41. PINCHAS
Pinchas and God's Tshuvah
41. PINCHASRabbi Arthur Waskow
PINCHAS AND GOD'S TSHUVAH
In a drusha that I wrote on the story of Pinchas, I discussed an idea that I developed from this parsha that God ended the Divine jealous rage that had brought a plague upon the Israelites when co
PLAGUES, PEACE, & PINCHAS THE PRIEST: When meeting brings disaster -- and a cure
41. PINCHASBy Rabbi Arthur Waskow
In the regular Jewish Torah reading for this week, we read the story of a Priest who becomes a murderer and calls a murderous God into reflective peacemaking.
In our own gwneration, the passage has been cited as justification for zealous murders -- justification for blood shed today. In response, many peaceniks of today shrug off the story as just another bloody streak in the Biblical fabric.
But I see the story in a different light - one that celebrates turning from zealous murder to self-reflective peace.
In the ancient story, two peoples meet. There is risk in their meeting. Perhaps there is also a possible profit. Perhaps there is even possible delight. But among at least one of the peoples, the leadership is frightened and forbids all contact.
