Lessons from the Rebbetzin’s Heart – Parashat Pinchas

Unanimous Outrage against Jewish Terrorism

The Gay Pride parade in the city of Be’er Sheva was cancelled last Wednesday in protest of Israel’s High Court of Justice banning the parade from passing through a central street. The reason for the ban was to avoid violence, such as what happened at Jerusalem’s Gay Pride parade last summer, when Yishai Schlissel murdered a 16-year-old girl, Shira Banki. Prior to the parade, Yishai had distributed a letter that read, “It is the obligation of every Jew to keep his soul from punishment and stop this giant desecration of G-d’s name next Thursday [at the gay parade].”

When my husband told me this news, my first reaction was, “People will say that the murder had a positive effect.” “That’s exactly what Hertzog and the ‘leftwingers’ are saying,” responded my husband. While, I am far from upset about the cancellation of the Gay Pride parade, I firmly oppose anyone taking the law into their own hands, justifying murder or even stone throws in the name of the Torah. The only exception is if, G-d forbid, our own lives are directly threatened, as it states, “Whoever comes to kill you, you must arise to kill him” (Babylonian Talmud, Berachot 58a). It is only for this reason that my husband, unfortunately, needs to carry a gun. For years, Bat Ayin has struggled to clear its reputation of being particularly extremist and ‘a bunch of Jewish terrorists.’ Contrary to public opinion, most of Bat Ayin’s residents, like myself, strongly oppose murders such as that of Shira Banki, the Arab teenager in 2014, and Yitzchak Shamir in 1995. I totally share the sentiment of Rabbi Joel Zeff, a new addition to B’erot’s faculty: “I can think of no greater desecration of the name of G-d, no more egregious perversion of the Torah, than that committed by these young men [who murdered the Arab teen from Shuafat]. Their unforgivable crime is compounded by the inestimable damage it has done to Israel’s already uphill battle to gain understanding for its struggle against terrorism. My only (small) consolation is the unanimous outrage against this barbaric act expressed by the entire spectrum of Israeli society” (Rabbi Joel Zeff, Parshat Pinchas: Zealot or Cruel Murderer?).

Erroneous Comparison between Arab Terrorism and ‘Price-tag’ Activists
The few acts of Jewish terrorism over the years have caused the world at large to erroneously equate the injustices done against Jews to that against Arabs in Israel. I remember discussing this issue with one of my leftist minded family members who claimed that, “Jews and Arabs are equally guilty, since violence committed by Jewish Israeli settlers and their supporters against Palestinians and Israeli security forces is just as bad as Arab terrorist acts.” Wikipedia even defines a term called ‘Israeli settler violence.’ Just as the Middle East conflict in general is blown out of proportion in the news with the demonization of Israel, so are the ‘Price-tag’ acts greatly exaggerated. In reality, only a minority of the so-called ‘Palestinians’ have the courage to stand up against Arab terrorism, while Jewish terrorist supporters comprise an extremely small minority of Israelis. “Demographically and organizationally, price taggers stand on ‘the fringe of the fringe’ of the settler world. Estimates suggest they number in the mere hundreds. The coordination (if any) of attacks is informal and spontaneous” (‘The Simple Jew’: The ‘Price Tag’ Phenomenon, Vigilantism, and Rabbi Yitzchak Ginsburgh’s Political Kabbalah, Tessa Satherley). Conversely, the majority of the Arab world, and particularly the ‘Palestinians, support terrorism and the murder of Jews. Their leaders call to publically celebrate the murderers and name streets after them.

Hashem Sanctions Pinchas as a True Zealot
The example of Pinchas, in this week’s parasha has been used as a role model for zealotry. The Torah recounts that Zimri, the head of the tribe of Shimon, was publicly engaged in immoral behavior with a Midianite woman called Kasbi. Hashem sends a severe plague as a punishment. While, Moshe remains passive Aharon’s grandson, Pinchas, decides to act on his own, grabs a spear, kills the offending couple and stops the plague. Subsequently, G-d grants his covenant of peace to Pinchas as a reward for his zealotry: