I was wondering how Rabbi Dr. Sacks ע"ה dealt with the story of Pinchas. This story certainly doesn't fit his Humanistic narrative of Judaism.
So I looked and found this line: "Pinchas and Elijah are, in other words, both gently rebuked by God."
Really???
Read the psukim yourself and decided if there was any rebuke there - or if Hashem was completely satisfied.
Pinchas the son of Elazar the son of Aaron the kohen has turned My anger away from the children of Israel by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy the children of Israel because of My zeal.
Therefore, say, "I hereby give him My covenant of peace.
It shall be for him and for his descendants after him [as] an eternal covenant of kehunah, because he was zealous for his God and atoned for the children of Israel."
Doesn't sound so "rebukeful" at all!!
That is the problem when one approaches the text [as many do] with preconceived notions. If it doesn't fit then one either has to change one's preconceived notion - or distort the meaning of the text.
