This weeks’ Parsha introduces us to the difficult topic of kana’us. Pinchas takes matters into his own hands and kills a bunch of sinners. For this, he is presented with an eternal gift of peace! Without the requisite understanding, this dispensation of law and order that is kana’us, can create total chaos. With the proper approach, it has the potential to save a nation.
What is the basis for the relinquishment of the normative justice system? What is the connection between the midda of kana’us and the midda of shalom? What is the midda k’neged midda?
The root of the word shalom forms several meanings. Shalom, peace, as in shalom bayis, is one. Shaleym, whole or complete, as in mechila b’leyv shaleym, two. Tashlum, payment, as in the payment of a debt (tashlum chov), is a third. How are the meanings of these words interrelated?
To begin, we must first understand that shalom, peace, is a far loftier ideal than the Israeli-Palestinian peace deal that every American ba’al ga’avah politician wants to present us with. At the very best, it would be a stalemate. “I don’t bother you, you don’t bother me, and everyone is happy”. This may be peace but it is not shalom. When thinking of the term shalom, we may envision a calm and tranquil Erev Shabbos. Cleanliness. Order. How is this relevant to shalom?
Rav Dessler explains that, shalom is the “sh’leymus hadargos”. When all of ones’ middos are in sync with each other and they work in concert- that is shalom. It is what the Mesilas Yesharim refers to as sh’leymus ha’avoda. At a time when there is no battle within oneself- his entire being is singularly focused- there is shleymus and there is shalom. The Midrash relates that when the time came for Moshe Rabeynu to pass, his neshama pleaded with Hashem to allow it to remain in the guf. This is astounding! One would think that a neshama as holy as Moshe’s would want to be in Heaven, where total “ruchniyus” reigns. The Ba’aley Mussar explain, that at this point, there was no longer any fight between the neshama and the guf of Moshe Rabeynu. There was totalshalom between them. It’s true, in Heaven there would be no impediments to kedusha but there would also be no opportunity for shalom. Peace, certainly, but not shalom.
In Menuchas Hanefesh / Mindfulness Part 2, we discussed the various duties of the different parts of a person. The mind has desires and lets them be known to the nervous system, which, in turn, sends the message to the myriad body parts that turn thoughts into reality. The terminology that the Cheshbon Hanefesh uses is of great importance in understanding the depth of the matter. The very first paragraph about menuchas hanefesh begins, “As long as a person’s mind is settled, his nefesh hamaskeles serves as a torch atop the edifice of the guf. The nefesh habahamis is sent to spread this light of knowledge…” The import of this is, the normal functioning of a person is what allows him to have menuchas hanefesh. Menuchas hanefesh is to oneself what shalom is to others. The normal order of man's functioning is with the "seychel" leading.
Shalom is indeed order and cleanliness. Shalom is an organization running smoothly, each counterpart complimenting another. Shalom and sh’leymus. When there is sh’leymus there isshalom. The Rambam comments on the Mishnah, “The world remains in existence because of three things; din, emes, and shalom”; “when these three are established, the world will be b’sh’leymus”. When everything operates in its proper capacity, there is shalom. There is a time and place for din, for emes, and for shalom. Although they would seem to be at odds with each other, the reality is that they are all necessary. If any middah, even shalom, oversteps its boundaries, the world will be lacking in sh’leymus. Even shalom is not absolute. Like Chazal say,rachmanus on an achzar leads to cruelty on a rachman. When a middah is misplaced, a person is not b’shalom with himself and bad things happen… Similarly, the guf is necessary and l’chatchila, only, we must be good conductors. Although it often seems as though its’ greatest desire is to overthrow the seychel, the truth is, that the guf “wants” to be subjugated and supervised. The guf is like a rebellious child who, ultimately, wants to be guided by his parents.
We return now to the third word, tashlum. When someone repays a debt, he is filling a void that was left with the loan that he took. Understood simply, now the lender has his money back; there is no void in his bank balance. On a much deeper level, he is making whole the void in the relationship created by the loan. Now, they are on the same level. No more is he in debt, no longer is the lender, a debtor. Before, the borrower was a giver, and the lender, a taker. It was a one way relationship. Peers in an unequal relationship cannot “fill” each other. They are supposed to be equal and they are not; they are not in sync. There is no dynamic between them. Now, they can both be givers.
The Mishnah in Avos states that, kin’ah removes a person from this world. I think the simple understanding is, that that which he is mekaneh becomes a focus in his life to the degree that it is not worth living without it. Consequently, the inevitable happens. However, one whose life depends on k’vod shamayim, has the right (and the duty) to pursue that which is conflicting with k’vod shamayim.
Rashi comments on the passuk, “B’kan’o es kin’asi”, “B’nakmo es nikmasi”; Pinchas “took revenge” for Hashem. Why, is that a good thing? Generally, nekama is deemed a negative trait. Similarly, when David Hamelech was on his deathbed, he instructed his son, Shlomo, to take nekama on Shim’i ben Geyra for being “moreyd b’malchus”. Was that really his last will, to take revenge on another person? Rav Chayim Shmuelevitz resolves this by defining nekama properly. When in the right context, nekama is an exalted middah. Nekama, he explains, serves as an equalizer in the balance of good and evil. Relegating evil to its’ proper place restores the “tzura” of the way the world is supposed to be. It fills the “challal”, the void that is “chillul hashem”. It exposes k’vod shamayim. Nekama for Hashem is a high madreyga. Someone whose life depends on k’vod shamayim has the license to execute justice.
The award of shalom that Pinchas received for kana’us is truly fitting. When he took nikmas hashem into his own hands and risked his life for it, he filled the spiritual deficiency in Klal Yisrael. He paved the way for shalom between us and Avinu she’ba’shamayim.
Still, I’d like to offer yet a deeper understanding of Pinchas’ act of kana’us. A careful examination of the passuk reveals another dimension to his zealous undertaking. The Torah states “Pinchas… heyshiv es chamasi meyal b’ney yisrael, b’kan’o es kin’asi. La’cheyn emor, hinini noseyn lo es b’risi shalom”. He did not merely intend to “appease” Hashem; there was a dual purpose in his kana’us. He did it for Hashem and for Klal Yisrael! The kaparah for Klal Yisrael didn’t come about on its’ own, a byproduct of his actions; that was his intention! His act of achzariyus was nothing less than rachamanus. He was seeking shalom by means of kana’us. Pinchas didn’t engage in kana’us alone; he was consumed by ahavas yisrael.
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