BackA Violent Act or A Peaceful Act?
By: Rabbi Barak Bar-Chaim
In this week’s Torah portion, Pinchas (Aron the high priest’s grandson) is praised by God for carrying out justice for the honor of God. God then rewards Pinchas with a covenant of peace. It is very strange that the reward for a militant act of heroism should be a covenant of peace.
The Ralbag, a great 14th century scholar, sheds light on this matter. He explains that we misclassify Pinchas’ act as a violent act. Pinchas saw that the Jewish people were straying from their connection to God. His love for God motivated him to restore the peace and the love between God and the Jewish people. He would have preferred to bring about peace through peaceful means. However, when all diplomatic attempts failed, Pinchas realized that a forceful act was necessary to restore the peace between God and the Jewish people.
As Jews, we are obligated to pursue peace as is stated in the Ethics of the Fathers (Chapter 1) “…Be among the disciples of Aron, loving peace and pursuing peace…” We are to pursue peace through peaceful means, as Maimonides states (Hilchot Melachim 6): “We do not make war before seeking peace…” However, in unfortunate circumstances when all peaceful means have been exhausted, it is sometimes necessary to use forceful means to achieve peace. Parshat Pinchas teaches us that the only time force is justified is where force is used to attain peace.
Pinchas was rewarded with a covenant of peace because his true motivation was love and peace. He used force only as a last resort to restore peace. Let us pray for peace and pray for success in achieving peace without force or harm to anyone.