39 Pinchas

  פִּינְחָס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵן הֵשִׁ֤יב אֶת־חֲמָתִי מֵעַל בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִי בְּתוֹכָם וְלֹא־כִלִּיתִי אֶת־בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּקִנְאָתִי׃

“Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal

The parasha begins by saying: “Pinchas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by zealously displaying My passion among them, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My passion” (Num. 25:11).  Kin’ah, the Hebrew word for passion or zealotry, appears three times in this verse, and Pinchas is perceived as having substituted earthly passion for divine passion. This parasha provides an example of vigorous action in total devotion without considering one’s actions first.  Pinchas did not consult any one, but acted decisively by the zeal he has to walk by the fear of the Most High God, as soon as he saw wrongdoing.

Pinchas displayed extraordinary courage and resourcefulness when faced with the incapacity of those who witnessed the sin, yet he when it comes to going to battle, scripture describes him as a spiritual God fearing leader who holds the holy utensils and blows the trumpets, as a true warrior who stood in the forefront of the camp with his spear.

Pinchas showed devotion to his soul’s limit and was rewarded with a "pact of Shalom" between him and God, for the name of Abba is Peace, as it is written (Judges 6:24): "... called it A-donai-shalom." For the same reason Pinchas also received a pact of priesthood for all time, to minister before the Lord.
He was placed in command of the spiritual battle, teaching us an important lesson in the ways of military and social leadership.