In last week’s parsha we read of Bilaam, the non-Jewish sorcerer’s, attempt to curse the Jewish people. If you remember, he wasn’t successful initially.

Bilaam fails and is only able to bless B’nei Yisrael and then suddenly his 15 minutes of narrative are done… or are they??

According to the Talmud (Sanhedrin 106a), Bilaam then goes to the king of Moav, Balak, and conspires to truly take down the Jewish people. Bilaam counsels Balak to entice Jewish men to commit some sexual immorality with the women of Moav and Midian. Immediately after the saga of Bilaam and his 3 blessings, we read that B’nei Yisrael settles in a city called Shittim, east of the Jordan river in Moav. They become engaged in what the Torah calls Liznot / לִזנוֹת or “straying” with the women of Midian and Moav, who have been encouraged by Bilaam and Balak to help with the downfall of B’nei Yisrael.

According to the Midrash, the Midianite and Moabite women also entice the Jewish men to commit avodah zara (idolatry) as well as gilui arayot (sexual impropriety) and things go a bit crazy. So crazy in fact, that one pair of consorting cavorters actually conduct some of their …. acts… in front of the Ohel Moed, the Tent of Meeting, and the leaders of B’nei Yisrael. Moshe and the other leaders freeze. They know the right thing to do (i.e. - stop them), but in the heat of the crazy moment, it eludes them.

In one of the more violent and descriptive events of our Torah, Pinchas (Phineas), grandson of Aharon, is the sole actor and impales the pair (Zimri of the tribe of Shimon and Kozbi, a Midiniate woman) when he sees them.

And then the parsha ends, kind of suddenly. At the beginning of this week’s parsha, Pinchas, Hashem bestows our previously aforementioned zealot a Brit Shalom, a covenant of peace, for his righteous acts.

Hmm… a covenant of peace for impaling two people? Interesting… And then, G-d also welcomes Pinchas into the priesthood, the kahuna.

“But Shira! Wasn’t Pinchas a descendant of Aharon??? And aren’t all descendants of Aharon kohanim (priests)???”

“Yes! You have been listening!”

Pinchas WAS a Levi (from the tribe of Levi) but he wasn’t a kohen. The legacy of priesthood was only given to Aharon’s sons and the sons that THOSE sons begot after being ordained. Pinchas was already born! So he wasn’t included in the descendants until now!

One question — why does someone who’s most famous act is impaling 2 people get a covenant of peace?? Well, there are different interpretations of what “shalom” - peace, really mean. Shalom is related to the Hebrew word “shalem” meaning whole or complete. To straight up quote from Wikipedia, “The meaning of completeness, central to the term shalom, can also be confirmed in related terms found in other Semitic languages. The Assyrian term salamu means to be complete, unharmed, paid/atoned. Sulmu, another Assyrian term, means welfare. A closer relation to the idea of shalom as concept and action is seen in the Arabic root salaam, meaning to be safe, secure and forgiven, among other things.”

Cont’d…

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