Why is this Parshah named after Pinchas? Well that's an obvious question. In last week's Parshah, Bnei Yisrael were having illicit relations with the women of Moav, and all of a sudden Hashem starts a plague that killed thousands upon thousands of people. But then, Pinchas, the son of Elazar the son of Aharon, grabs a spear and stabs an Israelite and a Moabite who were having illicit relations with one strike and kills them, and then the plague stopped.
What was so great about Pinchas' actions? Right after he stabbed the two people (who we find out in Parshat Pinchas are named Zimri and Cazbi), our Mepharshim tell us that Bnei Yisrael accused him of murder. Then in this weeks Parshah, Hashem praises Pinchas, saying that הֵשִׁיב אֶת חֲמָתִי מֵעַל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת קִנְאָתִי בְּתוֹכָם- "that he turned back My wrath from upon the Children of Israel when he zealously avenged my vengeance" (Artscroll Chumash). First of all, what does that even mean, "he zealously avenged my vengeance"?
Sforno says that Pinchas avenged avenged the Kavod of Hashem by doing his zealous action of killing Zimri and Cazbi in front of the people. (Hashem's vengeance was the plague). Pinchas' action was so great that Hashem gave him בְּרִית כְּהֻנַּת עוֹלָם, the privilege of being a Kohen.
Pinchas wasn't even a Kohen. Aharon, his children, and his future grandchildren were made into Kohanim, but Pinchas, who was already born at the time, did not become a Kohen and instead lived as a Levi. Pinchas was an outsider among the people. He was the only person among the thousands of people in Shevet Levi whose father was a Kohen, but they were not. But despite not being included in the Kehunah, Pinchas still had a love of Hashem and sprang into action when the time came. After that, he became a Kohen. But his actions did more than that. The rest of Parshat Pinchas is a census of the people, and then the laws of the various Korbanot for the Korban Tamid, Rosh Chodesh, Shabbat, and for the various festivals. Why are these two very different things placed in the same Parshah?
The answer is that Pinchas made these things happen. If no one in Bnei Yisrael had stepped up in the time of crisis and defended the honor of Hashem, the plague would have killed everyone in the nation. If it weren't for Pinchas' actions there would be no religious services and Bnei Yisrael would not have gone on. These festivals are one of the many things that makes us, as Jews, different from the world. Bnei Yisrael could have been just another people that had its peak but then died out.But instead, thanks to Pinchas, Bnei Yisrael have lived on and gotten not only through the Midbar but through countless tests in the past 2500+ years.
On June 24th, 2009, the Yankees were 39-32, 5 games back of the Boston Red Sox, and loser of 5 of their last 6 games. They went behind the Atlanta Braves 1-0 on a home run by Jeff Francoeur, and they were still down 1-0 in the 6th. Catcher Francisco Cervelli came to the plate. Cervelli wasn't supposed to be there. He was only there because of injuries to Jorge Posada and Jose Molina. But it didn't matter. Cervelli hit a home run into the centerfield seats, the start of 8 Yankees runs in the game as the Yankees won 8-4. And it was just the start. The Yankees went 64-27 (.703) in their last 91 games as they won 103 games on the year and won their 27th World Series title. And it all started with the virtually unknown Cervelli.
Pinchas (and Cervelli) teach us that we have to take advantage of our opportunities. We never know where they will take us. Pinchas could have just been sorry for himself and made at Hashem for not being a Kohen. But instead he remained hopeful and retained his belief in Hashem, and he ended up as a Kohen because of it. My hope is that we can maintain a positive outlook on life knowing that there will opportunities ahead for each of us. And may we also maintain a positive outlook, knowing that one day Mashiach will come Bimheirah Biyameinu, Amein.
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