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Pinchas IS Elijah

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muman613:
Over the years I have learned many things about our Torah. I try to learn more every year and I hope that before I die I know as much Torah as I needed to know in this lifetime. The Lubavitch Rabbi explained in a Farbrengen in 1982 that a Jew must utilize every moment of life in order to grow and to fulfill as many mitzvot as possible. I have always tried to reach my potential and I know that I can achieve much more than I have already achieved.

One lesson which I find very interesting is the concept that Pinchas, the son of Eliezer, who was a zealot that killed Zimri who was a prince amongst the Children of Israel, he was 'reincarnated' or was a 'gilgul' in Elijah the Prophet. At first glance this statement is very hard to comprehend.

On the surface it seemed that Pinchas's action was not warranted. Even the Children of Israel who knew what happened did not believe that Pinchas should have acted so zealously. Even Pinchas's own ancestry was called into doubt because he was related to Yitro, who was once a priest of idolatry. But Hashem awarded Pinchas with the title of Kohen, and his children would pass on the priesthood of the Kohanim.

Today we recall Elijah the Prophet on Passover and have the custom of leaving a glass of wine over night so that when Elijah the Prophet comes he has wine for kiddush. It is also the Jewish belief that Elijah the Prophet will arrive to harken the coming of the Moshiach. Another Jewish custom is that Elijah the Prophet is present at every Brit Milah...

What appears to be the connection between the two was that Pinchas and Elijah were both zealous for Hashems honor. The Haftorah for Parasha Pinchas recalls the zealous nature of Elijah.


--- Quote ---http://www.jle.org/Parshat%20Pinchas.htm

The HAFTARA (excerpt from the prophets) is from 1 Kings 18:26-19:21.

This section deals with Elijah the prophet, and his escape from the wicked queen Jezebel, who issued a warrant for his execution. Elijah traveled to Mount Horev/ Sinai. There he perceived G-d and described his zealousness in combating idol-worship and decadence in Israel. His contumely regarding the Jewish People was met with G-d’s command to anoint Elisha as a prophet in his stead. Apparently, Elijah had overstepped his bounds and could no longer serve as the people’s prophet.

According to traditional sources, Elijah the Prophet is associated with Pinchas. Whether this is means mystically that Elijah was a reincarnation of Pinchas, or that it is a literary device, the two share the quality of zealousness in preserving the Jewish People’s loyalty to G-d at any cost. The association of these fiery individuals is the rationale for reading this excerpt from the Prophets with the Torah portion of Pinchas.
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--- Quote ---http://www.chabad.org/parshah/in-depth/default_cdo/aid/49232/jewish/In-Depth.htm

I give to him My covenant of peace (25:12)

Pinchas is Elijah.

Said G-d to Pinchas: You made peace between Israel and Me in this world, so, too, in the World to Come, it is you who shall make peace between Me and My children. As it is written (Malachi 3:23-24): "Behold, I will send you Elijah the Prophet, before the coming to the great and awesome day of G-d. And he will return the hearts of fathers to children, and the hearts of children to their fathers."

(Yalkut Shimoni)
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--- Quote ---http://www.torahtalk.net/Archives/576441.htm

There is a special chair set up at every Bris.  According to Tradition, Elijah the Prophet comes to every Bris.  He comes to testify that the Nation of Israel continues to adhere to the Bris -- the special Covenant of Peace between G-d and Israel.

The Talmud tells us that Elijah the Prophet never died.  He lives on, coming to every Bris, and will some day announce to the world that the Messianic era is about to begin.  Elijah will announce the permanent fulfillment of the Covenant of Peace.

There is an opinion in the Talmud that Elijah the Prophet, the Messenger of the Covenant, is none other than the man with the spear, Pinchas, son of Elazar the son of Aaron the Priest.

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http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1229209/jewish/Haftorah-in-a-Nutshell.htm

So we learn that Hashem loves a yid who stands up for Hashems honor. Today we do not have real zealots because a zealot must not be motivated by personal reasons. A true zealot puts aside his or her own issues and tries his best to bring Hashems will into the world. This means doing the mitzvot, helping and teaching others, giving tzadakah to those in need even if you don't want to do it, rebuking a Jew who is open to being rebuked.

I hope that anyone who reads this is inspired to learn more about Pinchas and Elijah...

muman613:
http://www.askmoses.com/en/article/582,464/What-does-the-Cup-of-Elijah-signify.html

What does the Cup of Elijah signify?

During the Passover Seder we drink four cups of wine (or grape juice). There is a custom to pour a fifth cup, and this cup is known as the "Cup of Elijah." This cup is poured in honor of Elijah the Prophet who comes to visit every seder.

The first mention of this (as far as I know) is in the Chok Yaakov.1
There are several reasons given for this:

(1) Elijah comes to every circumcision. Concerning the Paschal Offering (which today the Afikoman is in lieu of this sacrifice), the Torah says (Exodus 12:48), "no uncircumcised male may eat of it." So we are "inviting" Elijah to be the witness that all present are circumcised.

(2) On the first night of Passover, right before the Jews left Egypt, they all circumcised themselves (see Midrash Rabbah, Shmot 19:5). To commemorate this event, we invite to the seder Elijah, the angel of circumcision.

(3) On the night when we celebrate our redemption from Egypt, we also express our absolute belief in the coming of the Messiah, the one who will lead us out of this exile and take us all back to our land. We are so confident of our imminent redemption, that we actually pour a cup for Elijah, the prophet who will come to announce the arrival of the Messiah.

The four cups of wine correspond to the four expressions of redemption that G-d uses in describing the Exodus (Ex. 6:6-7):

1. “I will take you out…”

2. “I will save you…”

3. “I will redeem you…”

4. “I will take you as a nation….” —Shmot Rabbah chapter 6

But actually there’s a fifth expression that follows immediately afterward: “And I shall bring you into the land…” This expression is commemorated by the Cup of Elijah, since it is he who will herald the Messianic era when we will truly enter the Land in peace.

The five expressions of freedom are various stages in our redemption process. But while the first four are stages that we work on and achieve—the fifth, the final redemption is something that we need G-d to fulfill. We can do everything that leads up to it—and indeed we must. But that final step has to be taken by G-d. That’s why we don’t drink the Cup of Elijah—it is not within our ken.

muman613:
One more on this topic:

http://www.torah.org/learning/perceptions/5766/pinchas.html

If The Burden Fits, Bear It

FRIDAY NIGHT:

G-d told Moshe, "Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon the priest, stopped My anger . . . Therefore, I give him My covenant of peace. (Bamidbar 25:11-12)

Question: Who were Eliyahu HaNavi's parents?

Answer: He didn't have any.

Rather, as the Ba'al HaTurim points out at the beginning of this week's parshah, Eliyahu was really Pinchas, who was transformed into Eliyahu as a reward for his zealous act at the end of last week's parshah. As to how that can happen, it is a simple case of simply receiving an additional soul for Pinchas, and voila! Instant prophet and future heralder of the Final Redemption.

Next Question: How many Eliyahus are there?

Answer: Two.

Well, not exactly "two" in the conventional sense, as the Arizal explains:

In the case of a soul that comes b'sod ibur after birth, like the Nefesh of Nadav and Avihu that came to Pinchas, another spark must accompany it. Furthermore, this spark must be new to the world and not a reincarnation. Such a spark joined with the Nefesh of Nadav and Avihu which came b'ibur, to unify it with the Nefesh of Pinchas, which was an actual reincarnation. Therefore, another new soul had to come b'ibur in Pinchas called "Eliyahu HaTishbi" from the inhabitants of Gilad, and from the root of Gad, which was a new soul at that time. This was in order to combine the Nefesh of Nadav and Avihu with the Nefesh of Pinchas, a gilgul from the time of his birth. He also required an additional new soul in order to unite the new soul called "Eliyahu HaTishbi" with the rest of the older souls, that is, the Nefesh of Pinchas and those of Nadav and Avihu. Therefore, he received an additional soul called "Eliyahu" from the root of Binyomin, mentioned in Divrei HaYomim in the posuk, "And Ya'areshyah, Eliyahu, and Zichri were the sons of Yerucham" (I Divrei HaYomim 8:27), as Eliyahu himself wrote to the Chachamim, "from the children of the children of Rachel" (Bereishis Rabbah 71:12) . . . Thus we find that four levels were in Pinchas. The first was that of the Nefesh of Pinchas with which he was born, a single soul even though it was the combination of two drops, one from Yosef and one from Yitro. The second level was the Nefesh of Nadav and Avihu, which came b'sod ibur and was also called "one soul," as is known from the Zohar: Nadav and Avihu were two limbs of one body (Acharei Mos 57b). The third was a Nefesh called "Eliyahu HaTishbi" from the root of Gad, and the fourth level was "Eliyahu" from the root of Binyomin. (Sha'ar HaGilgulim, Ch. 32)

What a transformation! As the Arizal explains, it is possible to become "impregnated" (b'ibur) with additional souls during one's lifetime, and upon receiving an additional soul, one is dramatically changed. To what extent the change occurs depends upon the greatness of the soul sent to the person. Usually it is the soul of some righteous person from the past (or even from the present, once they have finished their lower level soul), but in the case of Pinchas it was a brand new soul called "Eliyahu."

However, the problem with an "ibur," a soul that can come during one's lifetime, is that it can also go away during one's lifetime. So, though many people know that Pinchas because Eliyahu, fewer people know that he went back to being Pinchas for a while, as a result of a mistake he made:

Later in history, when the incident of the daughter of Yiftach HaGiladi occurred, they (Eliyahu and Yiftach) were both punished. For, as Chazal say, Yiftach was a judge and he did not want to come to Eliyahu to cancel his vow, and Eliyahu did not want to come to him, for he said, "The one who is suffering must come to the doctor", and thus, between the two of them, the daughter of Yiftach went. Yiftach, who was directly involved in the incident was punished, and as a result everywhere he went he lost limbs, as it says, "They buried him in the cities of Gilad" (Shoftim 12:7) - in the plural. Eliyahu was punished by the departure of the Shechinah, as Chazal say (Bereishis Rabbah 60:3) on the posuk, "And Pinchas the son Elazar had been the supervisor over them in former times, for G-d was with him, (I Divrei HaYomim 9:20), which is talking about Pinchas. Thus, it seems that he had been the "supervisor" over them, and all of a sudden, no longer. After the Nefesh of Nadav and Avihu that had been in him b'ibur was removed from him, it later reincarnated into Shmuel HaNavi, as we will explain. This is the sod of what Chazal say: The "Vav" of "Briti Shalom" (Bamidbar 25:12) is cut. They also say in the Zohar (Acharei Mot), that the "Yud" of "Pinchas" is small (Bamidbar 25:11). Thus, in the incident with Zimri he merited the ibur of Nadav and Avihu, as mentioned in the Zohar (Pinchas 217a), but he lost the ibur as a result of the sin from the daughter of Yiftach. This is why the Vav is "cut," to represent the sefirah of Yesod, which is called "Briti Shalom." It was actually "cut" when he lost the Shechinah and the ibur of Nadav and Avihu. Thus, from that time onward all that remained was the spark from the root of Yosef . . . After this, his name changed to "Eliyahu HaTishbi." Nadav and Avihu had not been rectified in him, and Pinchas, himself from the side of Yitro, had been involved in the sin of the daughter of Yiftach. Eliyahu from the tribe of Binyomin and had only been in him b'ibur in order to join together the other souls. Thus, what remained as the main part was Eliyahu from the root of Gad, and therefore he could no longer be called "Pinchas," but rather, "Eliyahu HaTishbi," alluding that his soul was from the tribe of Gad. (Ibid.)

However, as one would suspect, there is a happy ending to the Pinchas- Eliyahu story, since we open the door for Eliyahu each Pesach, and he also comes to each and every brit.

muman613:
Ok, I just want to explain how the Children of Israel looked at Pinchas and his zealous act:


http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/535208/jewish/Who-Was-Pinchas.htm

Classic Questions

Why does verse 11 stress the lineage of Pinchas?

Rashi: Because the tribes ridiculed him, saying, "Have you seen the descendant of Puti [i.e., Yisro], whose mother's father fattened calves for idol worship, and yet he killed a leader of one of the tribes of Israel?" Therefore, scripture traces his lineage to Aharon.

Sifsei Chachamim: At the end of Parshas Balak, the Torah already stated that Pinchas was "the son of Elazar the son of Aharon the priest" (25:7), so why does this point need to be stressed again here? Rashi concluded that the Torah stressed Pinchas' lineage again in response to the ridicule he suffered.

Kli Yakar: The tribes ridiculed him because it was difficult to believe that a person whose own father married somebody who was not born Jewish should feel genuine indignation against Zimri for cohabiting with a non-Jewish woman.

Likewise, Pinchas' grandfather was an idolater, so it is difficult to believe that he was genuinely disgusted by the worship of Ba'al Pe'or.

Be'er Basadeh: The tribes felt that the Torah only sanctions a true zealot to execute a person such as Zimri. They found it difficult to believe that his intentions were pure.

Kahane-Was-Right BT:

--- Quote from: muman613 on April 15, 2011, 01:45:57 AM ---So we learn that Hashem loves a yid who stands up for Hashems honor. Today we do not have real zealots because a zealot must not be motivated by personal reasons.

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How do you know?      How can anyone possibly know that?

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