“It’s nothing but a pipe dream”. I found myself thinking this cliché numerous times over the past week. For some reason, HaShem has allowed me to face the unrealistic dreams of grandeur and fantastic hopes of several people I have encountered in a fairly short space of time. Dreams that have little basis in reality and are likened to the “high” one experiences while indulging in an opium pipe. At work I faced several well meaning family members last week who expressed unwavering confidence in the complete recovery of a loved one who is experiencing multiple organ failure and has irreversible brain damage. In my personal life I faced a couple of people who disagreed sharply with me and continually accused me of not understanding and estimating situations erroneously because I refuse to buy into their dreams.
How does one handle a person who is in the midst of a pipe dream? Is there any hope of reasoning or even trying to rationalize with them? Is it better to ignore them and not even try to make an effort, or to smile politely and show sympathy in order not to cause problems?
Incredibly, in Numbers 25:10-13, I found myself in the midst of what could easily be considered another pipe dream. For it is here in Torah that Phinehas zeal in violently killing Zimri and his illicit Midianite lover is rewarded by HaShem with a covenant of peace and an everlasting priesthood. The rabbi’s marvel at this outcome in the face of Phinehas violent and stunning actions. How is it that HaShem, who typically responds to our actions “midah keneged midah” (measure for measure), would deal with Phinehas’ killing of two people by giving him a covenant of peace? How fantastic and unrealistic it seems that zeal which led to violence would result in peace.
This passage presents two textual oddities that allude to underlying meanings behind the opposing concepts presented here. The first oddity is found in Phinehas name itself. In Hebrew “Pinchas” is spelled pay-yod-nun-hay-samech (פּינחס). In Numbers 25:11 this name is written with the yod being much smaller than usual. This “diminished yod” is understood in various ways. First, the letter yod is understood to allude to G-d’s presence, as the Sacred Name (tetragrammaton/YHVH) begins with this letter. Traditionally, Moses changing of Joshua’s name in Numbers 13:16, by adding a yod to the beginning of it, is seen as a continual reminder to Joshua that HaShem was with him. Therefore a diminution of the yod in Phinehas’ name suggests G-d’s presence had been diminished due to the violent, albeit well meaning, nature of Phinehas zeal against Zimri and Kozbi. [1]
The first usage of the name YHVH comes in Genesis 2:4. Prior to this, throughout the entire initial account of the creation in chapter one, G-d’s name Elohim is used, a name that denotes strict justice. According to Rashi the ideal state would have been for man to be judged according to his deeds without the need for G-d’s special mercy. Yet, G-d knew that man could not survive without his forbearance. [2] Therefore, in preparing the Garden for Adam and Eve and blowing the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils (making him into His own image), HaShem’s name YHVH was incorporated. Of all the created order, G-d’s dealings with mankind illustrates most clearly His justice tempered with compassion.
Therefore, the decreased yod in Phinehas name alludes to G-d’s mercy being hindered or hidden due to Phinehas’ actions which were based on pure justice and zeal alone. If the decreased yod is not considered in the reading of Phinehas name here, and is overlooked, so to speak, because of its smallness of size, two Hebrew words remain; “pen” (pay/nun) and “chas” (chet/samech) which literally mean “do not have mercy”. [3] In this way by not having mercy and acting out of sheer justice alone, Phinehas diminished G-d’s presence in his life through the actions he displayed.
The second textual oddity is found in the word “shalom” (שׁלום) as describing HaShem’s covenant of “peace” with Phinehas in v.12. The “vav” in shalom is written as a broken strophe, a straight line broken in half at the middle forming two discrete sections (this vav is referred to as “vav ketia” or “cut up” vav).
The sages of the Talmud (Kiddushin 66b) see in this irregularity an illustration of the law that the service of a blemished priest is invalid. Because the vav ketia (broken vav) in shalom lacks a means of pronunciation (it cannot be pronounced), the resulting root word (shin/lamed/mem, שׁלם), in its most basic sense means “complete”. [4] In this way G-d’s covenant of peace is understood as describing the covenant of eternal priesthood given to Phinehas which in essence demanded a wholeness or completeness of himself and his offspring.
Yet, commentators also see in the vav ketia an allusion to the fact that zeal which lacks mercy and leads to acts of violence results in a “peace” which is never whole or complete. The presence of the vav ketia illustrates a peace that is broken and incomplete. The vav ketia produces “shalom” that is visually broken . . .but yet is linguistically whole.
An interesting meshing of these opposing concepts is presented by 19th century Rabbi Naphtali Zvi Judah Berlin (Netziv) who understands G-d’s covenant of peace with Phinehas and the rewarding of the eternal priesthood to be a cure for Phinehas behavior rather than a reward for it. [5] Although Phinehas was a highly motivated and valuable zealot who had G-d’s glory in mind in all of his actions, he was yet missing one essential ingredient in his life, which kept “shalom” from being whole. This ingredient was a formal organization or structure in which he could exercise his natural zealous tendencies in the most productive way possible.
Phinehas, being of the tribe of Levi, had an inborn or natural tendency toward uncontrolled anger and zeal as seen in his ancestors in Torah, especially in the account of Simeon and Levi’s actions in avenging their sister Dinah and killing the men of Shechem in Genesis 34:25-31. Jacob as well, in pronouncing his deathbed blessing upon his sons, related this extreme tendency in Levi and denounced the fierce wrath and divisiveness that went along with it (Genesis 49:5-7). Therefore, by giving Phinehas and his descendants the priesthood G-d placed him in a formal organization where certain structure must be maintained. G-d moved Phinehas from radical freedom to a more ordered life where his energy and zeal would be channeled into worthy goals.
Apart from the priesthood Phinehas zeal lead to an incomplete peace, a cessation of the plague (which killed 24,000 individuals) that was accomplished through actions of strict justice which diminished G-d’s characteristic of mercy in his life. But through means of the priesthood, Phinehas could exercise his zeal in an environment of structure in which G-d’s mercy would be exemplified. Only through the priesthood could Phinehas truly be made whole, could he truly be made complete.
. . . . . . . . . . .
To think that someone who had committed a double homicide would be blessed with G-d’s peace and completeness is as fantastic of a pipe dream as could be imagined. Imagine the headline: “G-d awards man who killed two people involved in immorality with top spiritual position in all of Israel”.
As a student nurse (not too many years ago) doing a required rotation on a psychiatric floor, the first thing we were instructed never to do was to disagree or argue with a patient about their delusions. Mentally ill people cannot handle having their pipe dreams challenged, it only sets them back in the progress they might make and the realizations they might come to themselves through compassionate, gentle and patient understanding and questioning.
But I think the truth is that all of us have pipe dreams of one sort or another. Unrealistic desires that stem from very natural tendencies that we wish could be fulfilled more significantly. G-d’s “pipe dream” approach with Phinehas was the perfect means of leading him to wholeness and providing him the means to be complete.
The people in the midst of pipe dreams I have encountered over the last week or so are definitely not mentally ill. They are intelligent and caring, sincere and loving. To simply ignore the fantastic hopes their hearts and minds are set upon would be to do them a disservice. Instead, when the cliché rings in my mind and I find myself shaking my head regarding such unrealistic dreams and thoughts, I must try to see the people for who they are. To discern the natural tendencies and abilities that are causing them to dream in such ways, and with HaShem’s help to suggest avenues through which such tendencies can lead to wholeness and completeness for them as unique individuals.
[1] Kolel Parshah Study; Pinhas, found at: http://www.kolel.org/pages/5765/pinchas.html
[2] Rashi as quoted in Rabbi Nosson Scherman, The Stone Edition Chumash (Parashas Bereishis), p. 11
[3] Rabbi Meyer Friedman, Parshat Pinchas, found at: http://www.shiur.com/shiur_more.php?id=1614_0_6_0_M208&s_id=208
[4] Rabbi Yonatan Kolatch, Masters of the Word (Ktav Publishing House, 2006), p. 98
[5] Kolel Parshah Study; Pinhas, found at: http://www.kolel.org/pages/5765/pinchas.html
You have such a wonderful blog. It was a blessing for me to find it this morning.
Shalom