JULY 6 • 2023 | 39

right time to present their 
request. They knew how to 
interpret Scripture, and they 
were perfectly virtuous. Even 
more consequentially, their 
love of the Land of Israel was 
in striking contrast to that of 
the men. The spies had come 
back with a negative report 
about the land, and the peo-
ple had said, “Let us appoint 
a [new] leader and return 
to Egypt” (Num. 14:4). But 
Zelophehad’s daughters want-
ed to have a share in the land, 
which they were duly granted. 
This led to the famous 
comment of Rabbi Ephraim 
Luntschitz of Prague (1550-
1619) on the episode of the 
spies. Focusing on God’s 
words, “Send for your-
self men to spy out the land 
of Canaan” (Num. 14:2), 
Luntschitz argued that God 
was not commanding Moses 
but permitting him to send 
men. God was saying, “From 
My perspective, seeing the 
future, it would have been 
better to send women, because 
they love and cherish the land 
and would never come to speak 
negatively about it. However, 
since you are convinced that 
these men are worthy and do 
indeed value the land, I give 
you permission to go ahead 
and send them.
”
 
WE WILL LOSE WHAT 
WE FAIL TO LOVE 
The result was catastrophic. 
Ten of the men came back 
with a negative report. The 
people were demoralized, 
and the result was that they 
lost the chance to enter 
the land in their lifetime. 
They lost their chance to 
enjoy their inheritance in 
the land promised to their 
ancestors. The daughters of 
Zelophehad, by contrast, did 
inherit the land — because 

they loved it. What we love, 
we inherit. What we fail to 
love, we lose.
I cannot help but think 
that in some strange way the 
stories of the daughters of 
Zelophehad and the auction of 
the missing Poussin illustrate 
the state of Jewish identity 
today. For many of my con-
temporaries, Judaism was like 
the story of Ernest Onian’s 
penchant for paintings. 
Judaism was something their 
parents had but not something 
that was meaningful to them. 
Like Onians’ children, they 
were willing to let go of it, 
unaware that it was a legacy 
of immense value. When we 
don’t fully appreciate the value 
of something, we can lose a 
treasure without ever knowing 
it is a treasure.
Judaism, of course, is not a 
painting. It’s an identity. And 
you can’t sell an identity. But 
you can lose it. And many 
Jews are losing theirs. Our 
ancestors have given us the gift 
of a past. We owe them the gift 
of a future faithful to that past. 
At least we should not relin-
quish it simply because we 
don’t know how valuable it is.
The life-changing idea here 
is surely simple yet profound: 
if we truly wish to hand on 
our legacy to our children, we 
must teach them to love it. 
The most important element 
of any education is not learn-
ing facts or skills but learning 
what to love. What we love, we 
inherit. What we fail to love, 
we lose. 

Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks (1948-

2020) was a global religious leader, 

philosopher, the author of more 

than 25 books and moral voice 

for our time. His series of essays 

on the weekly Torah portion, titled 

“Covenant & Conversation” will con-

tinue to be shared and distributed 

around the world. 

SPIRIT

When Is Zealotry 
a Force for Good?
I

n the Zohar’s commentary 
on Pinchas we read the fol-
lowing: “Like a rose among 
thorns, so is my beloved among 
the daughters.
” 
The Zohar presents 
an image of the Divine 
amidst the complexity 
of human actions. This 
imagery encapsulates 
the tension between 
the delicate beauty of 
righteousness and the 
thorny challenges of 
zealotry.
Pinchas witnesses an 
Israelite man publicly 
engaging in idolatrous 
acts with a Midianite 
woman. The Torah tells 
us, “When Pinchas … saw this, 
he left the assembly and, taking 
a spear in his hand, he followed 
the Israelite man into the cham-
ber and stabbed them both … 
Then the plague against the 
Israelites was checked.
” (Numbers 
25:7-8). 
God, at the beginning of our 
Torah portion, says, “Pinchas has 
turned away My wrath … by dis-
playing among them his passion 
for Me …
” While his zealousness 
is rewarded by God and the 
plague is halted, Pinchas’ actions 
provoke a critical question: Is 
zealotry a virtue or a vice?
The Zohar’s allegory of 
the rose among the thorns 
reminds us of the complexity 
in human experience. Pinchas’ 
actions many have come from 
a deep-seated love for God 
and a desire to defend the cov-
enant. However, the thorns 
surrounding the rose symbolize 
the potential dangers that lurk 
within zealotry. If one does not 
tread carefully, the thorns may 
overshadow the beauty of our 

intentions. Perhaps it is because 
of this delicate balance that God 
“rewards” Pinchas with His 
Covenant of Peace and desig-
nates him as future high priest. 
Through this action, God, 
in essence, removes Pinchas 
from daily interactions with 
the people lest his zealotry 
cause further damage.
The Zohar’s quote should 
also make us consider that 
zealotry can be a force 
for positive change; yet, if 
unchecked, can devolve into 
extremism and cause terrible 
harm. The Talmud says that 
Pinchas acted without giving 
the accused a trial and, there-
fore, Pinchas would have 
been liable for punishment. The 
sages were concerned that the 
thorns of zealotry could easily 
lead to disaster. Perhaps they 
were reflecting on the zealots 
that stoked the rebellion against 
Rome and later the Bar Kochba 
rebellion, both leading to dev-
astation for the Jewish people. 
During those times, the thorns 
overshadowed the rose.
The Zohar’s quote, likening 
the Divine Presence to a rose 
among thorns, urges us to 
approach zealotry with aware-
ness, discernment and caution. 
We cannot do away with zealot-
ry; it has always been part of the 
human experience (whether reli-
gious or political). Our challenge 
is to channel religious fervor 
through the lens of righteous-
ness and compassion, to create a 
true Covenant of Peace. In that 
way we can focus on the beauty 
of the rose instead of getting 
pricked by the thorns. 

Rabbi Robert Gamer is the rabbi at 

Congregation Beth Shalom in Oak Park.

TORAH PORTION

Rabbi Robert 
Gamer

Parshat 

Pinchas: 

Numbers 

25:10-30:1; 

Jeremiah 

1:1-2:3.

