And I Told Her My Story; I Told Her What Was Going On (Grateful Dead - "Caution: Do Not Stop On Tracks)

           Despite the rising tide of antisemitism, despite the cesspool of anti-semitic tropes that one finds on Twitter, despite all the anti-semitic conspiracy theories found in the extreme parts of the Alt-Right universe and the anti-Israel rhetoric of the extreme Left political universe, I found tremendous comfort in the middle. Two weeks ago, the State of Pennsylvania elected a “Left of Center” Jewish Governor. Josh Shapiro was recently elected Governor by receiving the greatest amount of votes for a Governor in state history.  He ran against a candidate who espoused White Christian Nationalism, supported the January 6th Capitol Riot, and believed that a woman has no right to an abortion under any circumstance. Josh Shapiro grew up attending Jewish Days School and attending shul with his father. He and his wife send their children to Day School and celebrate Shabbat and the Jewish Holidays. When Josh campaigned, he told a story that people were familiar with. He told a story. He told an aspirational story of a nation founded upon the principles of religious freedom. He told the aspirational story of a nation struggling to guarantee and protect the rights and freedoms of all its citizens. He reminded the voters that the future of their community and state is premised upon expanding rights, freedoms, and liberties. Josh’s story reminded everyone of the past and spoke of a future that was both inspirational and aspirational.

          This Shabbat we read from Parsha Chayei Sarah, “the Life of Sarah”. It is a rather odd name for a Parsha that discusses’ Sarah’s death, and Avraham’s funeral preparations including a eulogy, crying, and the purchase of land for burial. The focus then shifts from Sarah’s death and Avraham’s caring for her to Avraham’s son Yitzchak and getting on with his life. Avraham instructs his servant to find a wife for Yitzchak from among his ancestors. The servant head back to Avraham’s homeland, he asks God for a sign so that he knows which girl is the right one for his master’s son. He finds the girl and convinces her to return with him, the girl leaves home and heads back with the servant to meet her new husband and her father–in–law. They get married. Avraham takes a wife and lives quietly in retirement. The Parsha concludes with Avraham’s death and the death of his eldest son Ishmael.

          Structurally, the Parsha is rather peculiar. Between the narrative of Sarah’s death and funeral and the narrative of Avraham and Ishmael’s deaths exists a narrative affirming life.  A father arranges to find a wife for his son. A young woman, Rivkah,  leaves home and marries Avraham’s son Yitzchak, a man who had a near-death experience when his father tried to offer him as a sacrifice and who is dealing with the death of his mother.  This life-affirming narrative is told in three different ways. The first narrative occurs when Avraham tells his servant what to do: Return to the ancestral homeland, find a girl from the tribe, and bring her back so that Yitzchak can marry her. The second narrative is Avraham’s plan coming to fruition. The servant returns to Avraham’s homeland, he prays to God for a sign that he should pick the right girl, he meets the girl and then meets the family. The third narrative is the servant recounting the narrative beginning with Avraham’s presenting the servant with this sacred task. Why does the Torah present this narrative in three different ways and from three different perspectives: Avraham’s plan, Avraham’s servant (Eliezer) fulfilling the mission, and Eliezer explaining all these events to Rebecca’s family? Why all the details? The Torah could have told of Avraham’s plan and even included the events that allowed Eliezer to fulfill the plan. Certainly, we don’t need to read Eliezer’s recounting of events to Rebecca’s family. The Torah could have said: “And Eliezer told her family all that happened.” Maybe we read the narratives’ reiteration gets us to look at it in more than just a cursory manner. The more we look at it, and hear about it, the more we begin to realize just how miraculous the whole story is. Maybe the narrative’s reiteration reminds us that the focus should be on life-affirming events rather than death-affirming events.  Maybe the subliminal message and the reason for the narrative’s reiteration is the sanctity of the narrative. Yitzchak was dealing with lots of death, as was Avraham. Generally, death marks the end of a narrative. For Yitzchak and Rebecca, both of whom were about to begin a new stage of life together, they needed to have a new narrative, their narrative. For the narrative to be effective it had to include the past and an origin, it needs to embody a point to a possible future, it needs to embody fundamental values, and it needs to have a way of being transmitted.

          The ability to create a narrative and share it is an incredibly important part of life. A narrative connects the past, present, and future. A narrative provides attributes meaning by adeptly connecting seemingly disparate events. Whether it was a servant’s narrative that spoke of miracles and God’s presence, or a gubernatorial candidate’s narrative on the broad themes of liberty and freedom as expressed in casting a ballot; narratives connect people allowing them to create community, purpose, and meaning.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

Can't You See That You're Killing Each Other's Soul (Jerry Garcia - Great Cream Puff War)

Earlier in the week, I went to the hospital to do Vidui, the final confession for an elderly man whose death seemed imminent. When I arrived, his family was there including children and grandchildren. After I did the Vidui, the children and the grandchildren needed to talk. They asked me about a funeral, whom to call, and what to do. The daughter in law, holding her youngest child on her lap asked me whether or not I thought it was appropriate to bring children to the funeral and to the cemetery. Unequivocally, I said that it was absolutely appropriate to bring the children and it is important for them to be with their family during this difficult time. I explained that children need to learn how to make sense of certain life cycle events. It should not be left up to their imagination, nor should they be alone. They should be with their family, free to ask questions and express their feelings. Also, they need to learn how to deal with this kind of loss since it is something they will contend with throughout their respective lives, and being with their parents and family for the first time is the safest way to learn how to deal with this type of loss.  I explained to this young mother, that the most important gift she and her husband can provide for their children is the emotional strength to handle loss and not be afraid.  The emotions of loss: grief, sadness, sorrow, despair are part of the process of dealing with these life cycle issues in a matter of fact type of way. I asked the young mother if she wanted her children to grow up being whole and complete people. She responded that she did. I explained that to be whole and complete means that her children do not grow up being paralyzed by life and death, nor becoming so emotionally distraught that they don’t know how to live life after experiencing such a severe loss. I suggested that might be the biggest gift parents can give their children, the tools to find Peace, a Brit Shalom, Covenant of Peace.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Pinchas. The first few Psukim of the Parsha are a direct continuation of the previous Shabbat Parsha Balak. There is no elapse of time in the narrative. Balak concludes with a plague upon Bnai Yisroel for its worship of Moabite/Midianite god, Baal Peor. Aaron’s son Pinchas zealously acts by killing Zimri from the tribe of Shimon and Cozbi the Midianite woman. God tells Moshe to reward Pinchas for his behavior by giving him the Brit Shalom, the Covenant of Peace. This covenant is only for Pinchas and his descendants. Keeping in mind that B’nai Yisroel has now concluded it 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and are poised upon the eastern bank of the Jordan River; a new census is taken. Just like we needed to know how many left Egypt, we now need to know how many will enter into Eretz Canaan. After the census is taken Moshe must judge a legal case concerning the laws of inheritance when a man has only daughters. This brief narrative is about the “Daughters of Tzelophchad”. Following this narrative, God commands Moshe to teach the new generation the laws for time-bound offerings including the Shabbat offering, the Rosh Chodesh offering, the offerings for the Shelosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals, etc).

Isn't it odd, or perhaps even disturbing, that Pinchas' zealousness, his subsequent spear throwing and impaling his targets is rewarded with a Brit Shalom - a Covenant of Peace and Brit Kehunat Olam - a covenant of an everlasting Priesthood? (Num. 25:12). Through our modernist lens, I imagine that most people consider or at least can understand why some may consider Pinchas act to be nothing more than fanaticism or vigilantism. The Neziv (Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Berlin Poland 1817-1893; the Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva) assumes that intrinsic to an act of vigilantism or fanaticism is a person whose soul and entire being is in turmoil and not in a state of peace.  The Neziv explains that the Brit Shalom is a guarantee of peace from an inner enemy, from whatever lurked within Pinchas that caused him to kill another human being without due process. "The Holy One, Blessed He, blessed him [Pinchas] with the attribute of peace, that he should not be quick-tempered or angry. Since it was only natural that such a deed as Pinchas' should leave in his heart intense emotional unrest afterward, the Divine blessing was designed to cope with this situation and promised peace and tranquility of the soul." We can now begin to make some sense of Brit Shalom, Covenant of Peace. Once Pinchas committed his first act of zealous defense of God's glory, perhaps it becomes easier and easier to commit a second, third or forty-eighth act in the name of God's glory. At some point, from the Neziv's perspective, the zealot's soul becomes damaged, the zealot's emotions are incapable of feelings, and the zealot's eyes become unseeing except through the lens of their zealousness, ideology, and the slavish adherence to defending its purity. The zealot, by definition, is an extremist. Jewish Law frowns upon extremism (see the laws of the Nazarite).  Precisely because the zealot does not know peace when he/she commits such an act, the only “gift” God could give Pinchas was that the tumult and turmoil within Pinchas’  soul should cease and his soul should become Shaleim whole, complete and at peace.

From this perspective, that Brit Shalom was not so much a reward of external gain as it was a reward for internal “normalcy”, the Brit Shalom and the Brit Kehunat L’Olam seem much more appropriate. Isn’t that what we wish for our children? We know that during the course of their lives there will be moments of tumult. We know that they will experience tension between their belief system and the realities of daily life. We know that they will be exposed to extreme emotions of joy, of sadness, of anguish and of anger. Pinchas received a Brit Shalom in order to manage the tumult within his soul. When parents and grandparents see their children and grandchildren's soul in spiritual and emotional tumult;  certainly they wish for nothing but Peace for their suffering children and grandchildren. Indeed, when children and grandchildren experience extreme and intense emotions that are an inevitable part of life; we pray that they will be able to return to a state of peace and contentment with themselves and their lives.

Peace,
Rav Yitz

What Fatal Flowers Of Darkness Bloom From Seeds Of Light (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia - "Blues For Allah")

           We were watching the news the other day, and our kids happen to see a story about U.S. presidential campaign. They showed clips of various candidates giving their stump speeches throughout Iowa, and New Hampshire. In particular the clips showed Donald Trump and Ted Cruz and the reporter commented upon how these candidates have tapped into the anger and dissatisfaction that has affected much of the American electorate. Our kids listened to parts of their speeches, the candidates’ anger, vitriol, negativity and frustration. They were curious as to why the people seemed angry and rather than the candidates trying to make it better they seemed to make it worse. I explained that sometimes, in order to get elected, candidates will use fear and ignorance in order to get themselves elected. Thankfully, they aren’t old enough to be too cynical. So I reminded them of Yoda from Star Wars. In teaching his disciples about the Force and to combat the Dark Side, Yoda teaches that "Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Fear leads to Anger. Anger leads to Hate. Hate leads to Suffering" The Force is light, goodness and purity of soul. The Dark Side is just that; it is the perversion of the soul.  I explained that extremism, the extremism that breeds hate, injustice, and terror exists everywhere; everywhere people feel threatened, paralyzed, or scared or feel as if they lack control over their own lives.  As a result, political extremism, or religious extremism, in any form, breeds closed mindedness, ignorance, fear, and ultimately a flirting with and perhaps a union with the Dark Side.

           This week's Parsha is Bo.  The ten plagues culminate with locusts, darkness and finally the killing of the first born. On the night of the last plague, God instructs Moshe to tell B'nai Yisroel, to declare and sanctify the New Moon, and to slaughter a lamb for each family. Blood should be painted onto the door- post. The sacrificed lamb must be completely eaten that night with no leftovers.  The command continues with God instructing Moshe to reiterate this story to the children of each family. The Parsha concludes with the command to sanctify the first born, remember this night, remember what God did for B'nai Yisroel, and how B'nai Yisroel eventually returned to the land.

           Parts of the Parsha are read on Pesach. Those parts dealing with the Paschal sacrifice, as well as the Mitzvah of "Telling" the child about the impending redemption, are read. However there is one phrase that is particularly interesting and revealing. The ninth plague is Choshech, darkness. VaYomer Adonai el Moshe  N'Teih Yadchah al Hashamayim - And God said to Moshe "Stretch forth your hand toward the heavens,  Va'Yehi Choshech al Eretz Mitzrayim- "And there will be a darkness upon the land of Egypt , Vayameish Choshech - and the darkness will be felt. [tangible] (Ex. 10:21). What does it mean that the darkness will be felt? What will it feel like? Will it be hot or cold, wet or dry? Maybe it will thick like some type of fog. Maybe it will be the horrible emptiness as if one is falling through an abyss with nothing all around. Whatever kind of darkness it is, it can be felt. It is noticeable and therefore extraordinarily different than the standard night -time or even an eclipse. B’nai Yisroel still had light in their dwellings while the plague occurred. Pharaoh could not stand the darkness anymore and told Moshe to take everyone including the children and leave if that would alleviate the darkness in Egypt. The Or HaChaim, (18^th Century Morocco) reminds us that while there was complete darkness in Egypt, there was light where the Jewish slaves lived: Goshen. U’LeChol B’nai Yisroel Haya Or B’Mishvotam – but for all the Children of Israel there was light in their dwellings (Ex. 10:23). Egypt was already in a state of primordial Darkness, a spiritual darkness without the acknowledgment of God’s presence. As a result, Egypt had become a twisted, closed minded, corrupt society whose enslavement of B’nai Yisroel was a function of ignorance and fear - a world devoid of the acknowledgment of HaShem. The plague of Choshech, of Darkness, was merely Egypt becoming aware of their darkness. As a result, Pharaoh all but pleaded with Moshe to take the slaves of Egypt. Eliminated the source of Egypt and Pharaoh’s fear, and then light would return to Egypt.  B’nai Yisroel was already in a state of primordial Light, a spiritual acknowledgment of God’s presence; U’LeChol B’nai Yisroel  Haya Or B’Mishvotam – but for all the Children of Israel there was light in their dwellings. B’nai Yisroel already had a sense of their relationship to God, and a sense of purpose. Moshe had already told them that they would be freed, and they would return to the land that had been promised to their ancestors.

           As our children continue to watch the news, and see stories about Jewish Right Wing extremist being found guilty of murdering a Palestinian child, as they continue to hear about ISIS, as they hear politicians brag about the size of the crowds coming out to hear the "truth"; they are keenly aware that there are lots of angry people out there and lots of fearful people out there. One of our children commented that it seems harder to be thoughtful when there is too much anger. They realized that it seemed much easier to allow oneself to be consumed by anger, and fear, minimize thinking,  move to the Darkness, sit in Darkness, and to remain in a state of Darkness. Moving toward the light, toward the Force, requires more effort, and requires greater vigilance to remain in the Light and part of the Force. Of course Darkness requires less thinking and responsibility, Light requires more thinking and assuming more responsibility for making the world a better place.

Peace

Rav Yitz  

So Many Roads To Ease My Soul (Robert Hunter & Jerry Garcia- "So Many Roads")

While Canadians and Americans were celebrating their country’s respective Independence Day and the added bonus of the U.S. women’s soccer team winning the World Cup; a great irony began to take shape in the Middle East and specifically in Gaza. Beginning on July 1^st in the New York Times and in various other news outlets including a Sunday morning news show; a story appeared about Isis and Hamas. It wasn’t exactly what you might have thought… a joint partnership bent on the destruction of Israel. Ironically, Isis believes that Hamas is an illegitimate government for Palestinians. According to ISIS policy makers and spokesman, Hamas is too secular and they are not true believers in the Caliphate and returning Jerusalem to the Caliphate. From Isis perspective, Hamas is too political, too cynical since they only pretend to be Muslim Fundamentalist. ISIS believers that Hamas’ sole reason for existence is to return Israel to the Palestinians and not necessarily rule according to Sharia law. Even in the world of extremism, some extremists are not extreme enough.  During the Sunday news show that explored ISIS’ rise, its popularity and even a version of extremism that overshadowed Hamas; Tom Friedman commented that young men who were disenfranchised, young men with bleak futures, young men who have never held a girl’s hand let alone kissed a girl are promised power, a future and a bride all the while earning a living.  So, these young men move from one form of extremism, extreme exclusion, to another form of extremism, extreme inclusion. While they think they will achieve contentment and peace, ultimately they will only achieve the dead end of an existence based in extremism, based in Sharia law, and a medieval life.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Pinchas. The first few Psukim of the Parsha are a direct continuation of the previous Shabbat Parsha Balak. There is no elapse of time in the narrative. Balak concludes with a plague upon B’nai Yisroel for its worship of Moabite/Midianite god, Baal Peor. Aaron’s son Pinchas zealously acts by killing Zimri from the tribe of Shimon and Cozbi the Midianite woman. God tells Moshe to reward Pinchas for his behavior by giving him the Brit Shalom, the Covenant of Peace. This covenant is only for Pinchas and his descendants. Keeping in mind that B’nai Yisroel has now concluded it 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and are poised upon the eastern bank of the Jordan River; a new census is taken. Just like we needed to know how many left Egypt, we now need to know how many will enter into Eretz Canaan. After the census is taken Moshe must judge a legal case concerning the laws of inheritance when a man has only daughters. This brief narrative is about the “Daughters of Tzelophchad”. Following this narrative, God commands Moshe to teach the new generation the laws for time bound offerings including the Shabbat offering, the Rosh Chodesh offering, the offerings for the Shelosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals etc).

Isn't it odd, or perhaps even disturbing, that Pinchas' zealousness, his subsequent spear throwing and impaling his targets is rewarded with a Brit Shalom - a Covenant of Peace and Brit Kehunat Olam - a covenant of an everlasting Priesthood? (Num. 25:12). Through our modernist lens, I imagine that most people consider or at least can understand why some may consider Pinchas act to be nothing more than fanaticism or vigilantism. If we consider Pinchas' behavior to be no different that some fanatic or vigilante; then have a difficult time in understanding Hashem’s rewarding Pinchas. To offer Pinchas Peace and the Priesthood becomes seems incomprehensible. The NeZiV (Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Berlin Poland 1817-1893; the Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva) offers a fascinating explanation that might be valuable in todays’ age of extremists recruiting young people. The NeZiV explains that the Brit Shalom is a guarantee of peace from an inner enemy from whatever lurked within Pinchas that caused him to kill another human being without due process. "The Holy One Blessed He blessed him [Pinchas] with the attribute of peace, that he should not be quick tempered or angry. Since it was only natural that such a deed as Pinchas' should leave in his heart an intense emotional unrest afterward, the Divine blessing was designed to cope with this situation and promised peace and tranquility of the soul." We can now begin to make some sense of these covenants. Once Pinchas committed his first act of zealous defense of God's glory, perhaps it becomes easier and easier to commit a second third of forty-eight act of zealous defense of God's glory. At some point, from the NeZiV's perspective, the zealot's soul becomes damaged, the zealot's emotions are incapable of feelings, and the zealot's eyes become unseeing except through the lens of their zealousness. The zealot by definition is an extremist and we know that extremism in Judaism is frowned upon and halachically unacceptable (see the laws of the Nazarite).  Precisely because the zealot does not know peace when he/she commits such an act, in Pinchas' case the only gift God could give was that the tumult of his own soul should cease and he should be whole, complete and at peace.

Just imagine if there was no way for Isis to recruit vulnerable young men. What if there were no vulnerable young men. Imagine if young men throughout the world had education, job prospects, a future, didn’t feel disenfranchised or alienated and had been kissed by a girl or at least held a girl’s hand. Yes Isis would still be able to recruit a few, but that is exactly the point. There would only be a few. Young men and young women for that matter, would be far less vulnerable to Isis videos and recruiters. Without fresh recruits, Isis will eventually shrivel up and die, as would Hamas. For the sake of the non-extremists, here’s hoping that the souls of these young men, achieve a sense of peace and contentment sooner rather than later.

Peace,

Rav Yitz

Just Want to Have a Little Peace to Die ( Hunter & Garcia - Black Peter)

Last Sunday, I conducted a funeral, and my seven year old wanted to join me. Conceptually, I think it is important that children are exposed to these various life cycle events. I explained that I could not bring him this time because: this was a funeral for a person he didn't know, and I wouldn't be able his Abba, I had to be the mourners’ Rabbi. He understood. However I was intrigued by the request nonetheless. For my son, and for all our children, we want them to understand and accept these life cycle types of moments as a way of understanding how to live with the subsequent emotions due to the event. The most important gift my wife and I can provide for our children is the emotional strength to treat life and death as "matter of factly" as possible. That doesn't mean there are no emotions, rather those emotions are part of the process of dealing with these life cycle issues in a matter of fact type of way. In a sense we want them to be whole and complete people. We don't want them being scared of life and death, we don't want them to grow paralyzed by life and death, and we don't want them to become emotional basket cases or emotional zombies in regards to life and death. We don’t want their souls and their beings to remain stuck in the emotional intensity and extremes of life. This is our Brit Shalom - Coven anent of Peace for our children.

This Shabbat we read from Parsha Pinchas. The first few Psukim of the Parsha are a direct continuation of the previous Shabbat Parsha Balak. There is no elapse of time in the narrative. Balak concludes with a plague upon Bnai Yisroel for its worship of Moabite/Midianite god, Baal Peor. Aaron’s son Pinchas zealously acts by killing Zimri from the tribe of Shimon and Cozbi the Midyanite woman. God tells Moshe to reward Pinchas for his behavior by giving him the Brit Shalom, the Covenant of Peace. This covenant is only for Pinchas and his descendants. Keeping in mind that B’nai Yisroel has now concluded it 40 years of wandering in the wilderness and are poised upon the eastern bank of the Jordan River; a new census is taken. Just like we needed to know how many left Egypt, we now need to know how many will enter into Eretz Canaan. After the census is taken Moshe must judge a legal case concerning the laws of inheritance when a man has only daughters. This brief narrative is about the “Daughters of Tzelophchad”. Following this narrative, God commands Moshe to teach the new generation the laws for time bound offerings including the Shabbat offering, the Rosh Chodesh offering, the offerings for the Shelosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals etc).

Isn't it odd, or perhaps even disturbing, that Pinchas' zealousness, his subsequent spear throwing and impaling his targets is rewarded with a Brit Shalom - a Covenant of Peace and Brit Kehunat Olam - a covenant of an everlasting Priesthood? (Num. 25:12). Through our modernist lens, I imagine that most people consider or at least can understand why some may consider Pinchas act to be nothing more than fanaticism or vigilantism. If we consider Pinchas' behavior to be no different that some fanatic or vigilante; then have a difficult time in understanding Hashem’s rewarding Pinchas. To offer Pinchas Peace and the Priesthood becomes seems incomprehensible. Ibn Ezra (Toledo, Spain 1090 – 1164) explains that God's Brit Shalom was a pledge that Pinchas would be protected from Zimri's kinsmen (the tribe of Shimon) and their desire to kill Pinchas.
The Torah Temima (Rabbi Baruch HaLevi Epstein – Russia 1860-1940) explains that the reward of Peace and the Priesthood was God's way of demonstrating to Moshe, and the rest of the Elders, as well as ChaZaL - Our sages of blessed memory, that such a deed was the result of unadulterated zeal to advance the glory of God. Yet as I read that all I can think of is a terrorist perpetrating a similar act in God's name. The Torah Temimah explains that since we are unable to determine who acts selfishly thereby committing murder and who acts selflessly (advancing the glory of God); the Brit Shalom and the Brit Kehunat L'Olam would only have been given to Pinchas if he indeed acted selflessly. Again, The Torah Temimah's comment makes the assumption that God would never have rewarded someone for committing a heinous act; rather a reward could only have been the result of an act that had been deemed as "good".

However there is another way of looking at this "reward". The Neziv (Rabbi Zvi Yehuda Berlin Poland 1817-1893; the Rosh Yeshiva of the Volozhin Yeshiva) explains that the Brit Shalom is a guarantee of peace from an inner enemy from whatever lurked within Pinchas that caused him to kill another human being without due process. "The Holy One Blessed He blessed him [Pinchas] with the attribute of peace, that he should not be quick tempered or angry. Since it was only natural that such a deed as Pinchas' should leave in his heart an intense emotional unrest afterward, the Divine blessing was designed to cope with this situation and promised peace and tranquility of the soul." We can now begin to make some sense of these covenants. Once Pinchas committed his first act of zealous defense of God's glory, perhaps it becomes easier and easier to commit a second third of forty-eight act of zealous defense of God's glory. At some point, from the Neziv's perspective, the zealot's soul becomes damaged, the zealot's emotions are incapable of feelings, and the zealot's eyes become unseeing except through the lens of their zealousness. The zealot by definition is an extremist and we know that extremism in Judaism is frowned upon and Halachically unacceptable (see the laws of the Nazarite). Precisely because the zealot does not know peace when he/she commits such an act, in Pinchas' case the only gift God could give was that the tumult of his own soul should cease and he should be whole, complete and at peace.

From this perspective, that Brit Shalom was not so much a reward of external gain as it was a reward for internal “normalcy”, the Brit Shalom and the Brit Kehunat L’Olam seem much more appropriate. Isn’t that what we wish for our children? We know that during the course of their lives there will be moments of tumult. We know that they will experience tension between their belief system and the realities of daily life. We know that they will be exposed to extreme emotions of joy, of sadness, of anguish and of anger. Like Pinchas received a Brit Shalom, we offer that same covenant to our children. Indeed when they do experience extreme and intense emotions of life, we want pray that they will be able to return to a state of peace and contentment with themselves and their lives.

Peace,

RavYitz