Pinchas

Pinchas - Stewart Brookes

Stewart Brookes has a PhD in English literature from King's College London, and researches biblical textualities in the medieval period.

As I write this, nearly a year has passed since the July bombings in London. And, with that in mind, I find myself especially disturbed by the fanatic zeal which leads Pinchas to kill the lovers Zimri (an Israelite prince) and Cozbi (a princess of Midian). A modern reflex is to try to find a justification for acts of religious extremism, to understand, even mitigate. In fact, I'm guilty of that already, for I've made the assumption that this is violence in the name of religion. The biblical narrative doesn't tell us that directly, it simply says that Pinchas stands up from the people and follows the pair into the chamber where he kills them with a spear. Pinchas says nothing of his motivation: he is a man of action, not words. The context is clear enough, however, which is that the Israelites are practising idolatry and have provoked God. The effect of Pinchas's action is spelt out in the opening lines of the parasha:

'The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Pinchas, son of Elazar son of Aaron the priest has turned back my wrath from the Israelites by displaying his zealousness for me, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in my zealousness. Say, therefore, "I grant him my covenant of peace (brit shalom)."' (Numbers 25:10-12)

The fact that such a statement is required is, in itself, telling. Pinchas has stepped outside the law, and the Jerusalem Talmud records that he would have been excommunicated were it not for the divine proclamation (Tractate Sanhedrin 9.7). Indeed, the whole passage is geared toward defending Pinchas from potential attack: his genealogy is recited as a source of merit; God explains that Pinchas has saved the Jewish people from greater suffering; and, finally, he is granted the reward of 'brit shalom'.

It is striking that the reward for violence is peace. The two seem to stand in direct opposition to each other. Rashi (11th century commentator) notes that God is thankful to Pinchas who has done him a favour and so expresses feelings of friendship. The favour in question is that Pinchas has found a way (albeit through violent means) to heal the rift between God and the Israelites and thus prevents further loss of life. Violence invariably triggers retaliation, however, and another way of reading the 'brit shalom' is as God's call for a multi-faceted truce: Zimri's relatives must not seek revenge against Pinchas (Ibn Ezra, 12th century commentator); there will be peace between God and the Jewish people; and Pinchas must recognise that this is a one-off act, to be contained not repeated. In regard to that last, the Netziv (19th century rabbi, Naphtali Tzvi Yehudah Berlin) comments that the 'brit shalom' is a necessary healing rather than a reward. Pinchas is granted an inner peace in order to help him get over the self-destructive consequences of his violence.

In the haftara from the Book of Kings which is in some years paired with Parashat Pinchas, we see another zealot, Elijah, suffer just such self-destructive consequences. After he slaughters the 450 prophets of Baal, Elijah enters a state of extreme despair, wishing to die. When God asks him what he is doing, Elijah replies: 'I am moved by zeal for the Lord - for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant (brit)' (1 Kings 19.10). God tries to show Elijah that there is another way: the famous sound and light show of the mighty wind, earthquake, and fire - none of which are God - followed by the 'still, small voice'. But Elijah is not open to the message and repeats his earlier statement. In effect, Elijah is stuck. All he knows is how to be a zealot and, as a consequence, he's no longer for this world.

Elijah has a very different afterlife. He is a figure of comfort and consolation. He is Elijah whom we await at the Seder table. The Elijah who once doubted the Israelites' adherence to the brit (covenant) is called to witness every Brit Milah (circumcision). He is the Elijah we invoke with the merry little jingle 'Eliahu HaNavi' after Havdalah. But what of Pinchas the zealot? With his blessing of peace, he finds a way to live in this world. In the Book of Joshua we see him face a similar crisis over idolatry, but this time he speaks before he acts and he is able to avert a serious war between the tribes of Israel (Joshua 22). Unlike Elijah, he has learnt that peace comes not through violence, but through conversation.