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.