Midrash for Numbers 25:7

“Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and prostrating himself to him and Haman was filled with wrath” (Esther 3:5).
“Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and prostrating himself to him” – Rabbi Aivu said: “May their eyes,” of the wicked, “grow dim so they cannot see” (Psalms 69:24). Because the sight of the eyes of the wicked takes them down to Gehenna; that is what is written: “The children of the great saw the daughters of man”⁵The children of the great sinned in doing so. See the following verses. (Genesis 6:2); “Ham, father of Canaan, saw [the nakedness of his father] (Genesis 9:22); “Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan were objectionable [in the eyes of Isaac his father]”⁶Esau had previously married two women from Canaan. (Genesis 28:8); “Balak son of Tzippor saw [all that Israel had done to the Emorites]”⁷He subsequently hired Bilam to curse them. (Numbers 22:2); “Bilam saw that it was pleasing in the eyes of the Lord to bless Israel,”⁸Despite his efforts to curse them. (Numbers 24:1); “Haman saw that Mordekhai was not bowing and prostrating himself to him.”
However, the sight of the eyes of the righteous brings light, as the sight of the eyes of the righteous elevates them to the highest heights; that is what is written: “He [Abraham] lifted his eyes and saw, and behold, three men” (Genesis 18:2); “He [Abraham] saw, and behold, a ram” (Genesis 22:13); “He [Jacob] saw, and behold, a well in the field” (Genesis 29:2); “He [Moses] saw, and behold, a bush” (Exodus 3:2); “Pinḥas saw”⁹He saw the Israelites sinning with the daughters of Midyan and arose to put a stop to it. (Numbers 25:7). Therefore, they are happy with the sight of their eyes, as it is stated: “The upright see this and rejoice” (Psalms 107:42).

25 (Numb. 25:7) “When Phinehas [ben Eleazar ben Aaron the priest] saw”: But did they all not see it? And is it not written (in vs. 6), “before the eyes of Moses and the eyes of the whole congregation of the Children of Israel?” It is simply that when he saw the deed, he remembered the ruling (halakhah); that one who cohabits with an Aramean woman will have zealots strike him down. (Numb. 25:7, cont.) “He arose from the midst of the congregation”: From where did he stand up? It is simply that, while they were involved in give and take on the matter of whether or not [the culprit] was liable for death, that man (Phinehas) stood up from the midst of the congregation and volunteered [to carry out the sentence]. (Numb. 25:7, cont.) “And [he] took a spear in his hand”: He put the iron prong in his hand, which he put in his bosom. Then he began [to approach] leaning on the wood like a staff,⁷⁵I.e., with the iron prong hidden, the spear shaft seemed like a mere staff. because he was afraid of [the culprit's] tribe, as they surrounded him. When he reached them, they said to him, “Why have you come?” He said to them, “I also have come to fulfill my needs.” So they gave him permission, and he entered. For otherwise they would not have given him permission. (Numb. 25:8) “Then he went after the man of Israel into the tent, [and pierced both of them]”: He pierced both of them, the one on top of the other, through the unclean place (i.e., the private parts) of the both of them; lest Israel say there was no defilement there. He was zealous for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And twelve miracles occurred for him: The first miracle is that it is common that they would separate one from the other, but the angel adhered them together. The second miracle is that the angel closed their mouths that they not yell out. The third miracle is that [Phinehas was able to] direct [the spear precisely so that] the male genitals of [Zimri] were visible in the genitals of [Cozbi]; because they would have [otherwise] said, “[Phinehas] also went in and fulfilled his needs.” The fourth is that the iron expanded so that he could stab both of them. The fifth is that [the angel] gave him strength in his arm to raise both of them up. The sixth is that there was strength in the pole [of the spear] to lift both of them up. The seventh is that [Zimri and Cozbi] did not fall from the spear, but stayed in their place. The eighth is that the angel raised them up in the manner [of intercourse] on top of the spear for all to see their disgrace. The ninth is that they did not trickle blood, so that Phinehas would not become impure. The tenth is that the Holy One, blessed be He, kept their spirit [alive] so that he would not become impure. The eleventh is that the angel raised the lintel of the house chamber so that both of them would come out suspended in front of the eyes of everyone. The twelfth is when all the members of his tribe were ready to strike him down, an angel went down and smote them before him. When Phinehas saw that [the Holy One, blessed be He,] sought to destroy them, he struck [Zimri and Cozbi] on the ground. When he arose and prayed, [the plague] was removed. That is what is written (in Ps. 106:30), “Then Phinehas arose and interceded,”⁷⁶The verse continues: AND THE PLAGUE WAS STOPPED. in that he gave the judicial verdict (din). Interceded (rt.: pll) can only denote a judicial verdict (din), since it is stated (in reference to making a reparation Exod. 21:22), “and he shall pay as the judges (rt.: pll) determine.” (Numb. 25:9) “And those who died from the plague […]”: [This is] to inform you that, on every occasion when they fell, they were numbered. There is a parable about a wolf who fell upon a flock of sheep. The owner of the sheep said to the shepherd, “Count how many were lost.” [This] is to inform you how much unchastity distances [from God]; as this was [just one] individual, and [yet] twenty-four thousand fell on his account. This is related to (in Prov. 16:14), “The king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man can appease it, etc.” There is a parable about a king who was passing by when a group of youths were standing in front of him. [When] one of them cursed him, the king was filled with anger against [all of] them. [Then] one of them came and socked the one who cursed the king, [and] the king’s anger was immediately subdued. So too, who caused the Holy One, blessed be He, to go back from His anger and not to destroy all of Israel? One would say it was Phinehas. Ergo, “but a wise man can appease it.” The Holy One, blessed be He, has said, “In this world it is on account of gross misconduct that they were counted; but in the world to come (according to Hos. 2:1), “The number of the Children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered.” Amen, may it be [His] will.

(Numb. 25:7:) “When Phinehas [ben Eleazar ben Aaron the priest] saw.” But did they all not see it?¹⁰⁰Numb. R. 20:25. And is it not written (in vs. 6), “before the eyes of Moses and the eyes of the whole congregation of the Children of Israel?” It is simply that when he saw the deed, he remembered the ruling (halakhah); that one who cohabits with an Aramean woman will have zealots strike him down. (Numb. 25:7, cont.:) “He arose from the midst of the congregation.” From where did he stand up? It is simply that, while they were involved in give and take on the matter of whether or not [the culprit] was liable for death, that man (Phinehas) stood up from the midst of the congregation and volunteered [to carry out the sentence]. (Numb. 25:7, cont.:) “And took a spear in his hand.” He put the iron prong in his hand, which he put in his bosom. Then he began [to approach] leaning on the wood like a staff,¹⁰¹I.e., with the iron prong hidden, the spear shaft seemed like a mere staff. because he was afraid of [the culprit's] tribe, as they surrounded him. When he reached them, they said to him, “Why have you come?” He said to them, “I also have come to fulfill my needs.” So they gave him permission, and he entered. For otherwise they would not have given him permission. (Numb. 25:8:) “Then he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and pierced both of them.” He pierced both of them, the one on top of the other, through the unclean place (i.e., the private parts) of the both of them; lest Israel say there was no defilement there. He was zealous for the name of the Holy One, blessed be He. And twelve miracles occurred for him: The first miracle is that it is common that they would separate one from the other, but the angel adhered them together. The second miracle is that the angel closed their mouths that they not yell out. The third miracle is that [Phinehas was able to] direct [the spear precisely so that] the male genitals of [Zimri] were visible in the genitals of [Cozbi]; because they would have [otherwise] said, “[Phinehas] also went in and fulfilled his needs.” The fourth is that the iron expanded so that he could stab both of them. The fifth is that [the angel] gave him strength in his arm to raise both of them up. The sixth is that there was strength in the pole [of the spear] to lift both of them up. The seventh is that [Zimri and Cozbi] did not fall from the spear, but stayed in their place. The eighth is that the angel raised them up in the manner [of intercourse] on top of the spear for all to see their disgrace. The ninth is that they did not trickle blood, so that Phinehas would not become impure. The tenth is that the Holy One, blessed be He, kept their spirit [alive so that he would not become impure]. The eleventh is that the angel raised the lintel of the house chamber so that both of them would come out suspended in front of the eyes of everyone. The twelfth is when all the members of his tribe were ready to strike him down, an angel went down and smote them before him. When Phinehas saw that the Holy One, blessed be He, sought to destroy them, he struck [Zimri and Cozbi] on the ground. When he arose and prayed, they were removed. That is what is written (in Ps. 106:30), “Then Phinehas arose and interceded,”¹⁰²The verse continues: AND THE PLAGUE WAS STOPPED. in that he gave the judicial verdict (din). Interceded (rt.: pll) can only denote a judicial verdict (din), since it is stated (in reference to making a reparation Exod. 21:22), “and he shall pay as the judges (rt.: pll) determine.” (Numb. 25:9:) “And those who died from the plague.” And afterwards [it is written] (in Numb. 26:2), “Count the head (take a census).” [This is] to inform you that, on every occasion when they fell, they were numbered. There is a parable about a wolf who fell upon a flock of sheep. The owner of the sheep said to the shepherd, “Count how many were lost.” [This] is to inform you how much unchastity distances [from God]; as this was [just one] individual, and [yet] twenty-four thousand fell on his account. This is related to (in Prov. 16:14), “The king’s wrath is a messenger of death, but a wise man can appease it.” There is a parable about a king who was passing by when a group of youths were standing in front of him. [When] one of them cursed him, the king was filled with anger against [all of] them. [Then] one of them came and socked the one who cursed the king, [and] the king’s anger was immediately subdued. So too, who caused the Holy One, blessed be He, to go back from His anger and not to destroy all of Israel? One would say it was Phinehas. Ergo, “but a wise man can appease it.” The Holy One, blessed be He, has said, “In this world it is on account of gross misconduct that they were counted; but in the world to come (according to Hos. 2:1), “The number of the Children of Israel shall be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered.” Amen, may it be [His] will.

(Numb. 25:7, cont.:) AND TOOK A SPEAR IN HIS HAND. He put the iron prongs in his hand, which he put in his bosom. Then he began <to approach> leaning on the wood like a staff,¹²⁵I.e., with the iron prongs hidden, the spear shaft seemed like a mere staff. because he was afraid of <the culprit's> tribe as they surrounded him. When he reached them, they said to him: Why have you come? He said to them: I also have come to fulfill my needs. So they gave him permission, and he entered, for otherwise they would not have given him permission.

R. Yehudah says: The expounders of metaphors were wont to say: He (the Cohein) is given the shoulder for the hand (of Pinchas the Cohein), viz. (Bamidbar 25:7) "and he arose from the mist of the congregation and he (Pinchas) took a spear in his hand." "the cheeks": for the prayer (of Pinchas), viz. (Psalms 106:30) "and Pinchas arose and prayed." "the maw (kevah)": for (Bamidbar 25:8) "and (he pierced) the woman through her belly (kavathah)."