Pinchas and Elijah

Parashat Pinchas (Num. 25:10-30:1) offers a graphic example of how seriously the Torah regards Chilhul HaShem—the public desecration of God’s name. It is considered a grave offense when transgression of the Torah is witnessed by others, literally teaching them how to sin.

The events leading up to Parashat Pinchas reveal how idolatry eventually results in the kind of perversion alluded to in the concluding verses of Parasha Balak. The old seer, Balaam, hired to curse Israel, fails. But before parting, he tells the Moabite king, Balak, to entice Israel's sons to worship Baal-peor with its deviant sexual rituals.

This is the allure of idolatry, mixing the profane with the holy, painting depravity with a sheen of politically-correct diversity.

Baalam tells the Moab/Midian coalition to subvert Israel by undermining their greatest strength, their "Goodly tents". In other words, Balaam identified Israel’s core—its modesty and family sanctity—and crafted a strategy to dismantle it. If they could erode Israel's holiness, particularly in the realm of sexual morality, then God Himself would punish them.

It was at a time when Israel found itself, literally and spiritually, lost in the woods.

“While Israel was staying at Shittim, the menfolk profaned themselves by whoring with the Moabite women who invited the menfolk to the sacrifices for their god.” - Numbers 25:1

The nation had camped in a region named after the Shittah tree. Rabbi Saadiah Gaon translates the word as shant or acacia wood. The Hebrew is related to shetut, meaning folly. According to the Sages this is an allusion to the acacia wood used in the construction of the Mishkan which,“Transforms the folly of materialism into the "folly of holiness”—commitment to God that transcends the rationale and normalcy of "the way things are."

The Midianites sent their own daughters to weaponize sexual and religious seduction. The result was a national crisis:

• Mass idolatry centered around Baal-Peor

• Rampant immorality

• A deadly plague killing 24,000 Israelites (Numbers 25:9)

Events reached critical mass when Zimri, prince of the tribe of Shimon, brought Cozbi, a Midianite princess into the camp flouting Moses’ leadership and mocking divine law. According to Rashi, he taunted Moses by asking, “Is she forbidden or permitted to me? And if forbidden, who permitted you to marry a Midianite woman?”

Zimri dragged Cosbi to a tent where they brazenly coupled while a shocked Moses and the Elders stood by, speechless. This was a public desecration of God's name (Chilul HaShem). It was the most treasonous behavior at a time of national vulnerability.

Pinchas, a grandson of Aaron move by his zeal for God acted swiftly and deliberately, under the authority of a forgotten precept called kana’im pog’in bo—"zealots may strike him down" (Talmud, Sanhedrin 81b). It is a provision that permits extrajudicial action only under strict conditions:

• The sin must be public and brazen.

• The act must take place in the midst of the transgression.

• The zealot’s motive must be purely for the sake of Heaven.

Pinchas' act is still questioned by some scholars today who view it as the Torah endorsing the actions of a vigilante. However, viewed in contemporary terms, Pinchas was sanctioned by laws recognized by any modern democratic state that deploys emergency action when faced with existential threats to the nation. Here in America, for example:

• The War Powers Resolution (1973) allows the President to deploy military forces rapidly, with limited congressional oversight.

• The Insurrection Act (1807) permits the President to use military force to suppress rebellion or civil disorder.

• Martial law, though rarely declared, suspends normal civil authority to restore order in times of catastrophe.

These laws recognize that extraordinary measures may be required to save the nation, even if such actions fall outside normal legal procedures. Pinchas met such criteria and more. His act halted a plague and restored order. What sets Pinchas apart was his motive. The Midrash teaches that God examined Pinchas' heart and found no trace of ego or vengeance—only pure zeal for God's honor. As a result, God did not condemn him—He rewarded him:

“Pinchas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his passion for Me, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My passion. Say, therefore, ‘I grant him My pact of friendship. It shall be for him and his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all time, because he took impassioned action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israel.’” - Numbers 25:11-13

The Sages of Israel teach that Pinchas was supposed to die for taking such drastic action, but the covenant preserved his life. And, remarkably they say, Pinchas became Eliyahu HaNavi—Elijah the Prophet.

The same zeal that drove Pinchas to halt the very public sin of Zimri and Cosbi, (prompted their worship of Baal Peor), would later be reflected in Elijah’s confrontation with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. In both cases, Pinchas/Elijah stands alone against a corrupt majority. In the days of King Ahab and his lascivious Queen Jezebel, Elijah challenges a royal court steeped in idolatry, moral corruption, and the enabling of licentious worship tied to Baal and Asherah.

Baal was worshiped through fertility rites, including ritual sex acts believed to stimulate agricultural abundance. Temples of Baal employed sacred prostitutes, both male and female, as intermediaries. This practice explains why the prophets of Israel so often equate idolatry with adultery—Baal worship was spiritually and physically seductive.

On Mount Carmel, Elijah challenges Israel's allegiance and demonstrates God's sovereignty by calling down heavenly fire upon his water-drenched offering.

Just as Pinchas pierced through a moment of dangerous confusion in the land, with a spear, Elijah extinguished idolatry with prophetic fire.

The covenant of peace was given to Pinchas for his actions but also for what he would become. He is the one who restores the boundary between holy and profane—and ultimately, the one who announces the coming of peace in the end of days.

Pinchas teaches us that, in a world where moral clarity is under siege, courage is essential but courage matched by humility, purity and divine purpose. Pinchas didn't wait to act. God didn't wait to respond. In this sense, Pinchas becomes not a warning against zeal, but a model of holy vigilance.

In our day, where public sinning is a common occurrence, we anticipate a time when we can witness Israel leading daily public worship of the Creator, in a House of Prayer for All Nations.