Passion vs. Extremism

(25) On the third day, when they were in pain, Simeon and Levi, two of Jacob’s sons, brothers of Dinah, took each his sword, came upon the city unmolested, and slew all the males.

(7) Cursed be their anger so fierce, And their wrath so relentless. I will divide them in Jacob, Scatter them in Israel.

(2) אחלקם ביעקב, so that they will not constantly be next to one another (no schem repeart). In Bereshit Rabbah 99,7 the words אחלקם ביעקב, are understood as referring to the 24 thousand members of the tribe of Shimon who were killed as a result of Zimri’s brazen act of sexual union with a Midianite princess. This resulted in 24 thousand wives of these men becoming widows, who were distributed to the other tribes, so that anyone having to go begging was from the tribe of Shimon. Same to LEvi- they became dependent on the tithes, etc, voluntarily given to them by the farmers of the other tribes ( Numbers 25,9) It is a historical fact then that Yaakov’s prediction came true. Seeing what had happened, G’d elevated the Levites by granting them 10% of the combined harvests of all the other tribes. However, the Levites, just as the members of the tribe of Shimon, had to visit all the threshing floors and request from the local farmers to give the tithe tithes they were obliged to give to a Levite to them. [The Midrash endeavours to justify Yaakov saying both אחלקם ביעקב, and אפיצם בישראל, meaning that each of these tribes will be busy looking for handouts and not have spare time for aggressive ventures such as those hatched by their respective founding fathers. Ed.]

(13) But to the descendants of Aaron the priest they assigned Hebron—the city of refuge for manslayers—together with its pastures, Libnah with its pastures,

(27) He said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Each of you put sword on thigh, go back and forth from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay brother, neighbor, and kin.” (28) The Levites did as Moses had bidden; and some three thousand of the people fell that day.

(7) When Phinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the assembly and, taking a spear in his hand, (8) he followed the Israelite into the chamber and stabbed both of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. Then the plague against the Israelites was checked.

(14) The name of the Israelite who was killed, the one who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri son of Salu, chieftain of a Simeonite ancestral house.

(35) A kohen who has killed a person, even unintentionally, may not perform the priestly blessing, even if he has repented. Ram"a: Some say that if he has repented, he may perform the blessing, and there is ground to be lenient with respect to the penitent, so as not to shut the door before them. And so is the custom (his own opinion, because this is not worse than a [repentant] apostate) (Tur, Rashi, many others, Agur, Bet Yosef).

(11) “Phinehas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying among them his passion for Me, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My passion.

(13) It shall be for him and his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all time, because he took impassioned action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israelites.’”

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(10) He replied, “I am moved by zeal for the LORD, the God of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”

(21) He turned back from him and took the yoke of oxen and slaughtered them; he boiled their meat with the gear of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and became his attendant.

(9) This is the line of Noah.—Noah was a righteous man; he was blameless in his age; Noah walked with God.—

(32) Come, let us make our father drink wine, and let us lie with him, that we may maintain life through our father.”

(2) ואיש אין בארץ AND THERE IS NOT A MAN IN THE EARTH — They thought that the whole world had been destroyed as in the time of the generation of the Flood. (Genesis Rabbah 51:8).

(3) Neither of the two extremes within each trait are appropriate ways to live, and one should not practice these extremes, and if he finds himself naturally inclined to one of them, or susceptible to one of them, or he already learned one of them, he should work himself back to the path of the good, that is the "straight path."

(7) If he leaves himself in the hands of his [natural] heaviness, it is a certainty that he will not succeed. This is what the Tana (Mishnaic sage) stated: "be brazen as a leopard, light as an eagle, swift as a deer, and mighty as a lion to do the will of your Father in Heaven" (Avot 5:20). Likewise, the Sages counted among the things which need strengthening: "Torah and good deeds" (if you do not work on these things, they will become lax) (Berachot 32b). This is explicitly stated in scripture: "be strong and very courageous [to observe and do all of the Torah..]" (Yehoshua 1:6). For great strengthening is needed for one who wants to bend his nature to its opposite. (Passion and a rush to do Mitzvoth does not just happen)

(1) Now the LORD said unto Abram: ‘Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto the land that I will show thee. (2) And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing.

(1) מארצך, G-d had to add this as it is difficult for a person to leave a homeland in which he had dwelled for many years, all the more so if that land was at the same time the place where he had been born.

"(1) And the LORD appeared unto him by the terebinths of Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; (2) and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood over against him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed down to the earth, (3) and said: ‘My lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant."

[Avraham and Sarah proceed by hosting the guests beautifully, and eventually get blessed to have a son (Yitzchak).

Next, the angels tell Avraham that Hashem will destroy a city named Sedom which is notorious for having terrible sinners dwelling there.]

"(23) And Abraham drew near, and said: ‘Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked?"

Avraham proceeds to beg Hashem to spare the city for fifty people, for ten people, etc.

In the end, they cannot find a sufficient number of people that are righteous and the city is destroyed.

(1) וירא אליו AND THE LORD APPEARED UNTO HIM to visit the sick man. R. Hama the son of Hanina said: it was the third day after his circumcision and the Holy One, blessed be He, came and enquired after the state of his health (Bava Metsia 86b)

(3) אל נא תעבר מעל עבדך, the word נא is a kind of plea, Avraham begging these strangers not to pass him by without stopping to take some refreshment. The reason why this whole incident has been recorded in the Torah is to teach people how to relate to fellow human beings with charity and love. It is an act of loving kindness to welcome guests into one’s home in order to honour them and to look after their personal requirements, such as letting them wash up and stay overnight.