This week's Torah portion (parashah) is named after Pinchas. Pinchas was a son of Eleazar, grandson of Aaron the Kohen Gadol (High Priest). As the Torah tells us at the end of the previous section, Pinchas stopped a plague upon the Jewish people by intervening before Moses, the elders, and all the other people. What did Pinchas do?
The Torah relates that Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Simeon, had taken a woman from Midian (not Jewish) and was living with her in front of Moshe, the elders, and all the people, thus defying the laws of the Torah (which prohibit Jews from marrying a non-Jewish woman).
Halakha (Jewish law) dictates that one who is zealous for God, upon witnessing this public event, is permitted to kill the transgressor (it should be clarified that this does not apply today; that is, the prohibition on marriage is still in effect, while the permission to kill the sinner is not, for various reasons beyond the scope of this editorial). Pinchas approached Moses and said, "Master! You taught us that in such a case, one who is zealous for God may kill the sinner," to which Moses replied, "Let the one who read the letter carry it out," meaning, if you remember that law and are zealous for God, go and kill him!.
Phinehas took a spear and killed Zimri, along with the woman he was living with. Then, in our section, God rewards Phinehas's action by granting him a peace treaty, under which Phinehas and all his descendants would be Kohanim (priests).
Having told the story, one of the most practical lessons it leaves us with is the idea that when a person sees that the right thing to do is to act in a certain way, but, for some reason, the leaders, those in charge of that task are not taking care of it, they should not doubt, consult, ask for permission or hesitate: God is waiting for him to do it himself!.
Pinjas was not a tribal leader, he was not an important person within the community but was, so to speak, just one more of the people; however, it was precisely he who was zealous for God and acted in the appropriate manner.
So, how do we determine whether an action that might even seem audacious (like that of Phinehas, who killed a person) is appropriate, even though no one else is doing it? It's quite simple: if the action will bring a general or particular benefit in the service of God, even if it is audacious or seems irrational, then it is the appropriate action. On the other hand, if the action will result in a lack of devotion to God, a lack of observance of the commandments, then it is obviously not appropriate, and almost certainly, the reason the person wants to do it is for some personal benefit they will derive from it.
This doesn't mean we should go around killing people and saying it was the right thing to do, God forbid!, but it does mean we should open our eyes and look around us: Does anyone need help and no one is helping them? Could it be that they need me for something and I'm not making myself available?
Because of behavior like that of Pinchas, God will bring the Final Redemption quickly in our days, Amen.