Last week, at the end of the perasha, the Jewish People were drawn into sin by Midianite women, and a plague struck the people. Then, in a brazen and public act, Zimri, a prince of the tribe of Shimon, brought a high ranking Midianite woman before Moshe, in full view of the nation.
Fast forward to the start of our perasha this week, appropriately named Pinehas. The Torah tells us that Pinehas’ intervention stopped the plague, and saved the entire nation from being destroyed. The Torah records (Bemidbar 25:11) “Pinehas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by acting zealously for My zealotry, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My zealotry.” From a single person’s act, an entire nation was saved.
It is incredible to think that a single person could cause such destruction (Zimri) and possible annihilation in a single act and likewise incredible to think that a single person (Pinehas) can stop so much destruction and save a nation from being eliminated. If you think about it, the reward that Pinehas received was that he and his descendants would forever be Kohanim (Bemidbar 25:13), with a ‘a covenant of peace’ (Bemidbar 25:12). One act of “war” receives a promise of peace. Why? The Netziv (Ha’emek Davar on Bemidbar 25:12) explains that when a person kills with his own hands, even for the right reasons, it leaves a mark on the soul. Violence, even when justified, can harden a person over time and breed cruelty. That is precisely why G-d blessed Pinehas with a covenant of peace, to ensure that this act of zealotry would not define his character or corrupt his nature.
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 82b) notes that people criticized Pinehas for killing a prominent person in the nation and tried to dispute his motives. For that reason, the Torah emphasizes his lineage ‘Pinehas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon the priest’ (Bemidbar 25:11), reminding us that he came from the house of Aharon, the lover of peace, and that his act was done purely for the sake of Heaven.
Look at the power of a single individual! It is easy to be destructive. It takes a special person to channel their energy toward something positive, and rarer still to do so purely for the sake of Heaven. When everyone around him was paralyzed by grief and shock at Zimri’s brazen act, Pinehas stepped forward. He did what needed to be done at that moment, knowing full well he might be criticized for it. He moved forward anyway, and because of that, a nation was saved.
Every day we face situations where we can choose to do the right thing or the wrong thing, to be kind or cruel, to build or to destroy. The power of a single person to change the world is real. You don’t need to be Pinehas, Abraham, or Mordechai, to name a few of our heroes, to make a difference. You just need to be you, do what is right, and trust that G-d will do the rest. Don’t hold back. Don’t let fear of criticism or the doubters around you stop you from doing what you know is right. As long as your intentions are pure and your heart is in the right place, G-d is on your side. Trust in yourself. Trust in G-d. One person, with the right intentions, can change everything.