In the Spring of 1861, on the eve of the Civil War, Isaac Mayer Wise, the patriarch of Reform Judaism in America, wrote the following, “We are the servant of peace, not of war. Hitherto we thought fit to say something on public affairs, and it was our ardent hope to assist those who wished to prevent civil war, but we wasted our words. What can we say now?… Therefore silence must henceforth be our policy…”
A proud centrist, living in Cincinnati, on the border between North and South, Wise condemned the abolitionists and worse supported slavery. He did all of this in the name of peace.
Pinchas, the namesake of this Shabbat’s Torah portion, took the opposite tact in his attempt to preserve the ancient Israelite Union. Instead of silence, he chose action, violently killing an Israelite man and a Midianite woman who were at the root cause of a communal disturbance. For his efforts he was rewarded with the Israelite’s highest honor, a covenant of peace.
Both Pinchas and Wise present the perils of both action and inaction in the name of peace. In Wise’s case, we would rather have had him join the abolitionist cause and fight slavery. In Pinchas’ case, we would rather not celebrate such calibrated vigilante justice today. So, what to do?
There is perhaps a third path to peace, presented in the Torah portion in the action of the daughters’ of Tzelophechad, who came forward to demand their inheritance from Moses and God. With their father dead and no male heir in the family, they would have been left out of a place in the Holy Land. Coming forward is clearly a dangerous proposition for these brave sisters, and one they thankfully are rewarded for, as both Moses and God agree to their request, paving the way not only for their own inheritance, but any others in similar situations as well. The Daighters’ of Tzelophechad show us that the path to peace is neither through silence or violence, but through conversation.
With this in mind, I invite you to join me next Thursday (7/16) at 6 PM for a conversation on systemic racism in America. I’ll be among a panel of local religious leaders who discuss this issue from a theological perspective. Look for a Zoom link over the next few days.