Parshat Pinchas picks up fresh off of the killing of Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Shimon, and Cozbi, a Midianite princess, by Pinchas, a grandson of Aharon and great- nephew of Moshe. Zimri and Cozbi had been engaged in an immoral act, of which the Halachic rule is “קנאין פוגעין בו"--those who are enthusiastic in the defense of the honor of Hashem may kill the perpetrators [this concept is extremely rare, and is barely Halachically sanctioned, in extremely limited cases]. Pinchas’ killing of these two individuals was by itself a great Kiddush Hashem; the response of Zimri’s kinsmen, however, enhanced the miracle even further.
Some sought to kill Pinchas over the slaying of their tribal leader; others made a mockery of Pinchas’ lineage, by harping on the fact that his ancestor, Yitro [who was also the father-in-law of Moshe], prior to his accepting Hashem as the one true God, had slaughtered offerings to idols and false pagan deities. The opening of the Parshah deftly negates their perspective, however, when Hashem declares [Bamidbar 25’ 11’-12’]:
“Pinchas, the son of Elozor, [and grand] son of Aharon the kohein, has turned My anger away from Bnei Yisroel by his vengeance for Me among them, so that I did not destroy Bnei Yisroel in My vengeance. Therefore tell [him], that I give him My covenant [of] peace…"
This G-dly covenant of peace included the fact that Pinchas was destined to be renamed the great prophet Eliyahu, who would never experience death [see Seforno and Rabbeinu Bachye, ad. Loc.].
What is extremely ironic, in the aftermath of this incident, is the fact that Hashem commanded the destruction of Cozbi’s nation, Midian, while the nation of Moav, the instigator of the overall plot to harm the Jews [see Parshat Balak], was completely spared [at this time]. Rashi explains, that Moav was destined to produce the great Ruth, ancestress of Dovid Hamelech, and therefore the time had not yet come for the Jews to take vengeance for their incitement.
Astoundingly, the Gemara explains that the very merit that led to the birth of Ruth as part of the nation of Moav was the fact that Balak, king of Moav, had offered 42 sacrifices to Hashem. These sacrifices were intended to inspire Hashem’s divine providence for his attempt to annihilate the Jews-and yet, because there was a token of sincerity in their offering, Balak merited to have as his descendant the holy Ruth, matriarch of the Davidic Line, as well as Moshiach. Thus, Moav was to be spared until a later date, after the birth of Ruth.
The poignancy of this concept within the greater story taking place here is extreme-members of Am Yisrael, seemingly well intentioned, were shocked that Pinchas could kill a sitting leader of one of the 12 tribes [Zimri]. They reasoned that Pinchas must have been wrong, and the rationale behind his killing could only be that his grandfather, Yitro, had previously slaughtered sacrifices for the purposes of idolatry, which had a subtle influence on his grandson, Pinchas, who could then turn and act with impudence in the killing of Zimri. However, as explained, even the sacrifices of Balak, designed with intent to exterminate Am Yisrael, warranted a divine reward-the birth of Ruth-which was the very reason why the Jews were told to only go to battle against Midian and not Moav! Hence, the very act of Pinchas only going to war against Midian [and not Moav] served to clarify that his grandfather Yitro’s sacrifices were also sincere, and therefore certainly had no negative bearing on Pinchas’ actions.
Dedicated in memory of all those who have perished and sacrificed for Am Yisrael.