The
previous portion, Balak,
ends with the beginning of a story that continues in this week’s
portion, Pinchas.
It tells us about the circumstances in which “Pinchas the son
of Eleazar the son of Aaron (...)” (Numbers 25:11) slew Zimri,
the prince of the tribe of Shimon and Cozbi, daughter of one of the
princes of Midian.
A lesson to learn from this parshah is
about loyalty and fidelity to our Creator. It is evident that the
Israelite with this higher awareness of such qualities inherent to
God's Love, which requests us to become One with Him, is Pinchas. The
present tense is used here to honor our common belief that Pinchas is
Elijah the Prophet who is still alive.
As
Pinchas and as Elijah, this unique Israelite characterized himself
for his profound attachment to our Creator, a bond that transcends
material illusions in all levels of consciousness.
We have mentioned that the proverbial “jealousy” and “zeal” of God are emotional expressions to indicate the exclusive and non-compromising loyalty and fidelity He has for us, and also demands them from us in order to be always connected to Him.
24
thousand Israelites died as a consequence of cohabiting with
idolatrous women and bowing to their idols. Lust, wrath, pride, envy
and negative thoughts, emotions, feelings and passions are described
as idols by our Sages. As long as we are engaged with them, we
separate from God's ways and attributes.
In
this context we can understand zeal and jealousy as necessary traits
to enforce the eternal vigilance of the loyalty and fidelity that
God's Love demands from us as the Essence of our true identity.
If we are an emanation of God's Love, which is also our sustaining Essence, the source with which we enjoy and experience the goodness of life, should we choose ego’s fantasies and illusions as the false idols that lead us to materialism? We should know better because we learn from experience.
Common
sense, trial and error, useful vs. useless and dualism challenge our
free will every moment to teach us right from wrong. The dilemma
about making the right choice seems to depend more on stubbornness
than on common sense.
Mindfulness
makes us aware of the choices we make, and this awareness is
about knowing that
Love is the natural guide that maintains the harmonic balance of all
levels of consciousness. This balance is the reward for keeping
Love in charge of our consciousness, and this is what God’s
Covenant of Peace is about.
Rashi
and other Sages explain that this Covenant
of Peace is
inherent to the office of High Priest, which represents the highest
level of consciousness and the awareness of our permanent connection
the Creator. As long as we keep Love's ways and attributes in all
aspects of life, peace will always be
present.
The portion continues with a new counting of the children of Israel, and the distribution of the Promised Land according to their tribes. In this part of the story the feminine presence in the Land is recognized as an essential element in Israel’s mission to be the Light of the nations, and to created a place for God to dwell in this world.
Zelophehad’s
daughters stood up to claim their inheritance (27:1-11), and they
teach us not only to acknowledge women's equal rights but also the
value of their contributions to the Israelite identity.
Historically, Jewish women have excelled in their commitment, loyalty
and devotion to the Creator far better than their male counterparts.
The
Torah and the Hebrew Scriptures abound on this fact which invites us
to reflect on how much we have neglected the feminine principle of
Creation. This is an essential aspect of our consciousness in the
quest to fulfill the mission that we are commanded by Divine
will.
The text later tells us the transfer of leadership from Moses to Yehoshua.
The text later tells us the transfer of leadership from Moses to Yehoshua.
“You
shall bestow some of your majesty upon him so that all the
congregation of the children of Israel will take heed. (…) He laid
his hands upon him and commanded him, in accordance with what the
Lord had spoken to Moses.” (27:20, 23)
And
immediately refers to sacrificial offerings. The context in which
these sacrifices are mentioned is quite clear: We have to maintain
the strength of our connection with God constantly.
This is why the daily offerings and the additional sacrifices for special occasions such as the Shabbath, the New Moon (Rosh Hodesh) and high holidays are emphasized. We have mentioned in previous commentaries on the book of Leviticus that sacrifices represent our awareness of being and doing what is sacred to our Creator.
"(...)
offerings made by fire, of a sweet savor onto Me." (28:2,
6, 8, 13, 24, 27; 29:2, 6, 13, 36)
We
also said that fire represents Love as the catalyst that transforms
darkness into Light, thus proclaiming God's Presence in the material
aspect of Creation. His Presence, His manifested Glory, as "the
sweet savor" for Him. The phrase is repeated ten times to remark
that the offerings must be made constantly.
We remind ourselves about this with our daily prayers, by wearing tzitzit, putting tefilin, and covering the top of our heads. They are good reminders and this mindfulness keeps our eternal vigilance always aware of our connection with God's ways and attributes in what we are and do. When we are aware of this connection, His Covenant of Peace is with us.
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