Someone Else’s Zealot

by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

Pinchas acted most definitively. When he saw the prince of the tribe of Shimon teasing Moshe he killed him. The prince, Zimri, had taken a Midianite princess dressed for prostitution, and teased Moshe loudly, asking, “May I be with this woman.” Pinchas- the man who acted- is known as a “Kanoi”, often translated as a zealot. Some people associate a zealot with being an angry person. A better description might be to describe him as a person with moral clarity.

Avraham for example lived in a world that rejected monotheism. Avraham’s position to stand up for his belief in one G-d could well have been described as an act of zealotry. Indeed there were people who wished to persecute him. Yet Avraham certainly wasn’t an angry person. Avraham as a person was kind, hospitable, and even pleaded the case for the city of Sedom when it was to be destroyed for its sinful ways.

The true root of the word zealous is zeal, which means to act with enthusiasm. Zeal is not destructive; it is not synonymous with lashing out at others. It is a sense of passion and a clarity regarding the difference between right and wrong.

Often, one who is uninitiated in a discipline cannot fathom why someone else would take it so seriously. A person unfamiliar with science, bacteria, and infection, for example, will find it hard to understand why the surgical staff would dress up like clowns before open heart surgery or hip replacement. The uninitiated onlooker might gawk and think the surgical team is queer, or maybe even fanatical. Yet, to someone who understands the risks of infection, and is truly concerned for the welfare of the patient, these precautions and behaviors are downright elementary.

We do not live in Biblical times. We are not called upon to manifest our loyalty to Torah as Pinchas was. Yet Biblical narratives are meant to guide us in fundamental ways. In this case to guide us regarding our clarity and enthusiasm to moral right and wrong.

A young man or young woman may find it excessively challenging to find appropriate clothing to purchase. They may find themselves going from store to store unsatisfied with the image which the available clothing would portray them. What motivates them to keep looking? It is an enthusiasm for the moral clarity that they believe in.

Likewise, as Jews we are expected to communicate with clarity even if we think our position might not be the popular view. Like most humans we strive for the formula which will bring us as close as humanly possible to utopia. As Jews we believe that the formula is found neither in wealth, nor in the freedom to act upon any impulse or whim. Not surprisingly, we believe that the closest humankind can come to utopia is to live as a family, man and woman as husband and wife, in peace, kindness, and harmony.

© 2015 by TEACH613™