Dear Kehilá:
As mentioned many times, the Torah is eternal, meaning its teachings are applicable to all times and places.
This week's section, Pinjás, contains a fundamental lesson for the times in which we live.
Phinehas, though not one of the people's leaders, witnessed inappropriate behavior from the leader of the Tribe of Simeon. Halakha—Jewish law—defined the appropriate course of action in such a situation. However, the leaders, including Moses, were doing nothing about it.
When Phinehas asked Moses why no one was doing anything, even though the instructions had been clearly given, Moses replied, "Let the one who read the letter carry out its instructions." Consequently, Phinehas acted and stopped a plague that was spreading throughout the land.
The lesson is clear: if you see a situation that needs resolving and no one is taking care of it, not even the community leaders, the fact that the situation has reached you is an indication that it is up to you to act and resolve it.
To move forward, we must take responsibility. And the result, as with Pinchas, is that God will make a peace treaty with us and swiftly bring about Redemption.