In a recent worldwide public opinion poll tracking international sentiment, Israel was ranked as the single least popular country in the entire world. It recorded a negative perception score that placed it at the very bottom of the global list, ranking even lower than brutal, oppressive dictatorships like North Korea and Afghanistan. How does a society reach a point where a vibrant democracy, fighting a defensive war against asymmetric terror, is branded more unfavorably than literal totalitarian regimes? The answer lies in a widespread cultural failure that is actually addressed by a striking detail in the layout of the Torah.

In the weekly readings, the story of Pinchas is strangely split in two. Pinchas does a very dramatic and extreme act to save the Jewish people at the very end of one Torah portion (Parshas Balak). But God’s reward to him—the Covenant of Peace—is delayed. It does not appear until the next Torah portion (Parshas Pinchas). Why separate the action from the reward?

Rabbi Moshe MiKutzi, a great early scholar and author of the Sefer Mitzvot Gadol (the Smag), explains that when someone does something extreme, it looks highly suspect on the surface. To an outsider, extreme actions look identical to personal anger, ego, or violence. If Pinchas had acted out of personal hate or cruelty, he would have been punished as a criminal, not praised as a hero. Therefore, the Torah forces a pause. This break teaches us a vital lesson:........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)