Parshas Pinchas

In this week's parsha, we find the story of Pinchas, who was the epitome of zeal on behalf of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. With one zealous act, he curbed Hashem's anger, and ended the plague that was raging through Klal Yisroel. The obvious question is, what was the source of this unusual display of courage? How did Pinchas have the fortitude to rise above the level of those around him, and do what no one else was brave enough to do?

The answer is that unfortunately, most people do not act according to what is right, but rather according to the way they feel society dictates they should. Even if people know that something is wrong, they will not speak out against it and protest it if they feel that people will look down upon them for taking the unpopular side. Pinchas, on the other hand, acted according to what was right, not what was popular. Pinchas realized that the situation called for an "out of the box" approach and took action accordingly, despite the risk that people would look upon him as a fanatic. He didn't care what people thought - his only concern was to do what was right, for the kavod of Hakadosh Baruch Hu. In fact, the pasuk does not say "tachas asher kino l'Elokim" (merely "to G-d"), but rather "l'Elokav" ("to his G-d"). Because in this case, his devotion to Hashem was singular to him. He was the only one who took a stand for what he felt was right, without factoring in the opinion of the rest of the world.

Taking action the way Pinchas did can only come from a very deep sense of devotion to Hashem. That's why we say the halacha in such a case is that although "kano'im pogim bo" (kano'im may take matters into their own hands, and administer vigilante justice), nevertheless "v'ein morim kein" (we do not instruct people to do so) - an act like that cannot be planned or rehearsed; rather, by definition, it must be spontaneous and unexpected. It must come from deep within a person, from a natural revulsion toward evil and a desire to do the right thing. That is why although the parshiyos of Chukas and Balak (the parshiyos immediately preceding Pinchas) may be paired as a "double-parsha", as well as Matos and Masei (the parshiyos immediately following Pinchas), the parsha of Pinchas always stands alone. It is to remind us that Pinchas is unique. His parsha is always by itself to highlight his individuality.

We each have challenges in our lives that we face. We must learn from Pinchas not to merely "follow the herd", but rather to make our own choices. We must always rise to the occasion, and do what we know is right.