"Pinchas... was the one who zealously took up My cause among the Israelites.... Therefore, tell him that I have given him My covenant of peace." (Numbers 25:11-12)
Why did God present Pinchas with a brit shalom, a 'covenant of peace'? What was the nature of this brit?
Shmuel Hakatan's Prayer
The Talmud recounts that Rabban Gamliel, who headed the Sanhedrin in Yavneh after the destruction of Jerusalem, saw the need to make an addition to the daily prayer. The Jewish people needed Divine protection against heretics and informers. But there was a problem. Who was capable of composing such a prayer?
In the end, Shmuel Hakatan ('the modest') agreed to formulate the prayer, called Birkat Haminim (Talmud Brachot 28b). Why was it so difficult to find a scholar to compose this prayer? And why was Shmuel Hakatan chosen?
By its very nature, prayer is a vehicle full of kindness and love. Any scholar on an appropriate spiritual level is capable of writing a prayer that is fitting for a holy and wise nation.
A prayer decrying slanderers and heretics, however, touches upon powerful emotions of hatred and anger. We naturally feel hostility towards our foes and towards the enemies of our people. To properly compose a prayer against enemies requires an individual who is utterly pure and holy, one who has eliminated all hatred and petty resentments from his heart. For such a prayer to be pure, its sole intention must be to limit the damage and correct the evil caused by the wicked - because they impede the world's progress towards its ultimate goal. It is for the sake of this pure, unselfish motive that we plead that the wicked be vanquished and their evil plans be foiled.
If one possesses the slightest feelings of animosity that come automatically when one feels attacked - even though one's initial motive was pure - then it will transform into personal hatred, deviating from the true intent. Only Shmuel Hakatan was a suitable candidate to compose this difficult prayer. His motto was "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls." (Avot 4:9) Shmuel succeeded in removing all feelings of enmity from his heart, even for personal enemies. Only Shmuel Hakatan was able to compose a prayer against slanderers that would convey the feelings of a pure heart, expressing the soul's aspirations for true universal good.
Refining Zeal
From Shmuel Hakatan we see that zealotry is not a simple, straightforward trait. Zeal must be refined to ensure that it is pure and truly for the sake of heaven.
"We need to refine the attribute of zeal, so that when it enters the realm of the holy, it should be a pure zeal for God. Since it is common for zealotry to contain some slight impression of human weakness, our powers of self-examination must determine what is its primary basis. We must ensure that it is not based on personal jealousy, which rots the bones, but rather a zeal for God, which provides a covenant of peace." (Orot Hakodesh vol. III p. 244)
God gave Pinchas a 'covenant of peace', thus affirming that his act of zealotry - defending the Jewish people from foreign and idolatrous influences - was performed with pure motives. Only God could testify as to the purity of Pinchas' zeal, that he acted solely for the sake of Heaven, without any admixture of human divisiveness or discord. Pinchas' zeal was an active expression of his fierce love of God, and his zealotry was connected to the goal of bringing true peace and perfection to the world.
[Adapted from Olat Re'iyah vol. I p. 278]
Why did God present Pinchas with a brit shalom, a 'covenant of peace'? What was the nature of this brit?
Shmuel Hakatan's Prayer
The Talmud recounts that Rabban Gamliel, who headed the Sanhedrin in Yavneh after the destruction of Jerusalem, saw the need to make an addition to the daily prayer. The Jewish people needed Divine protection against heretics and informers. But there was a problem. Who was capable of composing such a prayer?
In the end, Shmuel Hakatan ('the modest') agreed to formulate the prayer, called Birkat Haminim (Talmud Brachot 28b). Why was it so difficult to find a scholar to compose this prayer? And why was Shmuel Hakatan chosen?
By its very nature, prayer is a vehicle full of kindness and love. Any scholar on an appropriate spiritual level is capable of writing a prayer that is fitting for a holy and wise nation.
A prayer decrying slanderers and heretics, however, touches upon powerful emotions of hatred and anger. We naturally feel hostility towards our foes and towards the enemies of our people. To properly compose a prayer against enemies requires an individual who is utterly pure and holy, one who has eliminated all hatred and petty resentments from his heart. For such a prayer to be pure, its sole intention must be to limit the damage and correct the evil caused by the wicked - because they impede the world's progress towards its ultimate goal. It is for the sake of this pure, unselfish motive that we plead that the wicked be vanquished and their evil plans be foiled.
If one possesses the slightest feelings of animosity that come automatically when one feels attacked - even though one's initial motive was pure - then it will transform into personal hatred, deviating from the true intent. Only Shmuel Hakatan was a suitable candidate to compose this difficult prayer. His motto was "Do not rejoice when your enemy falls." (Avot 4:9) Shmuel succeeded in removing all feelings of enmity from his heart, even for personal enemies. Only Shmuel Hakatan was able to compose a prayer against slanderers that would convey the feelings of a pure heart, expressing the soul's aspirations for true universal good.
Refining Zeal
From Shmuel Hakatan we see that zealotry is not a simple, straightforward trait. Zeal must be refined to ensure that it is pure and truly for the sake of heaven.
"We need to refine the attribute of zeal, so that when it enters the realm of the holy, it should be a pure zeal for God. Since it is common for zealotry to contain some slight impression of human weakness, our powers of self-examination must determine what is its primary basis. We must ensure that it is not based on personal jealousy, which rots the bones, but rather a zeal for God, which provides a covenant of peace." (Orot Hakodesh vol. III p. 244)
God gave Pinchas a 'covenant of peace', thus affirming that his act of zealotry - defending the Jewish people from foreign and idolatrous influences - was performed with pure motives. Only God could testify as to the purity of Pinchas' zeal, that he acted solely for the sake of Heaven, without any admixture of human divisiveness or discord. Pinchas' zeal was an active expression of his fierce love of God, and his zealotry was connected to the goal of bringing true peace and perfection to the world.
[Adapted from Olat Re'iyah vol. I p. 278]