The Parsha begins with Hashem rewarding פנחס for his great act of קנאות, in killing זמרי בן סלוא and כזבי בת צור. The פסוק highlights the greatness of that act, that as a result of it,
ולא כיליתי את בני ישראל בקנאתי
Hashem did not destroy כלל ישראל in his wrath. Why would the חטא of בנות מואב potentially be a cause for כליה, and what was unique about the act of פנחס that averted it?
This can be answered with a משל. A king had one child, a son. The prince grew up in the palace in the shadow of his father. One evening, the servants in the palace went to town for a night of entertainment and brought the prince along. The group eventually found themselves in a tavern, where they became heavily intoxicated. In the wee hours of the morning, the bartender finally locked up, and the group headed back home. To their horror, the king himself was standing at the palace gate, awaiting their late arrival. His Majesty turned to the servants and sent them off to bed. He then turned to his son, the prince, and roared at him, ” How dare you embarrass yourself by becoming drunk in public? This will not be tolerated, and you can not step outside the palace for a full month!” The confused prince responded, ” I’ll accept the punishment, but why didn’t you rebuke the servants too?” To which the king responded, “They’re just employees, who can do what they want in their spare time, but you are the crown prince, and everything you do reflects directly on me, the king.”
The נמשל is obvious. The King is Hashem, and the crown prince is His beloved nation, Klal Yisrael. While the אומות העולם can act as they please, we have the unique mission to bring נחת רוח to the רבש”ע in all of our actions, and when חלילה we cause a חילול השם, we are bringing Him much aggravation, which can cause a severe judgement. The עבירה of Promiscuity is one such act that causes the רבש”ע aggravation. And that is why there was such a terrible גזירה over it. And פנחס understood that to counter that anger, he needs to do an extreme act of מסירות נפש, to show the רבש”ע that, yes, כלל ישראל still desires to bring Him נחת רוח.
This lesson is relevant for all times. We all follow the שלחן ערוך which guides us on how to live our lives. But there are areas that may not have clear Halachic guidance. In such situations, we can ask ourselves, “How does the רבש”ע WANT me to act in this circumstance?” Ultimately, that is the goal, to bring him נחת רוח.
This approach is applicable during this time of בין המצרים, where there are various מנהגים and הלכות of אבילות over the חורבן הבית. There are Halachic loopholes that technically can be utilized to circumvent or minimize the practice of אבילות. But the Parsha teaches us that our goal should always be to ask, “What does Hashem want?” And as such, searching for ways out of אבילות may not be the proper approach.
We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point, told over by Rabbi Berel Wein זצ”ל. In the 1970’s, Rabbi Wein served as a Rabinic administrator at the OU. The head of the Kashrus division at the OU at that time was Rabbi Alexander Rosenberg, who had built up the Kashrus division into a large department. The following story was witnessed and frequently related by Rabbi Wein. ” One day, a man walked into the office and asked Rabbi Rosenberg to give him a Kashrus certification for the food company he’s about to open. The man demanded that the certification be given immediately, as he was just days away from opening. Rabbi Rosemberg replied that getting certification is a process, one that involves visits to the plant, meeting of Rabbanim, and various other steps.
“I understand, Rabbi,” said the man. ” I’m offering you 5% equity in the business, in exchange of immediate certification.” The Rabbi remained silent. ” I’ll give you 6% equity.” Silence. “OK, Rabbi, here’s my final offer. In exchange for immediate certification, I’ll give 7.5% equity in my company.” Rabbi Rosenberg finally, quietly responded, ” And what does G-d have to say about such a deal?” Concludes Rabbi Wein, “The businessman was shocked and embarrassed and quickly left the premises.”
When we look to bring Hashem נחת רוח, the question of “What does He want?” can be a guiding light for life.