Parashas Pinchas: The Killer Kohen

Disclaimer: this dvar Torah is flawed. I wasn't able to work everything out in time. Rather than not posting anything at all, I figured I might as well post what I have, as polished as I can make it. If you find value in what you read, great! If you spot the problems and shortcomings, then I hope they will prompt you to seek your own understanding - and I hope you share this with me!

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Artwork: Searing Spear, by Chris Rahn

Parashas Pinchas: The Killer Kohen

This parashah begins with Pinchas being rewarded for his act of zealotry, as recounted at the end of Parashas Balak:

Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: "Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon ha'Kohen has turned My anger away from Bnei Yisrael by his zealously avenging Me among them, so that I did not destroy Bnei Yisrael because of My jealousy. Therefore, say: 'I hereby give him My covenant of peace. It shall be for him and for his descendants after him an eternal covenant of kehunah (priesthood), because he was zealous for his God and atoned for Bnei Yisrael.'"

The Abravanel [1] raises a basic question: 

What is the [nature of the] reward that Ha'Kadosh Baruch Hu gave to Pinchas for turning back His anger from Bnei Yisrael and acting zealously on his behalf? ... The kehunah that He said He would give to him and his offspring after him, "an eternal covenant of kehunah" - this had already been given to the offspring of Aharon for all time! What, then, was the reward that He gave Pinchas in exchange for his service?

The Abravanel offers a somewhat halachic answer [2] based on a misconception that Bnei Yisrael would have otherwise had about Pinchas's status as a valid kohen:

[Bnei Yisrael] said that since Pinchas killed someone, and came in contact with a corpse, he would be pasul (halachically disqualified) for the avodas ha'Mikdash (Temple service), and would not be able to approach the altar of Hashem, since he shed blood. On account of this, Hashem commanded Moshe to say to everyone, and to publicize to Bnei Yisrael ... that Pinchas would NOT be pasul for the avodas ha'Mikdash, but to the contrary: he and his offspring after him would have an eternal covenant of kehunah - in other words, that they would always be kohanim of Hashem, and Kohanim Gedolim, for long days ... 

Thus, Pinchas's reward corresponded to his [act of zealotry] ... Therefore He said: "because he was zealous on behalf of His God, and atoned for Bnei Yisrael" - in other words, since the kehunah was appropriate for him, insofar as he was zealous on behalf of his God - and his zealotry was a praiseworthy act of avodah before Him - therefore, it was befitting for him to always be a kohen, to atone for them through the avodas ha'Mikdash.

The source for the halacha that a kohen who killed someone is pasul for avodah is brought down in the halachos of Birkas Kohanim, and is extended via kal va'chomer (an a fortiori argument) to other forms of avodah. [3] Regarding its primary application the Rambam [4] writes:

Six things prevent birkas kohanim: speech, blemishes, aveirah (transgression), years, wine, and impurity of the hands ... How does aveirah [prevent birkas kohanim]? A kohen who killed someone, even unintentionally, even though he did teshuvah, he may not raise his hands [to do birkas kohanim,] as it is stated: "your hands are filled with blood" (Yeshayahu 1:15) and it is written: "and when you spread out your palms, I will hide My eyes from you" (ibid.).

In order to understand why killing someone would preclude birkas kohanim - and, by extension, avodas ha'Mikdash - we need to understand the Rambam's citation from Sefer Yeshayahu. Although the Rambam breaks it up into two parts, both are from the same pasuk, which reads: "And when you spread your palms, I will hide My eyes from you; even if you increase prayer, I will not listen - your hands are filled with blood." What insight does this provide about why a kohen who killed someone would be pasul for birkas kohanim and avodas ha'Mikdash? Apparently, this disqualification has nothing to do with the kohen's righteousness, since he may not do birkas kohanim even if he did teshuvah. Why, then, would such a kohen be unfit for avodah?

I believe the answer lies in the role of the kohanim, in birkas kohanim and in general. The kohanim act as the conduit of the shem Hashem (the name of God), which is the source of the berachah (blessing), as the pasuk states: "you shall place My name upon Bnei Yisrael, and I will bless them" (Bamidbar 6:27). Although there are many interpretations of what, exactly, the pesukim mean, one thing is clear: birkas kohanim is intended to bring about life, divine favor, and peace between God and His people. Likewise, kohanim are supposed to be messengers of peace, as the mishnah in Avos 1:12 states:

Hillel would say: Be among the disciples of Aharon, loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them close to Torah.

As such, a kohen who took a life cannot be the vehicle of this berachah, since his association to the termination of a life would contradict his peace-affirming role, and undermine his berachah. Analogously, this would be akin to the way people would perceive a doctor who killed someone. Even if this doctor possessed great medical expertise, his identity as someone who restores life would be undermined by his taking of life. This is why it doesn't matter whether the kohen killed someone intentionally or unintentionally, nor does it matter that he did teshuvah. The very fact that he is associated with the loss of life constitutes a blemish as a messenger of peace, in the capacity of birkas kohanim and avodas ha'Mikdash.

We see a similar phenomenon with Hashem's explanation of why David ha'Melech was not chosen to build the Beis ha'Mikdash itself: "You shall not build a temple to My name, for you are a man of war, and you have shed blood" (I Divrei ha'Yamim 28:3). The Mikdash, which "will be called 'a house of tefilah' for all people" (Yeshayahu 56:7) cannot be associated with bloodshed, as our pasuk states: "even if you increase tefilah, I will not listen, for your hands are filled with blood."

How, then, was Pinchas able to retain his kehunah? True, his killing of Zimri and Cozbi was not an aveirah, but wouldn't his taking of life mar his role as a messenger of peace?

The answer to this question was provided by the Abravanel in his explanation of how Pinchas's reward corresponded to his act of zealotry: "the kehunah was appropriate for him, insofar as he was zealous on behalf of his God - and his zealotry was a praiseworthy act of avodah before Him." In other words, Pinchas's zealotry was subsumed under a more fundamental framework than peace or  even life, namely, avodas Hashem. Since life and peace are, themselves, only of value insofar as they facilitate avodas Hashem, Pinchas's execution of sinners did not contradict the primary message of birkas kohanim or his role as a kohen, since the berachah itself presupposes that the blessings we receive will be used for avodas Hashem. In order to clarify this, Hashem publicly endorsed Pinchas's kehunah and emphasized that it was not only "an eternal covenant of kehunah," but also "My covenant of peace."

[1] Don Yitzchak Abravanel, Commentary on Sefer Bamidbar: Questions on Bamidbar 25:10-18
[2] It should be noted that the standard answer to this question (Zevachim 101b, cited by Rashi on Bamidbar 25:13) is that only Aharon and his two sons with their future offspring had been anointed as Kohanim for the avodah, whereas Pinchas - who had been born earlier - was not anointed as a Kohen for the avodah until after he killed Zimri. Apparently, the Abravanel rejects this answer. Either that, or I'm misreading the Abravanel's question.
[3] Rabbeinu Chezkia ben Manoach (Chazkuni), Commentary on Sefer Bereishis 25:31
[4] Rabbeinu Moshe ben Maimon (Rambam / Maimonides), Mishneh Torah: Sefer Ahavah, Hilchos Tefilah u'Birkas Kohanim 15:1,3