Pinchas had a ‘sharp point’ to make, clearly. Can you imagine what it was like to witness the brutal and public execution of Zimri and Cozbi, at the hands of Pinchas?
I wonder if Pinchas had considered other ways to stop this illicit display? We know he didn’t have Twitter on hand to communicate his righteous indignation to thousands of followers. However, surely he could have arranged with Moshe for an elite unit of guards to capture and remove these two from the public eye - bringing the debacle to an end in a more civil way? Perhaps he could have led the nation away and preached to them about the evils of such conduct. Why did the solution have to be so public and bold? Why create such a grand spectacle?
While we best not learn from Pinchas acting in the moment as judge, jury and executioner - he certainly expressed the powerful principle that experience is the greatest teacher!
The overwhelming experience of this execution had a massive impact on Bnei Yisrael - evident in the plague ceasing immediately. The people learnt their lesson right away and things went back to normal. It was so impactful, Hashem qualified it as a direct expression of His will, “Pinchas… has turned back My wrath from Bnei Yisrael by carrying out my vengeance…”. (Bamidbar 25:11) In place of a public desecration of His name, comes a public restoration of His honour. Bnei Yisrael fully experiences the remedy.
Later on, the Parsha reiterates the importance of learning via experience - as the leadership transitions from Moshe to Yehoshua. “Have him stand before Elazar HaKohen and before the whole community, and commission him in their sight.” (Bamidbar 27:19). A speech isn’t enough - a public display is necessary - even at the potential cost to Moshe’s honour.
Ultimately, Pinchas is exonerated by Hashem and bestowed with the ‘Blessing of Peace’. Now, imagine what kind of holiday he would give his kids. Would he spend his hard-earned coins on buying gifts for his kids or providing them with big experiences?
Pinchas is an experience guy - no question! I’m confident he’d agree with the research of Dr. Gilovich of Cornell University, “People often think spending money on an experience is not as wise an investment as spending it on a material possession... But, in reality, we remember experiences long afterwards, and we also enjoy the anticipation of having an experience more than the anticipation of owning a possession”. Amit Kumar of the McCombs School of Business adds that, “[Experiences] live on in our memories and in the stories we tell other people.”
Enjoy the Summer! Make Memories.
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