Kiddush Hashem

“Pinchas, the son of Elazar, son of Aharon the Kohen, turned back My wrath from Bnei Yisrael, when he zealously avenged Me among them …” (Bamidbar, 25:11)

Rashi explains that the tribes were deriding Pinchas’s ancestry, recalling that his maternal grandfather (Yisro) had been a Midianite priest in his earlier years. Therefore, the Torah

traced his ancestry back to Aharon HaKohen.

Pinchas’s radical action – killing a nasi of Bnei Yisrael with a sword – would certainly prompt speculation that his cruel nature came from the non-Jewish side of the family. This pasuk comes to testify exactly the opposite. Pinchas’s zealotry for the honor of Hashem was an inherent trait from his holy side, from the lineage of Aharon HaKohen, who – as it says in Avos (1:12),loved peace, pursued peace and was beloved both in Heaven and on earth.

The great Gaon R’ Yonasan Eybeschutz asks: Why, indeed, did the tribes disparage Pinchas? Did they not believe that Pinchas was justified in killing Zimri for his egregious sin?

R’ Eybeschutz answers that they all understood that as a zealot for the honor of Hashem, Pinchas was justified in killing Zimri. However, they felt a need to absolve themselves for their inaction. Why had no one among them been proactive and defended Hashem’s honor?

Their rationale for scorning Pinchas was as follows: If a prominent member among us would avenge Hashem’s honor, it would not have caused such a big Kiddush Hashem because it is his responsibility to protect the sanctity of the Jewish nation. However, if an ordinary individual upholds Hashem’s honor, it is a noteworthy Kiddush Hashem. They believed that the Kiddush Hashem was strongly amplified by the fact that it was Pinchas who had killed Zimri to avenge Hashem’s honor.

The Torah is teaching an important principle. We learn that the logic of the nesi’im was incorrect and was driven by the evil inclination. Every individual, no matter his standing, is obligated to defend the honor of Hashem and make a Kiddush Hashem.

It is known that the 248 positive commandments in the Torah correspond to the 248 limbs in the human body. R’ Saadyah Gaon discusses the correlation and notes that the performance of the mitzvah sanctifies the corresponding limb, as well as energizes and rejuvenates it. The reverse is true as well.

However, when a person makes a Kiddush Hashem – brings honor to the Name of Hashem – all the limbs are simultaneously rejuvenated. That is alluded to in the words “vayikach romach b’yado – he took a spear in his hand.” The word romach in Hebrew has a numerical value of 248. Pinchas made a Kiddush Hashem with his entire being – all 248 limbs.

On the other hand, a chillul Hashem – desecrating the Name of Hashem – creates tremendous negative consequences, and its atonement entails much hardship and pain.

The Talmud (Brachos, 20a) discusses the reality that the earlier generations were wholly dedicated to the sanctification of the Name of Hashem, unlike the later generations. For example, there was an incident where Rav Adda saw a woman in the market wearing a cloak of wool and linen. Thinking she was Jewish, he quickly removed the garment. He then paid her 400 zuz for the shame he caused her. Nowadays, people would be appalled, and the ensuing uproar would be unimaginable. That is how removed we are from truly understanding the dynamics of creating a Kiddush Hashem and the concept of mesiras nefesh (self-sacrifice).

HaGaon HaRav Yitzchak Kolodetsky related the following incident which illustrates the commitment of a Jew to perform a mitzvah,even when he has no Torah obligation to do so.

HaRav Kolodetsky had gone with his gabbai, R’ Yisroel Terebelsy, to Meron, to the kever of R’ Shimon bar Yochai. At some point, while engaged in davening, an envelope – which contained more than 12,000 shekalim – fell out of R’ Terebelsky’s pocket. The gabbai was not aware that this had happened, until much later as they were returning home to Bnei Brak.

In truth, there is no halachicobligation to return something that is found in a place where many people pass through, because the owner has surely despaired of finding it (Bava Metzia, 24a).Tosfos comments that this is true even if most of the passersby are members of Klal Yisrael.

The next morning someone called R’ Terebelsy and asked if he had lost an envelope in Meron the previous day. The gabbai was shocked, but after he identified how much money was in the envelope, the caller said he had found it.

How did the caller – a well-known Gerrer chassid – know the envelope belonged to R’ Terebelsy? There weren’t even any distinguishing marks on the envelope. The details are telling as to how far a Jew is willing to go in order to fulfill a mitzvah,especially hashavas aveidah.

As soon as the chassidfound the envelope, he called out in a loud voice, “Has anybody lost money?” No one answered. No one would claim money that was not theirs.

After returning home, the chassid considered what he could do to find the rightful owner, even though he had no strong obligation to do so. He decided to return to Meron and look through the footage of the security cameras, to see if he could identify the person whose envelope had fallen to the ground. The kever of R’ Shimon bar Yochai in Meron has a lot of foot traffic, and there are many cameras in the area. The footage of each camera would have to be reviewed in order to pinpoint the moment the envelope was lost.

Despite the challenges, and the slim odds of finding the person, the chassiddid not give up. He had other people join him in going through the recordings, and finally, they saw the moment the envelope of money fell out of someone’s pocket. It took some more time before the chassid found someone who knew the man in the picture.

With great siyata d’shmaya (Divine Assistance), the money was returned to its owner. Understandably, the entire episode created a true Kiddush Hashem.