At the end of last week’s Torah portion, Pinchas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron, displayed his “zeal” for God by killing an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were engaged in a public act of sexual idolatry:

When Pinchas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw that, he left the assembly and, taking a spear in his hand, he followed the Israelite into the chamber and stabbed both of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the stomach. (Numbers 25:7-8)

Pinchas’ act is portrayed in the Torah as an act of salvation for the Israelites. As a outcome of his initiative, a plague afflicting the society is checked - and at the beginning of our portion, God tells Moses that Pinchas’ action has saved the Israelite nation entirely:

“Pinchas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron 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 citizens in My passion. Say, therefore, ‘I grant him My pact of peace. It shall be for him and his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all duration, considering he took impassioned action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israelites.’” (Numbers 25:10-13)

It is vital to note that Jewish commentators have expanded been troubled by Pinchas’ actions, as well as the suggestion that he seems to be rewarded by God for his zealousness. Many have suggested that God’s offer of a “pact of peace” (“Brit Shalom”) should not be regarded

so much as Pinchas’ reward, but rather as a covenant that will require responsibility and moderation on the part of that future Israelite leader.

One of the most robust commentaries on Pinchas’ act is written into the very fabric of Torah itself. The Masoretes - the 8th and 9th century rabbinic sages who codified the written Torah into the version we know today - instructed that the word “Shalom” in the term “Brit Shalom” should be written with a broken letter vav. As a conclusion, every Torah scroll now bears that inner notice: peace achieved through zealotry and violence is an incomplete peace - a “broken peace,” as it were.

For an era beset by growing violence committed in “the name of God,” that one small pen-stroke makes a profound statement indeed…

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