"Pinchas, the son of Eleazar,
the son of Aharon the priest..."
(Numbers 25:11)
Tammuz 25, 5767/July 11, 2007
Rabbi A. Y. Heschel of Apt, (the famed Ohev Yisrael), points out that the Torah portion of Pinchas, which is always read during beyn hameitzarim, the three weeks of mourning and introspection concerning the destruction of the Holy Temple, contains within it a description of all of the Jewish holy days. Seven days of Passover, one day of Shavuot, two days of Rosh HaShana, one day of Yom Kippur, seven days of Sukkot, one day of Shmini Atzeret, Shabbat and Rosh Chodesh totaling twenty one days, are all mentioned in the Torah portion. These twenty one holy days parallel the twenty one days of the beyn hameitzarim period between the seventeenth day of Tammuz and the ninth day of Av. Rabbi Heschel of Apt goes on to emphasize that these twenty one days of mourning don't merely parallel the twenty one festive days, they are, in fact, the spiritual root and source of the twenty one festive days. This is a very powerful statement: In other words, these twenty one days that for the past 1937 years have been utilized to express our grief over the loss of the Holy Temple, are not grim and remorseful by nature, but quite the opposite. These are days which portend greatness, peace, and joy. These are days laden with potential.
The hidden nature of potential would seem to be the common theme which binds the inner spirit of Pinchas, both with his contemporaries, the generation of the desert, and with the twenty one days of the beyn hameitzarim. "Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest..." (ibid) is granted the rarified status of zealot. Despite the fact that he took the lives of two people, he is not considered a murderer, G-d forbid. Had even the smallest aspect of his character evinced a trace of violence or malice he could not have been accepted as a zealot. The Torah emphasizes his lineage, "Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aharon the priest..." (ibid), in order to make clear that he was a true son of Aharon, a man of chesed - kindness, who loved humanity and sought peace between people. Pinchas' potential for greatness was not obvious to the onlooker. His ultimate act of love for Hashem and His people seemingly came out of nowhere, contradicting his peaceful, forbearing personality.
Just as with Pinchas, there lies within the very pure nature of the twenty one days of the beyn hameitzarim the power for change and renewal. Hidden behind their outward appearance of mourning and regret is the great power possessed by the pure zealot to stop outright the 1937 year old plague of devastation, and restore the exiled twenty one holy days of the Jewish calendar to their rightful place of celebration: the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
It is up to us, today, to step forth and unlock the great potential inherent within the days of the beyn hameitzarim. It is up to us to tap into the same wellspring of zealous purity, and like Pinchas, right the wrong. Only then will we merit G-d's "covenant of peace." (Numbers 25:12)
Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, and join Yitzchak Reuven and Rabbi Richman as they discuss Pinchas and the hidden potential of the three weeks of beyn hameitzarim.
New illegal acts of construction/destruction on the Temple Mount are being perpetrated by the Moslem Wakf. For articles and exclusive photographs, please click here.
On this week's Light to the Nations on the Universal Torah Network, Rabbi Richman discusses "The Baking of the the Showbread: The Garmu family, the priestly family entrusted with the unique task of baking the showbread." To view this week's show, premiering Thursday, please click here.
Be sure to view Rabbi Richman's five minute teaching on this week's Torah reading of Matot-Massei (Numbers 30:2-36:13), also on the Universal Torah Network.
Yitzchak Reuven
THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE
PO Box 31876
Jerusalem, Israel 97500
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