Shabbos Parashas Pinchas - 5775

Shabbos Parashas Pinchas - 5775

Rabbi Hal Miller

Harass the Midianites and smite them; for they harassed you through their

conspiracy that they conspired against you in the matter of Peor and in the matter

of Cozbi, daughter of the leader of Midian, their sister, who was slain on the day of

the plague, in the matter of Peor. [Bamidbar 25:17-18]

Balak and Balaam represented Moab. The women who lured the Jews into immorality

and idolatry were from Moab. Yes, Hashem had forbidden us to attack Moab, but why

are we now commanded to attack Midian? What did Midian do to deserve destruction?

Our verses come immediately after the incident where Pinchas kills Zimri, a high-ranking

Jewish official, and Cozbi, a princess of Midian. One could think that this incident was

the sole reason for the command to destroy Midian. But there had to have been more to

it. Nechama Leibowitz recognizes that the Cozbi incident could not have been the basis

for this directive. "On the surface this command to harass a people offends our moral

susceptibilities, especially when we are used to the 'ways of peace' that are the keynote

of the Torah." Thus a simple criminal act would not justify in our taking severe punishment

action against the whole nation.

For Rav Hirsch, the Cozbi incident was an extension of the Moabite women situation.

It was not a single woman leading a single man astray, but more of the same thing.

Ramban points at the "conspiracy" wording as proof of this. Many Moabite women had

just led many Jewish men to idolatry, now the Midianites were jumping in with the same

tactic. Midian would not be doing this unless they had some grand plan, meaning

attacking the Jews.

Some point out that Balak himself was actually a Midianite who moved to Moab to take

command after their leadership melted in the face of Israel. Some point out that it was

the Midianites who came up with the plan to have Moabite women seduce the Jews.

Some point to our verse, where the wording tells us that Cozbi was considered a sister

to all of the Midianites, thus they wanted to make a revenge attack once she was killed.

But none of these reasons call for the draconian measures of our verse.

As Leibowitz notes, "This was the second people the Israelites encountered on their

journey from Egypt to the promised land whom they were ordered by G-d to do harm to.

The first people were the Amalekites, whom Israel was ordered to wipe out. The Midianites

were to be 'harassed'." This leads us to a natural comparison between the two. She

continues, "It may be said that Amalek threatened the body of the people, while Midian

threatened its soul. The strength and continued vitality of the Jewish people stem from the

purity of its family life. Our Sages interpreted Balaam's design as aimed chiefly at

undermining this."

What separates us from the rest of the world is moral integrity, evidenced by family

values. All nations claim that, but none go so far that even our enemies are forced to,

begrudgingly, respect us for it. Case in point, the "Ma tovu" paragraph we say each

morning, that was first pronounced by Balaam in last week's parsha. The Midianites

were a direct threat to that family purity, and had to be forcibly removed from the scene.

Like Pharaoh of Egypt, some people refuse to acknowledge G-d, even when faced

with undeniable evidence of His presence. The effect of those people can tear apart

the very soul of innocent others. We must eradicate that effect wherever it may be found

in order to preserve our own souls.