plague was stopped among the people of Israel. Nevertheless those that died by the plague were twenty-four thousand." [Ex. 25:7-9] Had it not been for the zealous action of Pinkhas, the plague would have continued!

It is not easy being a Jew... What a cliche this line is - and yet, how true, and for so long! It was not easy in the days of Moshe - not easy to be Moshe, or to be Zimri ben Salu, a Simeonite prince, who wanted nothing more than to have a little good time with a local belle. How long do Jews have to suffer in the desert before arriving at the Promised Land? How long must we live with the tension of war threats from every conceivable corner, from foes and perceived foes, and those who pretend to be friends but are known to be less than honest admirers of the seed of Abraham.

How little things have changed in thirty five hundred years! The sons of Edom and Median are still trying to tempt us with the illusion of peace and friendship while they distort our heritage and attempt to wipe us off the face of God’s earth! "Dear God," goes an obscure prayer, "guard me from those who love me. I can protect myself against my enemies all by myself!" We have put our faith in foreign lords, governments and utopian idealists all too many times - to be disappointed and betrayed time and again. Yet we still hope, we still want to believe, and we still fall into the trap.

Take the United Nations. Please...

No, I am not Henny Youngman, and this is not a joke. The United Nations was founded for the purpose of preventing war and violence in the world. They have dispatched observers to the far corners of our planet to stop warfare and ameliorate human suffering. There has only been one place where they have not been honest brokers - in the dispute between the Arabs and Israel. We can all recall how they allowed member nations to threaten the peace and the very existence of Israel on the day of its establishment; how they dragged their feet when the Arabs claimed to be winning the battle and hurried to insist on a cease-fire when Israel’s defenders were winning the battles; how, in years of limbo they passed resolution after resolution condemning Israel for violence and closing their eyes to Arab terror and subterfuge, international banditry and mayhem; how they removed the umbrella protecting Israel’s southern flank, placed there after the 1956 Sinai campaign - precisely at the moment of Israel’s greatest vulnerability, when Egypt, Syria and Jordan formed their military alliance for the purpose of reversing the 1948 "predicament" of Israel’s creation.

Some nine months ago, the Lebanese terrorist organization, Hisbullah, supported and aided by Syria and Iran, kidnaped three Israeli soldiers. No news about them has been given, and even the International Red Cross has not been allowed to visit them and ascertain their condition. It has recently been discovered that the kidnaping was made possible by collusion and collaboration of U.N. truce observers in Lebanon with the terrorists. It has been found that the Hisbullah perpetrators were wearing U.N. uniforms, driving vehicles with U.N. tags - and were aided by some U.N. observers - while other U.N. observers who saw the event unfold chose not to interfere or even report what took place. Further, it seems that there was a videotape taken of the operation, and this tape was sent to U.N. headquarters in N.Y. - but Israel was refused access to this film, which may help its investigation of the incident and prevention of its repetition.

So much for trusting the international organization. So much for justice and fair play. "Guard me from those who love me. I can protect myself against my enemies all by myself!" I hope next time we will know better. In light of this event, and many others that preceded it, one should understand why Pinkhas acted with such determination. There was a plague infesting the body Israel, and only radical surgery could eliminate the danger. Likewise these days, we must be aware that we have to protect ourselves in a world that is far from just and fair and decent.

God helps those who help themselves. We need to keep our spirit pure, our hands clean of the blood of innocents. However, we do not have to shirk away from the duty of self defense - and if innocent bystanders fall victim to our acts of self defense - let the originators and perpetrators of violence know that they have the responsibility for the consequences of their actions. There is no "cycle of violence." There is "crime and punishment." There are those who seek peace with all their hearts, and may God bless and preserve the peace makers and peace seekers. However, as long as there are those who seek to pervert justice and prevent peace we must remain vigil and ready to act decisively, as Pinkhas did.

Pinkhas 5762