Netvort Shoftim 5772:            The Choice Cut

By Rabbi Joshua (actively known as the Hoffer) Hoffman

Although most of the gifts that the nation must give to the Kohen have been mentioned earlier in the Torah, there is one set of gifts mentioned in this week's sedra. These gifts are the foreleg (zeroah), the jaw (lechoyayim), and the stomach (keivah) of an animal that is slaughtered for non-sacred purposes. These animal portions differ from the other portions given to the Kohen which come from sacrifices. Rashi, citing the midrash, says that these portions are a reward for the zealous act of Pinchas, who killed Zimri and Kozbi while they were publicly engaged in act of sexual immorality. What is it about this act of Pinchas that merited an atypical set of gifts to the Kohen, coming from an animal not used for a sacrifice?

Rabbi Moshe Eisemann has suggested, in a taped shiur, that an act of zealotry such as that of Pinchas, transforms an otherwise secular act into one of holiness. As a reward, portions of non-sanctified animals transform into objects of mitzvah used to reward the Kohen. I would like to expand on this idea based on the nature of the challenge posed to the Jewish people by the Midianite women, among whom Kozbi was the most prominent.

The rabbis tell us that Pinchas and Eliyahu were one and the same person. However, after Eliyahu acted zealously in dealing with the Jewish worshipers of idol, Baal, Hashem expressed displeasure, even though, in the case of Zimri and Kozbi, he rewarded Pinchas for his zealotry. What was different between these two cases? Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, zt”l, explains that daughters of Midian induced the Jewish people to worship Baal Peor through means of sexual immorality.  Either one of these sins is terrible in itself, but when the two come together they spell out a lifestyle which is intrinsically antithetical to the Jewish lifestyle, and must be vigorously opposed. What exactly was this lifestyle that posed such a challenge?

Rav Yehuda Amital, zt”l, explained that the worship of Baal Peor, which consisted of relieving oneself in front of the idol, represented the worship of the natural. Taking care of such needs is a natural process and was, therefore, publically celebrated. In a similar way, sexuality is a natural part of human life, and, therefore, it was celebrated publically, without any limit placed on it. The Torah, as we will see, is totally opposed to this view of the world and Pinchas rose up to challenge it.

The Midrash Tanchuma in Parshas Tazria tells us that Tyrannus Rufus, an evil Roman General, asked Rabbi Akiva whose deeds are greater, God’s or man’s? His question was really an attack on the mitzvah of Bris Milah. How, he asked, can Jews take a beautiful baby, created by God, and mutilate it through circumcision?  Aren’t God’s deeds greater than man’s?  Rabbi Akiva answered by giving the general a roll as well as some stalks of wheat to eat. Which, he asked, tastes better? The general replied that the roll tasted better. You see, then, said Rabbi Akiva, that man’s deeds are greater than God’s. What Rabbi Akiva meant was that God created the world in an imperfect way, and He gave man a mission to perfect it. As my teacher, Rav Aharon Soloveichik zt”l explained, just as there is a physical orlah, or obstruction, created with the male organ which must be removed  by man, so, too, is there a universal orlah surrounding the world. Man’s task in this world is to remove that orlah and, thereby, perfect God’s creations. This is what Pinchas thought when he killed Zimry and Kozbi. By performing this act of zealotry, he transformed a secular act into the one of holiness, and, as a reward, the Kohen was given portions of animals slaughtered for secular purposes, thus transforming them into objects of mitzvah.