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Pinchas, A Bloody-Minded Kohen-Priest

By Rabbi David Hartley Mark

And behold, one of the men of Israel fell in love with a Midianite maiden, and he wished to take her to wife. He thought he had the approval of the Kohanim-Priests, for Moses, Chief Prophet of Israel, had married a Midianite woman, Zipporah bat Jethro, years before. Furthermore, a Midianite woman, the Princess Kozbi bat Tzur, stated that she wished to convert and join the People of Israel. She had entered the camp in search of an Israelite woman to guide and teach her the ways of the LORD. But Pinchas ben Aaron Ha-Kohen, a renegade priest, was repelled by the relationship between this woman and her lover, Prince Zimri ben Salu of the Tribe of Shim’on. Pinchas himself had laid jealous eyes on Kozbi, who was very beautiful, but as a priest, he was forbidden to marry a pagan or a convert. Maddened and frustrated, Pinchas lay in wait for the couple and, when they were gazing longingly upon the Holy Tent of Meeting from a respectful distance, he approached from behind and skewered them both with his lance. Afterwards, God sent a vengeful plague among the Israelites, for Pinchas had committed murder in cold blood.

--Adapted from Numbers 25:6-9.

            It was the Stranger’s custom, when he visited the camp of a tribe whose ways he did not know, to find a tribal elder who could inform him about their local tribal customs. The Stranger took a preliminary glance around the community and saw the usual trappings of wilderness living: women patting cakes of flour into matzote, children playing in the dust, and young scholars marching reluctantly to their lessons, shepherded by a teacher-priest. The Stranger smiled to see them: for the People of Israel to continue, it was necessary for both children and adults to learn the ways of their God. He also met an elder, one Zaken ben Kavod, who could guide him during his visit.

            “Traveling far?” asked the Elder.

            “Not sure yet,” answered the Stranger, “I go as the Lord Baal directs me.”

            The Elder spat carefully into the dust; the Stranger could see he had two, perhaps three teeth, which were dark brown. Noticing, the Elder shrugged and said, “Betel nuts—it’s what makes ‘em brown. It’s distasteful—my wife can’t stand my habit. Still, what can I do? I love the stuff—it helps me to think.”

            Knowing betel’s ability to stimulate the brain and fend off fatigue, the Stranger smiled and kept his own counsel. He decided to change the subject.

            “What’s all this business about a priest murdering—um, killing—a young couple?” He asked.

            “Sad business, sorry business, that,” sighed the Elder, “the beastly deed of a beastly man. Tell you what: I will escort you to the tent of Pinchas ben Elazar, and you will be able to—um—engage him in conversation. Perhaps he will tell you, himself.”

            The Stranger was taken aback, but he nodded, and a smiling Elder led him to the Priestly Neighborhood. He was thrilled to behold the richly-caparisoned tents of the Priests, who were regarded as elite among the Israelites. Cloth-of-gold, red and blue banners proclaimed the ranks of the various priests: the Dynasties of Aaron, of  Korach,  Machli and Mushi; Zadok, Jehoiachin, and Hashmonai. Each tent, each family group, outdid the one before it in magnificence.

            "And would you care to behold the tents of the Children of Aaron, the founder of the sacrificial system?” asked the Elder.

            “Oh, by all means!” said the Stranger, who well knew the power wielded by the Priesthood, not only among the Israelites, but also other nations which offered sacrifices—which meant all of them.

            “Come round this corner, Friend,” smiled the Elder, “and I will present to you the tent of tents—that of Pinchas, the High Priest!”

            What splendor awaits? Said the Stranger to himself, and eagerly followed his guide. Imagine his surprise, therefore, to see a ragged, tumbledown tent—the holes in its cloth let in heat, cold, wind and flies. The Elder stood before it and laughed.

            “Pray, Friend,” asked the Stranger, “who lives in this tent, and why do you make them the object of your mirth?”

            “You will see,” said the Elder, and he hammered on the central tent-pole with his fist: “Pinchas! Come forth, come forth, and meet a visitor!”

            Silence at first, but then, a hollow voice from within the tent, like the voice of death: “Who dares disturb me? I am but a humble priest of the Lord God, and would prefer to stay within the confines of this home which I built. No one gave it me: I formed it, I built it, and I laid the boundaries. I am High Priest of the Lord God, and His own mouth has said it.”

            “Come out, come out, O Murderer of Innocents!” the Elder continued, “Show us your guilt-ridden face!”

            The Stranger clutched at the Elder’s sleeve: “Will you not anger Priest Pinchas?” he asked, “What was his crime?”

            The Elder snorted, “This man—this beast—murdered two children in cold blood—and yet, the Lord God did ordain him to be priest for life! I tell you, Stranger, I am well-nigh disgusted with the whole business—the missus and I may be off to Sodom and Gomorrah next week—we will settle there, sure enough.”

            “Sodom and Gomorrah?” asked the Stranger, “Whatever could drive you to that unholy place?”

            “Better a place where you know that your nearest neighbor is a sinner and a villain,” snorted the Elder, leaning over to spit carefully on Pinchas’s tent-flap, “than to find that a bloody-handed murderer is your high priest!”

            As the Stranger watched, a tall, rawboned man shuffled out of the filthy tent. He wore a robe which had formerly been white but was now a nasty shade of grayish-yellow. In his right hand, he held a lance which was, by the Stranger’s estimate, a full ten feet long. Its head was a dull red—was it blood? Unceremoniously, wild Pinchas plumped himself down in the dust, and began swaying back-and-forth, chanting.

The Lord God hath chosen me

Pinchas ben Elazar

Executing justice on all I see

Pinchas ben Elazar

The couple who once were in love

I gave them but a little shove

And now they dwell in heavens above,

So thank Pinchas ben Elazar!

            Still rocking, he grinned to himself and giggled.

            What madman is this? The Stranger asked himself, and stepped back a little, as Pinchas began waving around his enormous lance. The Stranger touched the Elder’s shoulder. The Elder put a finger on his lips, and began to question the mad priest:

            “Lord Pinchas,” he asked, “were you justified in murdering that helpless couple?”

            “Aye, and truly,” said Pinchas, gazing down at the ground, “for God did reward me.” He burped, and the smell of sour wine hung in the air.

            “And now, you are High Priest forever, Pinchas,” said the Elder, “perhaps this proves that the Lord God has a sense of humor, hey what?”

            Pinchas nodded with satisfaction. “Forever and for all time,” he answered.

            The Stranger could not restrain himself. “But were the boy and girl not innocent? Was it not a matter of destroying love, in the name of bullheaded piety?”

            Pinchas looked at him as though he were seeing him for the first time. “Innocence does not matter before Religion and Faith,” he grinned, “and I am God’s instrument. Do you doubt me, Stranger?”

            The Elder hastened to answer: “No, Lord Pinchas, Pinchas the High Priest, you certainly have God—your vision of God—on your side. All others beware!”

            “This cannot stand,” said the Stranger.

            “It can and it will,” said Pinchas. With difficulty, he arose. “I must return to my tent,” he said, “and sit in the darkling dark, there to await guidance from the Lord God.” His legs were unsteady; the Stranger reached an arm to help him, and instantly recoiled—what a stench of human flesh was there!

            “Will He call for more blood for you to shed?” asked the Elder ironically.

            “I would not be surprised,” answered Pinchas, “for He is a God of vengeance.”

            And he was gone.

OUR RABBI - David Hartley Mark

WATCH RABBI MARK , To Life, L'Chaim #217 - Rabbi David Mark (You Tube)

Rabbi David Hartley Mark was born in New York City, and grew up on the Lower East Side, that legendary Jewish immigrant neighborhood, attending Hebrew Day School. He was first from his school, the East Side Torah Center, to attend Yeshiva University High School for Boys—Manhattan. David attended Yeshiva University, where he attained a BA in English Literature, a BS in Bible and Jewish Education, and a Hebrew Teacher’s Diploma (HTD). He spent his third year of college at Bar Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel, where he developed a fluency in Hebrew, and toured around the country. He has also attained a Certificate in Advanced Jewish School Administration from the Hebrew College in Brookline, MA.

David attended the City University of New York Graduate Center, where he earned an MA degree from Queens College, as well as an M.Phil. degree, majoring in 17th Century English, specializing in the work of John Milton, as well as the Romantic Poets. A year teaching Hebrew School in a Reform temple in Brooklyn convinced him of his great love of Judaism, and he began attending the Academy for Jewish Religion, Yonkers, NY, where he was ordained a rabbi in 1980.

He met Anbeth, who was hired as temple secretary the same day he was hired to teach. They were married in 1978. They have two grown children, Tyler and Jordan, as well as a grandson, Aidan.

Rabbi Mark served pulpits in Warren, NJ, Fayetteville, NC, and Portsmouth, NH, in which last pulpit he spent 22 years, a record for that state. Seeking warmer climes, as well as closer family members, he and Anbeth took the pulpit of Temple Sholom in 2009. He also fulfilled a lifetime dream of teaching English at Keiser University in Ft. Lauderdale.  

OUR CANTOR - ANITA SCHUBERT

 

Cantor Anita Schubert, grew up in Queens and Lynbrook in New York, says it was a combination of her love for both singing and religion that led her to train to become a cantor. “I grew up in a conservative synagogue. My parents weren’t super religious,” she said. “I started going to shabbat services and never stopped. I learned the musical chants . . . all the right stuff. I picked it up and was able to lead services as well. When I was a teenager I was asked to be one of the adult leaders in the junior congregation. I graduated to running it.”

Although she found her niche leading her congregation, it never occurred to her to be a cantor. “I was the wrong gender until the 80s.” As for her musical style, “It’s mostly a cappella. But I have been accompanied by someone on guitar and piano.”

Her academic background includes both undergraduate and graduate courses in music theory, sight-singing, ear-training, music history, conducting, choral arranging, voice building for choirs, vocal training, as well as studying the piano and flute. Plus, “I began singing in choirs starting in the third grade.”

She also took college courses in Hebrew, modern Jewish thought and the history of Jewish music.

Schubert said although women had been taking cantorial courses, they were not considered cantors at first. However, things changed for the better when women were finally accepted into the Cantors Assembly, an international association representing the cantorial profession.

Schubert has been actively working as a cantor at various congregations around the nation for many years before her new position at Temple Sholom. She realizes her coming here will be an historic event for the local place of worship. And what will she bring to her new congregation? “My spirit, my choice of music. We have a lot of options. We go beyond the traditional.”

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