Pinchas: Chapter 3

Completely righteous and incompletely righteous

Synopsis

In this section we learn that a completely righteous person is allowed to challenge an evil person, but an incompletely righteous person is not. The latter is defined as someone who did evil deeds himself in his first incarnation but now in this incarnation has done only good deeds. These good deeds are required to repair his earlier bad deeds. Rabbi Shimon says that even one who is not destined for greatness can achieve it through dedication to the Holy Name, as did Pinchas.

Relevance

The effects of our sins, committed this life and past, are henceforth remedied. The darkness generated by our iniquities vanishes as lambent flames of Light are dispersed into the present and distant past. This illumination, which traverses time itself, cleanses us, completes us, and makes us whole and righteous in the eyes of the Creator.

Moreover, we are protected from the deeds of the wicked. And although spiritual greatness may not have been in our destiny, we attain it now in the act of embracing this holy book and remaining steadfast in our commitment to the Light. We imbue our fellow man with holiness, correcting the transgressions of all humanity, and thus commencing our Final Redemption with untold benevolence. All of this is achieved upon the merit of the true Righteous, including Pinchas, Nadab, and Abihu, who desire nothing less for us.