We recall Elijah the Prophet several times during the year. Every week, on Saturday night, as Shabbos is ebbing, and the extra Shabbos soul is waning from within us, we call out and sing for the prophet Elijah to come and announce the coming of the Messiah, the redeemer. We are in the process of our weekly mourning of the loss of this special soul, and we ask for a permanent redemption wherefrom we will have a complete connection to G-d through our spirituality and will no longer have to mourn the loss of that extra soul that bonds with G-d only on Shabbos presently.
We have an extra chair set up at every Jewish circumcision for the spirit of Elijah to visit. It is at the circumcision that a male baby is entering into Abraham’s covenant with G-d, it turns the child into a dedicated Jewish child. Transformative.
At our Passover seder, we have a cup of Elijah and ask Elijahs spirit to join us at the seder. The seder is when we celebrate not only freedom from Egyptian slavery, but our dedication to G-d as his chosen people. Transformative.
So we have this week’s torah portion, Pinchas. The Toras Menachem tells us that Pinchas had the soul of Elijah the prophet. As the Jews were hit with a deadly plague that would have decimated them because of their involvement with idolatry, Pinchas sprang into action and killed the idolators, stopped the plague and eradicated idolatry from amidst the young Jewish nation. Transformative. The rest of the torah portion discusses the Jews’ dedication to G-d with G-d showing His love of the nation by counting each person individually and preciously, and the Jews’ sacrifices to G-d to show their dedication to Him.
Why do we read this torah portion during the three week period between our commemoration of the beginning of the Jerusalem siege and the destruction of the temple? Because we are to learn how to be transformative like Pinchas, not to equivocate in our steadfast dedication to G-d, his torah and commandments. To be a doer that transforms each one of us to get closer to G-d, and who reaches out to others with love to transform a nation into a nation which deserves immediate redemption. This quiet time where no festivities and music is permitted, gives us space to contemplate and evaluate where we are and how to get closer to G-d. Pinchas is our role model. Be a doer. Don’t say others will do, take up the sword/cause and do it yourself and raise those around you with you.
Transformation, it’s a good thing.
Good Shabbos.
-Suri