Parashah Pinchas Comments 2024
Our Torah portion for this week is Pinchas. Pinchas was the grandson of Aaron, the High Priest of Israel. In a time when men of Israel were ensnared in idol worship—Midianite women enticing them into Ba’al—many broke the commandments of G-d and drifted into immorality and disobedience.Eve, Whispered Lies, and “Little by Little”
Eve was seduced by the serpent to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam ate as well, and exile from Eden followed—setting in motion the rest of Scripture’s story, ultimately resolved when the Father restores the New Garden and fellowships forever with His redeemed.
Genesis 3:4–5 — “It is not true that you will surely die; because God knows that on the day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
That line was likely the culmination of many whispered half-truths. Torah often shows that change unfolds a step at a time—“little by little.”
Exodus 23:30 — “Little by little I will drive them out before you…”
Deuteronomy 7:22 — “Adonai your God will expel those nations… little by little…”
Proverbs 13:11 — “Money wrongly gained will disappear bit by bit…”
Why Pinchas Received a Covenant of Shalom
Parashat Pinchas opens with G-d’s commendation of Pinchas for turning back divine anger by his zeal.
Numbers 25:10–13 — Adonai grants Pinchas a “covenant of shalom,” an eternal priestly covenant for him and his descendants.
To grasp this, we return to the end of Balak. In full view of Moses and the weeping assembly, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into his family tent. Pinchas seized a spear and ended their brazen act, and the plague was stopped—though 24,000 had already died.
Numbers 25:6–9 — The plague ceases after Pinchas acts; nevertheless 24,000 had perished.
Why such honor for Pinchas? Some question his right to act. Yet Torah frames his deed as zeal aligned with G-d’s own zeal, halting a public, defiant desecration. Certain translations make the scene’s brazenness unmistakable—describing the strike “in their places of begetting.”
Numbers 25:8 — Rendered in some editions (e.g., Douay-Rheims; Wycliffe) as piercing them in the genital parts / places of begetting.
A Test of Zeal and Leadership
G-d reveals Himself as merciful, compassionate, slow to anger, and abounding in grace and truth, and He invites us to emulate His ways to bring His Presence into the world. Yet when leaders tolerate public covenant-breaking, judgment comes. Moses was instructed to execute the guilty leaders; still, 24,000 died—evidence that this corruption had persisted for some time. Pinchas’s singular act, in that moment, became collaboration with Heaven to protect G-d’s honor and the people’s future.
Numbers 25:4 — “Hang the leaders…”
Numbers 25:9 — “Those who died in the plague were 24,000.”
Jeremiah: Zeal that Weeps
Jeremiah served from 626–587 BCE, confronting kings and people who preferred flattering falsehoods. He suffered for proclaiming truth, yet remained G-d’s vessel—his tears recorded by Baruch. He preached through the Babylonian exiles and gave voice to lament after Jerusalem’s fall.
Jeremiah 1:7 — “You will go to whomever I send you, and you will speak whatever I order you.”
Yeshua: Zeal for the House
The best example of bringing G-d into the world is Messiah Yeshua. Seeing the Temple’s corruption—commercialization permitted by a compromised priesthood—He fashioned a whip and drove out the sellers. His disciples recalled, “zeal for Your house has consumed me.”
John 2:13–22 — Yeshua cleanses the Temple.
Psalm 69:9–10 (69:9) — “Zeal for Your house has eaten me up…”
As with Pinchas and Jeremiah, Heaven used Yeshua to defend G-d’s honor and call people back to covenant faithfulness.
His Word Will Not Return Void
Isaiah 55:10–11 — Like rain that waters the earth, His word accomplishes what He intends.
Sin, left unchallenged, corrodes souls and societies. These are testing days for our generation.
Deborah, Barak, and a Missed Moment
HaShem commissioned Deborah to summon Barak to battle Sisera with the promise of victory. Barak insisted she go with him; victory came, but the honor went to Yael, who slew Sisera in her tent. When Heaven calls, partial obedience misses the mark.
Isaiah 55:8–9 — “My thoughts are not your thoughts… my ways higher than your ways.”
Firstfruits, Not Leftovers
G-d deserves our best. Cain offered ordinary produce and was rejected; Abel brought firstborn and was accepted. Defending G-d’s honor is not a twice-a-year ritual—it’s a life of courageous, wise zeal.Zeal with Wisdom
Zeal must be guided by the fear of Adonai—the beginning of wisdom. Without wisdom, zeal careens into confusion. With wisdom, it becomes holy courage that builds, heals, and defends what is true.
Proverbs 9:10a — “The fear of Adonai is the beginning of wisdom.”
