Image Credit: Illustrators of the 1728 Figures de la Bible, Gerard Hoet (1648-1733) and others, published by P. de Hondt in The Hague in 1728, Wikimedia Commons
Can someone be zealous without being a zealot? Rabbi Professor David Golinkin, President of The Schechter Institutes, discusses the incident in the transition from Parshat Balak to Parshat Pinchas. With the entire Israelite camp watching, Pinchas kills a sinning Israelite and a Moabite woman. When is zeal for upholding Torah and the rule of law justified and when is it unreasonable?
Watch the video below:
Image Credit: Illustrators of the 1728 Figures de la Bible, Gerard Hoet (1648-1733) and others, published by P. de Hondt in The Hague in 1728, Wikimedia Commons
David Golinkin is President of The Schechter Institutes, Inc. and President Emeritus of the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies. For twenty years he served as Chair of the Va’ad Halakhah (Law Committee) of the Rabbinical Assembly which gives halakhic guidance to the Masorti Movement in Israel. He is the founder and director of the Institute of Applied Halakhah at Schechter and also directs the Center for Women in Jewish Law. Rabbi Professor Golinkin made aliyah in 1972, earning a BA in Jewish History and two teaching certificates from The Hebrew University in Jerusalem. He received an MA in Rabbinics and a PhD in Talmud from the Jewish Theological Seminary of America where he was also ordained as Rabbi. For a complete bio click here.