20 TAMUZ 5764 //JULY
10 2004
” And the name of
Israelite man who was struck with the Midianite woman was Zimri the son of Salu
the Chief of a family of the tribe of Shimon” Bemidbar 25:14]
Bilaam, the wicked
gentile prophet, failed to curse the Jewish people — to the contrary — he
blessed them. Before leaving Balak, the King of Moab, he suggested a ploy that
could bring death and destruction to the Jews. “The G-d of these people
despises immorality and these people love the fineries of this world —
therefore, I suggest that you set up a bazaar on the outskirts of their camp
and have old women with inferior merchandise at the counter. When they ask to
see better merchandise, the women should direct them into the tents where
attractive young women will await to seduce them to immorality and idol
worship.”
The plan, unfortunately,
was successfully executed and a plague struck the people. The head of the tribe
of Shimon went so far as to bring the princess of Midian into the camp,
publicly flaunted her before Moshe and ridiculed our great prophet. He then
secluded himself with her in his tent. Pinhas,
who saw this scene, reacted by taking a spear and killing the two together and
bravely carried the head of the tribe and his mistress throughout the camp,
whereby the plague ceased. Pinhas received eternal reward for his zealous
behavior.
It Takes a Family…
These were the
numbers of the Levites according to their families: the family of
the Gershonites from Gershon, the family of the Kohathites from Kohath,
the family of the Merarites from Merari. These were the families
of Levi: the family of the Libnites, the family of the
Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the
Mushites, the family of the Korahites and Kehat begot Amram. (Bamidbar
26:57-58)
I think I detect a
theme. In these two verses the word or some derivative of this word is used 10
times, “MISHPACHA”- “family”. The Nation of Israel is built almost entirely on
this single organizational principle; family. Therefore, it might prove
worthwhile to gain an appreciation of the meaning of that one Hebrew word,
“MISHPACHA”.
The word MISHPACHA is
related to the word SHIFCHA which oddly means a maidservant. How does that help
define a family?
A senior colleague told
me that that when he was a young man pursuing his doctorate in philosophy a
professor made the bold declaration; “The Jewish Bible is the source of human
rights in the world!” All of the students diligently wrote it down in their
notebooks but this curious fellow who was the only Jew in the class, promptly
approached the teacher and challenged him, “Where is it written in the Jewish
Bible any verse that promises human rights?” The professor wondered if he in
fact agreed with his claim that the Jewish Bible is the source of human rights
in the world. The student agreed wholeheartedly. He was merely curious as to
what the source might be.
This was a case of the
student giving the teacher a homework assignment. A week later he came back to
class and admitted that he could not find a single verse that supported his
statement. He was mystified. Everybody in the history department agreed. The
literature department, and the sociology department agreed too. So, he fed the
question back to his student, “Maybe you have the answer!”
This budding young
scholar answered as follows: “Let’s take for example one verse, that
great-general principle in the Torah “And you should love your neighbor as
your-self!” The implication of that statement is that everyone has a right to
be loved. When I walk into a room, since you are all obligated to love me, I
have a right to be loved! The only
difference is that the Torah never came as a “bill of rights” but rather as a
“bill of responsibilities””.
Imagine how much more
love exists in a relationship when both parties know what they owe in love as
opposed to when each demands that their rights be met. How much more love is in
the room when every member of a family knows that they are duty bound to love
and happily contribute. How much greater is an entire community or a nation
when it is composed of individuals who live up to this universal notion and
categorical imperative to “love your neighbor as your-self”!
A family is a place
where people learn to serve each other. On any given Erev Shabbos someone is
sweeping and someone else is polishing shoes, while another person is peeling
potatoes. Everyone contributes! A family is a microcosm of a whole world and is
its most fundamental building block. How so? It is the training ground that prepares
people for life in the greater community. Each home has its own signature
style, and cultural flavor, but this quality of serving others is an immutable
standard.
How important is a
family? When my wife and I were just beginning to look for a match for our
oldest son, we decided to call my Rebbe for guidelines. He is a huge Talmud
scholar and he had already married off 13 children. We were ready for a long
list. He answered the phone and we explained the reason for our call. He said
without hesitation and emphatically, “Look for a family! A girl comes from a
family!” I asked, “Is there anything else?” He said, “No! That’s it! Good
night!” We were stunned. Some have said “it takes a village to raise a child”
but I think we can declare with certainty and appreciate the simple fact it
takes a family…
Tying Generations Together
The Torah records for us the genealogy of
Pinchas, the true and justified zealot of Jewish history. There are many
reasons advanced as to why the Torah felt impelled to tell us of the names of
his father and grandfather. Many commentators saw in this an explanation to
justify Pinchas’ behavior while others emphasized that it was an explanation
for Pinchas’ reward and G-d granting him the blessing of peace.
But aside from these
insights there is another more general message that the Torah is recording for
us. And that is that a person’s behavior affects all of one’s family members,
even those of previous generations who may no longer be currently numbered
among the living.
A great act of
sanctification of G-d’s name such as the one performed by Pinchas enhances the
reputations and stature of previous generations as well My rebbe in the yeshiva
summed this lesson up in his usual concise and pithy manner: “If both your grandparents and your
grandchildren are proud of you and your achievements then you are probably
alright in Heaven’s judgment as well.”
Our idea of immortality
is based upon generations of our families, both previous generations and later
ones. We find vindication of our lives and efforts in the accomplishments of
those that come after us and continue our values and faith. We cannot control
what children and grandchildren will do, whom they will marry and what type of
life they will lead. But innately, we feel that we have a connection to the
development of their lives and the actions that they will take.
The Torah emphasizes
for us that Pinchas’ zealotry did not come to him in a vacuum. The Torah allows
everyone freedom of will and behavior. Neither good behavior nor evil behavior
is ever predestined. Yet as medicine has shown us, in the physical world there
is an element of physical predestination in our DNA. And this DNA affects our
moral behavior as well.
Judaism always
envisioned itself not only as a universal faith but as a particular family as
well. In our daily prayer service we constantly recall who our founding
ancestors were. We name our children in memory of those who have preceded us.
We extol a sense of family and a loyalty to the values that our families
represent.
One of the most
destructive trends in modern society has been the erosion of the sense of
family in the world and amongst Jews particularly. Assimilation means
abandoning family and abandoning family certainly contributes to intensified
assimilation and loss of Jewish feelings and identity. It is ironic that in a
time such as now when most children can be privileged to know grandparents and
even great grandparents the relationship between generations in many Jewish
families is frayed and weak.
Pinchas comes therefore
to reinforce this concept of tying generations – past, present and future –
together. It is imperative for us to know Pinchas’ genealogy for otherwise we
have no clue as to who Pinchas was and why he behaved as he did in those given
circumstances.
Shabat shalom,
Rabbi Berel Wein
Rabbi Berel Wein
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