Taking A Spear Is Just As Important As Using It

At the end of Parshat Balak we are introduced to Pinchas, the hero of the ugly incident that occurred at Shittim. We are told that "Pinchas saw, stood up from among the assembly and took a spear in his hand"(24:7). In the next verse we read that Pinchas used the spear to kill a Jewish man along with the Midianite woman with whom he was involved with.

While Pinchas gets most of the credit for using the spear, it seems to me that there is something else going on here that Pinchas needs to be credited for. What is it exactly that Pinchas saw? The previous verse, 24:6, ends by telling us that while the camp was rampant with immorality, the judges/ leaders of Israel “were crying at the entrance of the Ohel Moed.” They were frozen by the enormity of the problem, coupled with the enormity of the task at hand necessary to ameliorate the problem.

Pinchas saw this and responds at first by simply taking a spear in his hand. Just taking the spear was an important first step whose value we must not underestimate. While everyone else was frozen with fear and crying about the problem, Pinchas picks up a spear, thereby indicating his commitment to do something to help solve the problem. I’m sure Pinchas also cried about the great desecration of God’s name that was transpiring; but his response did not end with crying. He knew something needed to be done. Just by taking the spear, even before he used it, he demonstrated tremendous strength of character as well as a very important lesson to the rest of the Jewish leadership. When Pinchas uses his spear in a correct manner he cements his status as a Jewish leader that is deserving of special Divine recognition.

Our community is faced with a number of challenges. The first step is to identify these challenges. The second step is to cry about them, to appreciate the problem and realize that it is something that needs fixing. But our response cannot end with crying. It cannot end with articles or op-eds or blog posts about the problem. We need to do as Pinchas, and indicate our willingness to tackle the challenge with actions. We may not solve all the challenges and our solutions may not be complete fixes or work at all. But we must learn from Pinchas: not just cry about our plight: but to “takea spear”, thereby indicating our commitment to action and to help make things better.