Reb Jeff
  • Blog
  • About
  • Favorites
  • Resources
  • Wedding Officiation
  • Stay in Touch
  • Contact Me
  • Temple Sinai

Righteousness and Self-Righteousness

7/26/2019

 
Picture
This week's Torah portion is Pinchas, named for the biblical character that Jewish tradition sees as the model of righteous zealotry. Don't be surprised if you did not learn about Pinchas when you were a child in religious school. His story is rather grisly.

In the story, Pinchas took swift, but unauthorized, action when he saw an Israelite man named Zimri "whoring" with a Midianite woman named Cozbi. (It's a charged word, but an accurate translation of the Hebrew, לזנות, in Numbers 25:1). Pinchas picked up a spear and killed both Zimri and Cozbi. According to the text, Pinchas' zealous action averted God's wrath against the Israelites and it earned him the reward of "perpetual priesthood."

Even the ancient rabbis had a hard time understanding and explaining this story, as it implies that vigilante killing can be excused, and even rewarded, if it is done in zealous obedience to God. It's a dangerous idea. We don't want to encourage people to justify killing by saying, "God told me to do it."

The Talmud states that Pinchas was only rewarded for his murderous action because he struck the couple while they were caught in the midst of the forbidden act. Further, it says that Zimri had a right to kill Pinchas in self-defense because no court had ordered him to be executed (B. Sanhedrin 82a). By some measure, Pinchas was no better than the man he killed.

What is the Torah trying to tell us? What are the rabbis trying to say?

Zealotry is a common human experience to things that excite our anger and our sense of righteousness. When people see things they believe to be evil, they often are quick to strike (preferably with words, not spears). We can recognize this tendency in ourselves.

Think about the times when you have responded angrily to something that seemed wrong to you. Did you say something hurtful? Did you become hostile? Did you do something that you later regretted, even if you thought your anger was justified?

Jewish tradition has an ambivalent approach to such zealotry. On the one hand, it is good to be passionate in the cause of justice and righteousness. We applaud swift action to stand up for what is right. On the other hand, we are reminded that we rarely make good choices when we are enraged.

The rabbis intentionally narrowed the circumstances when actions like Pinchas' could be permitted. They warned that the line between righteous indignation and self-righteous fervor can be very unclear when we are upset. They reminded us that zealotry can backfire in terrible ways.

How should we respond when our passions are excited by things that seem wrong to us? First, we should be patient with ourselves. Take the time you need to consider an appropriate response. Consider the perspective and intentions of the other person.

Second, let your response come from your best self – your highest values and your deepest commitments – and not from anger, self-aggrandizement, or fear. Remember that we always have a choice to make things better, or to allow our anger to make them worse. Make choices that lead to healing.

Finally, be humble. None of us is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes. Remember the times when you fell short of your standards and you needed others to be forgiving toward you – not enraged. Lower your ego before you judge others.

Pinchas' story is not easy. It challenges us and may even anger us. It reminds us that there are no easy choices in this world. It reminds us to examine ourselves, our motivations, and our feelings. It tells us to do the best we can to do what is right in a world that is often wrong.


Other Posts on This Topic:

Pinchas: Zealotry
​
Pinchas: Phinehas' Spear

Back Where We Came From

7/17/2019

 
Picture
This week’s political controversy from Washington – the one with tweets telling people to “go back” – will soon be forgotten like so many controversies before. For American Jews, though, this one hits close to home. We know what it feels like to be told to go back where you came from.
​
Telling people to “go back” has always been a slur against immigrants and their children telling them that they are “not American enough.” That, to me, is the heart of this controversy. We are living in a moment when our country is, once again, examining what it means to be an American, who gets to claim the mantle of being “real Americans,” and who – because of their race, religion, or family heritage – has to prove that they are worthy of being here.

When most of our Jewish ancestors fled to this country from persecution in the 1880s and 1890s, they were considered undesirable by those who were already here. Along with Italians, Irish, Chinese and others, the new immigrants were told that they did not belong. Even a generation after the great wave of Jewish migration, no less a public figure than Henry Ford spoke openly about a vast Jewish conspiracy that was infecting America. President Calvin Coolidge said that America was becoming “a dumping ground” for foul, anarchist, and criminal immigrants who should leave if they didn’t love America.

We have heard it all before. Jews had to prove that we were “real Americans” even generations after we became Americans. That’s why the current attacks on immigrants and their children are so painful and so familiar in Jewish ears.

To make matters worse, Jews have now been drawn directly into the controversy. The same people who tell others to “go back,” are also making accusations that their opponents “hate Jews” and “hate Israel.” This week, the ADL issued as statement condemning those who are “cynically using the Jewish people and the State of Israel as a shield to double down on” racist remarks.

There is no question that there is a problem in America and around the world with anti-Semitism and unfounded attacks against Israel. We must address those. However, it’s easy to see that Jews and Israel stand to lose if they are dragged into a mud fight over “who is a real American?” Wary of being associated with xenophobic attacks, we want to say, “Leave Jews out of this!”

But, the truth is, we can’t be left out of it because we have always been a part of it. We have always been among the people whose American identity has been questioned, and it is still happening today on the left and on the right. We’ve always been among the people who have been told, “Go back.”

In a sense, that’s exactly what we need to do. We need to go back. We need to go back to our values as Jews and as Americans. We need to go back to the ideals of loving the stranger, because we know what it is like to be a stranger. We need to go back to the principle that this country is one nation “with liberty and justice for all.” We need to go back to the words written by Emma Lazarus and carried by the lady in the harbor that say:

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!

The only “real America” is the one that embraces those values.


Other Posts on This Topic:
A Charge of Deicide
Things that Need to be Said

    Welcome

    This blog is about living a joyful Jewish life and bringing joy to synagogues and the Jewish community. Join the conversation by commenting on posts and sharing your experiences. For more on the topic, read the First Post.
    "Like" Reb Jeff on FB

    RSS Feed

    Enter your email address to subscribe to Reb Jeff posts by email

    Follow Reb Jeff's Tweets

    Recent Posts

    Purim & COVID-19
    ​The Honor of Heaven
    Chasing Our Own Tails
    Drilling Under Your Seat
    Change the World
    Self-Righteousness
    Where We Came From
    What We Must Believe
    ​Is Passover 7 or 8 Days?Origin Story
    Va'eira: Leadership​

    Jeff's Favorites

    • First Post
    • Searching for How the Bible Defines Marriage 
    • The Difference between God and Religion
    • In the Beginning of What?
    • Rape, Abortion and Judaism
    • Ten Thoughts about Being a Rabbi
    • Temple Dues and Don'ts
    • A Pesach Lesson from Yoga
    • The Purpose of the Torah

    Torah Portions

    Genesis
    Bereshit
    Noach
    Lech Lecha
    Vayera
    Chayei Sarah
    Toledot
    Vayetze
    Vayishlach
    Vayeshev
    Miketz
    Vayigash
    Vayechi

    Exodus
    Shemot
    Va'eira
    Bo
    Beshalach
    Yitro
    Mishpatim
    Terumah
    Tetzaveh
    Ki Tisa
    Vayakhel
    Pekudei

    Leviticus
    Vayikra
    Tzav
    Shemini
    Tazria
    Metzora
    Acharei Mot
    Kedoshim
    Emor
    Behar
    Bechukotai

    Numbers
    Bamidbar
    Naso
    Beha'alotecha
    Shelach
    Korach
    Chukat
    Balak
    Pinchas
    Matot
    Masei

    Deuteronomy
    Devarim
    Va'etchanan
    Ekev
    Re'eh
    Shoftim
    Ki Tetze
    Ki Tavo
    Nitzavim
    Vayelech
    Ha'azinu
    Vezot Haberachah

    Holidays
    Shabbat
    Rosh Chodesh
    Pesach/Passover
    Omer Period
    Yom HaShoah
    Yom HaZikaron
    Yom Ha'atzma'ut
    Pesach Sheini
    Lag B'Omer
    Yom Yerushalayim
    Shavuot
    Fast of Tammuz
    Tisha B'Av
    Tu B'Av
    Rosh Hashanah
    Days of Awe
    Yom Kippur
    Sukkot
    Hoshanah Rabbah
    Shmini Atzeret/
    Simchat Torah
    Chanukah
    Tu BiShvat
    Adar (Joy Increases!)
    Purim

    Archives

    September 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    March 2020
    October 2019
    September 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    January 2019
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011

    Loading
    Jewish Bloggers
    Powered By Ringsurf
    Picture