July 12, 2012
Parshat Pinchas:The Covenant of Peace
Pinchas is most famous for his act of zealotry in punishing Zimri for his immoral act of defiance, which he perpetrated in front of Moshe and the elders, as a clear affront to G-d.
An interesting cast of characters have parshas named for them: Noach, Yisro, Korach, Balak, Pinchas (Chayei Sarah includes a name, which comes after her death). Each has his own story of intrigue, making the coincidence of their being in this club a source for much homily.
What makes Pinchas unique, is that he literally emerges out of nowhere. He is a protagonist for a very small amount of Torah-space, and then he disappears into obscurity again, only to reemerge in the books of the Prophets – in Yehoshua and Shoftim (Judges). The gift he receives, however, is one of the more coveted in the Torah: he receives from G-d “Britee Shalom,” G-d’s “Covenant of Peace.”
What is the Covenant of Peace? Were you to google the term “Brit Shalom” you would find many websites dedicated to “Bris without circumcision.” This is not the forum to discuss this, but I do find it ironic that a certain website utilizes two negative commandments, not to imprint marks on the body and not to make cuttings in the flesh, to prove that Bris Milah goes against the Torah. Invoking negative commandments out of context (the first refers to tattoos and the second refers to cutting the flesh over the loss of a loved one) while ignoring Bereshit 17 and Vayikra 12:3 is a lesson in intellectual dishonesty.
Pinchas has become a symbol at the Bris Milah ceremony, as the first verses of our parsha are recited as a reminder of Pinchas’s role in defending the covenant.
But was the “Covenant of Peace” meant to refer specifically to the Covenant of Circumcision? Every commentary has a different approach. Some include: That Zimri’s relatives will not seek revenge, he had been grandfathered out of being a kohen and now he would inherit his father’s position, that he will be the Messiah delivering the message of World Peace. And some talk about Pinchas being the defender of “the” covenant – Bris Milah.
I find the Seforno’s interpretation to be quite compelling, mostly because it carries a lesson we can all live by, live for, and pray for ourselves and our loved ones.