Thursday, July 9, 2015
Parshas Pinchas: Do what you have to do and don't worry what others say!
10:24 PM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
"Now the name of the man of Yisrael that was slain with the Midyanite woman was Zimri, the son of Salu, a prince of a father's house among the Shimoni" (Numbers 23:14)
The Torah tells us that not only did Pinchas kill these two people because of the terrible desecration of G-d's name but Zimri was none other than a prince of the tribe of Shimon. The Talmud tells us that there were a number of miracles that occurred for Pinchas when he did this but had Zimri killed, he would have been justified in what he did as the Torah tells us that if someone comes to kill you, you can defend yourself and kill him if need be!
This is an incredible lesson for us to learn. Pinchas acts for the sake of heaven in this situation to the extent that he could have been killed for his actions and his death would have justified! That being the case, we have a lot to gain from Pinchas's actions.
How many times have we been put in situations that we have had to strengthen ourselves and adhere by the standards of the Torah only to be made fun of or other difficulties associated with it. The Torah teaches us that we must adhere to its standards even if it is hard or may cause us other problems.
We have to keep ourselves upright and do what G-d wants us to, to the best of our ability even though there will be forces against us that want us to capitulate to societies standards or to go with the flow and compromise. There are times when we may have to compromise but it can't be at the extent of taking Jewish law and turning it into a pretzel, making it "fit" in to our lifestyle or "adapting" it for the times!
How many times do we hear that we don't have to be so stringent or that we can lower our standards for other things. Yes we have to live in this world but there are standards that G-d has for us that we must adhere to! It is like being in a standard army; there is a commander and a commandee!
G-d is our commander and He has given us a blueprint for us that will lead us to develop a connection to Him! This gives us the ability to reach our true potential by fulfilling the mitzvos! The more we learn about them and incorporate them into our lives the more meaning it will have for us!
The Torah is about action and implementing its timeless lessons. If we learn it like any other subject, then it is just mental gymnastics that has no intrinsic meaning, just studying another academic topic!
As we go further into the three weeks and the nine days, we realize more than ever that the most important thing we are lacking in this world is that we do not see G-d's presence directly. The more we do and grow brings G-d's presence back to this world.
May we do what we need to do and help bring the Messiah speedily in our days!
Shabbat Shalom
The Torah tells us that not only did Pinchas kill these two people because of the terrible desecration of G-d's name but Zimri was none other than a prince of the tribe of Shimon. The Talmud tells us that there were a number of miracles that occurred for Pinchas when he did this but had Zimri killed, he would have been justified in what he did as the Torah tells us that if someone comes to kill you, you can defend yourself and kill him if need be!
This is an incredible lesson for us to learn. Pinchas acts for the sake of heaven in this situation to the extent that he could have been killed for his actions and his death would have justified! That being the case, we have a lot to gain from Pinchas's actions.
How many times have we been put in situations that we have had to strengthen ourselves and adhere by the standards of the Torah only to be made fun of or other difficulties associated with it. The Torah teaches us that we must adhere to its standards even if it is hard or may cause us other problems.
We have to keep ourselves upright and do what G-d wants us to, to the best of our ability even though there will be forces against us that want us to capitulate to societies standards or to go with the flow and compromise. There are times when we may have to compromise but it can't be at the extent of taking Jewish law and turning it into a pretzel, making it "fit" in to our lifestyle or "adapting" it for the times!
How many times do we hear that we don't have to be so stringent or that we can lower our standards for other things. Yes we have to live in this world but there are standards that G-d has for us that we must adhere to! It is like being in a standard army; there is a commander and a commandee!
G-d is our commander and He has given us a blueprint for us that will lead us to develop a connection to Him! This gives us the ability to reach our true potential by fulfilling the mitzvos! The more we learn about them and incorporate them into our lives the more meaning it will have for us!
The Torah is about action and implementing its timeless lessons. If we learn it like any other subject, then it is just mental gymnastics that has no intrinsic meaning, just studying another academic topic!
As we go further into the three weeks and the nine days, we realize more than ever that the most important thing we are lacking in this world is that we do not see G-d's presence directly. The more we do and grow brings G-d's presence back to this world.
May we do what we need to do and help bring the Messiah speedily in our days!
Shabbat Shalom
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