Parshas Pinchos 5786
- Torah Tavlin
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
ויבא אחר איש ישראל אל הקבה וידקר את שניהם את איש ישראל ואת האשה אל קבתה ... (כה-ח)
Pinchos is credited with making a public Kiddush Hashem by impaling Zimri and Cuzbi. Although the act itself took place inside a private tent, it became a public event after Pinchos carried them throughout the camp. Targum Yehonasan lists this as one of twelve miracles that occurred. Another neis enumerated was that they did not die until leaving the tent, ensuring that Pinchos did not become tamei. However, Pinchos was not yet a kohen, so why was this necessary?
At three months old, Moshe Rabbeinu was placed in a basket and set afloat on the Nile. Basya found him and ultimately sent Miriam to bring a Jewish woman to nurse him. Yocheved, Moshe’s own mother, was then paid to care for her son. The Medrash highlights the reward of tzaddikim: “Not only are their lost objects returned, they even get paid for it!”
The Medrash’s comment seems puzzling. After tearfully parting from her infant, Yocheved, against all odds, was reunited with him. One can only imagine her relief and overwhelming joy. At that moment, would she really care about being paid a few dollars to nurse her own son? R’ Chaim Shmuelevitz zt”l explains with a parable. Imagine an entire family searching frantically for a missing diamond ring. When one of the children finally finds it, everyone rejoices, yet the father gives a special kiss to the finder. The ring belongs to the whole family, and everyone benefits from its return, but the kiss is a personal expression of the father’s love and appreciation. So too, Moshe was destined to become the redeemer and leader of Klal Yisroel. His rescue benefited the entire nation. But the payment Yocheved received was Hashem’s personal expression of His love and appreciation for her. The same is true with Pinchos. While most of the miracles were necessary to restore Hashem’s honor before the entire nation, the miracle that prevented Pinchos from becoming tamei was a personal gift for him. It was Hashem’s way of showing that, beyond the public Kiddush Hashem, He cared about Pinchos himself.
We too should recognize the personal “kisses”, individual acts of hashgacha, that remind us of Hashem’s personal love.