Musar sobre Números 25:11

בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם . We learn from this that when a person observes a public desecration of the name of G–d or His Holy Torah, he must display jealousy on their behalf. The reward Pinchas received is sufficient evidence of how highly G–d rated his action seeing that He granted him שלום.

Zeal is goodly only in the service of God, as thou knowest from (the case of) Phinehas, of whom it is said (Num. xxv. 11), "While he was zealous for my sake," and the good reward which he merited thereby, as it is said (id., 12), "Wherefore, say, behold I give unto him my covenant of peace."

I believe that he found such an allusion in the word נא used by Moses when he declined to accept the mission himself. That word seems superfluous at first glance. The Zohar alludes to it in his commentary on our portion when he quotes Job 4,7: זכר נא מי הוא נקי אבד ואיפה ישרים נכחדות, "Consider, what innocent man ever perished? Where have the upright been destroyed?" The following is the text of that commentary: "When Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai studied this portion of the Torah, his son came to him and asked: 'What would have happened with the reincarnation of the souls of Nadav and Avihu if there had been a Pinchas in the world at the time they died (they were two sons of Aaron who died prematurely)? Had Pinchas been born after these sons of Aaron died, their souls could have been re-incarnated in Pinchas's body. Pinchas then could have rehabilitated these sons for whatever shortcomings they had displayed during their first life on earth. Assuming however, as we must, that Pinchas had been born prior to the death of Nadav and Avihu, and that he therefore already had been equipped with a soul, how could the souls of Nadav and Avihu have been re-incarnated within Pinchas?'" Rabbi Shimon answered his son that we are dealing here with a supremely guarded secret of the way G–d works, and that the truth is that at the time the two sons of Aaron died, their souls did not enjoy the protection of the "Holy Rock," i.e. the emanation called מלכות (lowest of the 10 emanations). We know this because the Torah makes a point of mentioning that they had no children at the time they died (Numbers 3,4). They had diminished G–d's image by not having married and sired children as was incumbent upon them. As a result, they were unfit to serve as High Priests. At the time, Pinchas proved his jealous concern for G–d's honor to the myriads of the Jewish people when he displayed the bodies of the adulterers he had speared with his lance, his soul fled from him when he saw the tribe of Shimon approach him in a threatening posture vowing to take revenge for their prince Zimri whom Pinchas had slain. The two unattached souls of Nadav and Avihu, which had not yet found a resting place, entered Pinchas and restored him to life. This enabled Pinchas's own soul to unite with the souls of Nadav and Avihu. In this way Nadav and Avihu attained the position of High Priest which they had been intended for if their lifestyle had justified it. Pinchas, as it were, benefitted from the souls of Nadav and Avihu, and this helped him become High Priest (after the death of his father Eleazar). This is what is alluded to in Job 4,7. "The innocent (Pinchas) had not perished, nor had the upright (Nadav and Avihu been destroyed)." This is also why the Torah in Numbers 25,11 and on some other occasions describes Pinchas as both the son of Eleazar (his father) and as the son of Aaron, i.e. the father of Nadav and Avihu.

Moses was jealous of the Egyptian, as it is said, "And he smote the Egyptian" (Exod. 2:12). And so we find in the case of Elijah, when he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant" (I Kings 19:10). And so is it said, "In that he was very jealous for My sake among them" (Num. 25:11), and the Lord, may He be Blessed, gave him his reward for this as it is said : "Behold, I give unto him My covenant of peace!" (Num. 25:12). And it is said, "… Ye shall not be afraid of any man …" (Deut. 1:17). Now he who reveres the Lord, may He be Blessed, will gladly offer his life for the sanctification of God's name. As it is said, "Whoso is on the Lord's side, let him come unto me. And all the Levites rallied to him" (Exod. 32:26), and it is further said, "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from the midst of the congregation, and took a spear in his hand" (Num. 25:7).

We know from Proverbs 14,30, "envy is iike rottenness of the bones," that ordinarily, jealousy is a natural cause of death. Greed, lust, cause man's death, while he remains unsated, since "man dies while half his desires remain unfulfilled" (Kohelet Rabbah 1,34). We also have the statement of our sages that "he who chases after glory and honour, glory and honour flee from him" (Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 3,1). On this the sages comment that he dies one hundred deaths from jealousy and not just one. Rashi explains the Mishnah in Avot by Rabbi Elazar Hakappor as applying to Adam; it was these negative virtues that caused him to become mortal. He describes the angels who had to serve him delicacies in גן עדן as becoming jealous of his status, his כבוד, honor. He cites Adam's greed to eat from the tree of knowledge as contributing to his death. The honour he enjoyed in Gan Eden caused him to be expelled. He quotes other opinions that apply this Mishnah to the jealousy displayed by Korach versus Moses and Aaron. Actually we have to view these three evils as the root causes of all impurities, i.e. טומאות, which include all negative virtues. When these three characteristics are used positively, they in turn are the root causes of all positive virtues. Concerning this fact, Ben Zoma asks at the beginning of that chapter in Avot "Who is a wise man? He who is willing to learn from any person. Who is a hero? He who is able to restrain his passions. Who is wealthy? He who is satisfied with his lot." "Heroism" is an aspect of "jealousy," as we know from Jeremiah 46,12, גבור בגבור כמותן, "for hero encounters a hero of similar stature" [the competitive element is the jealousy]. We also have Rashi's comment on Numbers 25,11, בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם, "when he displayed jealousy on My behalf," that this "jealousy" displayed by Pinchas was the retribution G–d was entitled to exact from Zimri, i.e. it was נקמה. We know that קנאת סופרים, a competitive spirit between scholars is laudable, since it means that a person battles his evil urge, trying to excel in good deeds and character traits. This is the most important battle a person has to fight in his life. We have the story of the philosopher who encountered soldiers returning from a great conquest. He told them: "you did win a minor battle, but you have failed to win the major battle, namely man's battle with his evil urge." The reason it is called "the great battle," is that it is a never-ending battle. Concerning that battle, Ben Zoma said that the true hero is he who vanquishes his evil urge. The statement "who is wealthy, he who is satisfied with his lot," is the exact opposite of the negative virtue of תאוה, greed, i.e. never being satisfied. This is why the rabbis said that a person who is afflicted with the disease of being greedy dies before he has achieved even half of what he had hoped for. Lastly Ben Zoma described the חכם, wise person, as someone who is willing to learn from anybody else. The true meaning of honour is to be considered a wise man, as we know from Proverbs 3,35: "The wise shall inherit honour." When a person does not chase after glory it is liable to pursue him. Rabbi Yossi is on record as saying: "I have learned a great deal from my teachers; I have learned even more from my friends; but most of all have I learned from my students" (Taanit 7).