Pinchas: G-d Helps Those Who Forget Themselves. Rabbi Tuvia Bolton, Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim, Kfar Chabad, Israel
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Parshat Pinchas
This week's Torah reading begins with G-d rewarding a simple Jew called Pinchas for his self-sacrifice that saved the entire Jewish nation.
1)G-d made him a Cohen (priest) which is usually an inherited quality.
2) He received a "Covenant of Peace."
3) He will become Elijah the prophet and usher in 'Moshiach' who will 'build' the third Temple and educate the entire world (Zohar B:190).
Similar to how G-d tells Jeremiah in this week's Haftora (Jeremiah 1:5) "I have made you a prophet to the gentiles".
It all comes to teach us that one person such as Pinchas, Elijah and Jeremiah, can change the world.
But at first glance this is not understood. Torah means 'teaching'. It instructs us how to make ourselves and this world work properly.
But here seems to be an exception. Surely we are not at the level of Pinchas, Elijah, Jeremiah! How can we save and change the entire world?
To understand this, here is a story. (HaK'hila12thTammuz, Kolot pg. 31)
Rabbi Yhoshua Heshel of Apta, called the Apta Rebbe, was once on his way back from an important meeting when his carriage driver noticed a man standing in the road in the far distance, apparently a religious Jew, waving his hands as though trying to flag him down.
He told the driver to approach cautiously as it could be a robber and as he got closer the man began yelling, "Rebbe? Apta Rebbe? Rebbe! I need you! Is it you?? Save me!! Help!!"
The Rebbe told the driver to stop a distance from the man and wait to see what happened. When the carriage stopped the poor fellow ran to it, weeping and sobbing loudly from the depths of his heart, fell to his knees on the dusty road begging and pleading.
The Rebbe opened his carriage door, told him to stop weeping, and tell his sad story.
His name was Avraham. Years earlier he rented an inn on the properties of the local Baron and, although at first he had several years of relative success, for the last ten years business had been so poor that he didn't made enough to even support his family who was forced to live off stale bread and rotten potatoes which was running low.
Now the Baron was demanding his ten years of back rent, threatening him with imprisonment and his family was starving. He needed a miracle. That's why he was waiting here. He heard the Rebbe would be on this road and, like Moses, he could get him out of 'Egypt'.
The Rebbe stuck his hand in his pocket, pulled out a small pouch of money which just moments ago a rich man had given him to distribute to the poor and emptied its entire contents into the trembling open hands of the poor Jew!
It was three hundred guilders. A lot of money, but not enough. He needed several THOUSAND …… in three days!
"Rebbe!" He groaned, clasping his hands to heart in supplication! "Rebbe, I thank you with all my broken heart but I need ten thousand! What I need is a blessing! A very big blessing!" He held out the money for the Rebbe to take back and began to weep.
The Rebbe fell silent for a few minutes and then, as though he suddenly remembered something important, exclaimed to himself loud enough for Avraham to hear.
"Aha! Now I understand. Hmmm, now I understand."
He took the money back and explained.
"You want a blessing? Well, I just remembered something. Now it's clear to me. That's right. I'm positive you'll get it.
"About a year ago I was approached by young man, a poor Jew, who begged me to officiate over his wedding ceremony. At first, I told him it was impossible. I had a lot of very important work to do, my every second was precious, and, after all, there are a lot of other very qualified Rabbis. But something told me that I should throw caution to the winds and do it. So, I agreed. But only on condition that a swift carriage would be arranged to take me there and return me immediately after the actual marriage because I had a lot of things to do.
"The Jew happily agreed and, sure enough, the next day an hour before the wedding a carriage with two huge horses whisked me off to the ceremony and in short order I arrived, officiated over the marriage, shook everyone's hands, and turned to leave.
"But the groom and his family surrounded me and begged that I delay just a 'few seconds' to make a 'L'Chaim' and bless the family of the bride and groom. So, I reluctantly agreed. Then somehow, they convinced me to just stay a few 'minutes' for the meal … that it meant so much to them etc. etc
"I don't know why. I had so much work to do at home. I wanted to just refuse and remind them of our agreement but I didn't. I stayed, washed my hands for bread, ate a bit, blessed everyone, even said a short Torah speech and fifteen minutes later I apologized that my carriage was waiting and really was leaving.
"But as soon as I said that, three of the groom's friends announced that they had been working on a play for months in honor of the newlywed couple and before I knew it, they took their places and began.
"The fact is I had never seen a play before and, I almost put a stop to it but as soon as it began, I was entranced. His friends were excellent actors and it was like watching the real thing.
"The scene was a court house. Two litigants, a simple Jew and an arrogant gentile noble, were standing before a judge who sat austerely arms folded in a large chair behind a desk listening intently to their claims. The noble claimed that the Jew owed him several years of rent and he demanded that he either pay up or be held ransom in jail with his family until someone came up with the money.
"The Jew, in turn, argued that the noble had tricked him into believing the inn would be profitable when in fact it was a total waste of time and energy.
"The impassioned performances by both sides were fascinating." The Apta Rebbe continued "But I kept asking myself 'what does this have to do with the wedding? Or with me? Why am I wasting my time seeing this?"
"The judge, after hearing both sides, deliberated aloud and finally, after a few seconds of tense silence, brought his gavel thundering down on the desk before him and announced …… the Jew was totally innocent and exempt from all payment!
"The audience, namely the groom and all the wedding guests, cheered and applauded with glee and everyone thought the play was over. But then an unexpected thing happened; the accused Jew in the play stood, faced the judge, cleared his throat and angrily demanded that, because he had worked for ten years for nothing and suffered, together with his family, hunger, cold and humiliation…. that the noble give him the entire inn and all the land around it as reparation!
"The 'noble' stood to his full height, fuming with rage screaming threats and curses 'impudent serf! Worthless dog! Insolent Jew! 'Then suddenly all the actors turned to me and asked in unison,
"'And what does our holy guest, the Rebbe of Apta, say?'"
"I was half amused and half surprised by how the play jumped off the stage to me! I thought for a moment and played along. I stood and announced, 'The Jew is right! The nobleman must pay in full!!"
Everyone answered 'Amen!!' began laughing, clapping and making ' L'chiams'.
"I hurriedly made the blessing after eating, wished everyone well, ran to the carriage and in an hour was back home. But my conscience bothered me terribly over the time I wasted especially over that play. What childish frivolity! But I consoled myself that I made the newlyweds and the guests happy.
"This was over a year ago and I had totally forgotten it" concluded the Rebbe, "but just now when I heard your story it all came back to me. I have a feeling that it relates to your case. Let's wait till tomorrow and see. Meanwhile, take some of this money and buy some food for your family. And pray for the best."
Poor Avraham returned home full of hope … and fear. What if he wasn't deserving of a miracle? But he tried his best to only think positive thoughts.
Early the next morning at sunrise his sleep was disturbed by five thundering knocks at the door that filled him with dread, only the Baron knocked like that! Avraham looked at his wife, took a deep breath, straightened his jacket and opened it.
It was the Baron all right, but he had a strange look on his face. "Please come in honorable Baron." Avraham said, "You came a bit early...a few days. I'm just getting the rent together, if your majesty could only….. "
But the Baron didn't seem interested in rent. He seemed terribly worried about something else. Avraham invited him to sit down, poured him a small glass of brandy and a large glass of water. The Baron drank both and began to talk.
"Listen my friend, forget what you owe me. Here, see this?" He took out an official looking document, put it on the table and continued,
"Several years ago, I was involved in a crime, it's not important what. The trial has drawn out until now but yesterday it ended and I was sentenced to seven years in prison. They gave me a day to put my things in order. Now, you know that I never married and have no family and so, well, I got to thinking and, well, I decided that I'm not a young man and, well, if anything happens to me, instead of the government taking all my properties I figured, well, you have a family and, to tell you the truth, you are the only honest man I know. So that's what this document is for, it's a deed to all my lands and properties from now on … if I don't come back. What do you say?"
Of course, Avraham agreed, took the deed and neither he nor anyone he knew ever saw the Baron again. The Rebbe's 'blessing' came true.
This answers our questions.
The way the Apta Rebbe changed the situation from tragedy to joy was by just forgetting himself and letting G-d take over. Rather than sitting at home and learning Torah as he desired, he 'let go' for someone else's sake and G-d transformed disaster to blessing.
Just as Pinchas did in our Torah reading: if we forget ourselves and just do what G-d wants, G-d will change the world around us.
Perhaps this is best stated in this week's Haftora, as the Lubavitcher Rebbe points out ( Lekuti Sichot#18 pg 342). When Jeremiah refuses G-d's offer to be a prophet saying that "I don't know because I'm just a child" G-d answers. "Don't fear because I'm with you!"
In other words, G-d is promising here that He will be with EACH OF US, giving us power, joy and success if we decide to improve the
Indeed, it was for that purpose that G-d formed us, as He said the Jeremiah "Before you were formed, I knew you".
That is the message of Pinchas. If one even simple Jew, is willing to change their nature to do what is right then G-d CERTAINLY will help and give everything necessary for success. And with G-d's help ANYTHING is possible.
And this 'self-sacrifice' is precisely what will bring Elijah the prophet who will announce Moshiach.
It all depends on us to make it happen even one second sooner. It could be that just one more good deed, word or even thought can tip the scales and bring....
Moshiach NOW!
Rabbi Tuvia Bolton
Yeshiva Ohr Tmimim
Kfar Chabad, Israel
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