Changing, Fast and Slow

A thought for Parashas Pinchas

One of the many perks of using Waze, aside from feeling like you're in Beirut in the middle of Jerusalem, is the social commentary that comes with the different characters programmed to give directions. You can have one character telling you to do squats at every traffic light and another giving you business tips. Recently, while going off route, a message from Waze really resonated with me. The character said in Hebrew, כל זמן שאדם חי אפשר לשנות, "as long as one is living, it is possible to change."

Change is an interesting thing. It is the basis of political campaigns, the subject of mussar shmuessen, and something that gnaws at the conscience of every soul-connected human being.

A story often attributed to Rav Yisroel Salanter, the Chofetz Chaim, and Benjamin Franklin, amongst others, encapsulates this idea:

“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn't change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn't change the town, and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation, and I could indeed have changed the world.”

As a great man once said, "Be the change you seek in the world." Or as John Maxwell elucidated, “Most people want to change the world to improve their lives, but the world they need to change first is the one inside themselves.”

Change is scary. It is hard to move away from the status quo, to go off the well-traveled route. It is intimidating to do things differently than you always have. While change is often associated with new beginnings, true change takes place right in the middle of the highway of life - ultimately, we will get to our destination.

In a previous post, I contrasted the roles of Pinchas with Noach and how Pinchas ultimately served as a tikkun for Noach. I would like to suggest a different contrast, with Pinchas and Korach. Korach was on a mission to challenge the leadership of Moshe, seeking rapid and complete change. He wanted everything to be holy. The prime example is that the tallis should be entirely techeiles. Ironically, no arguments would change him; he wouldn't budge, and he was eventually swallowed up by the earth.

Pinchas saw an act that, while it might have had holy mystical intentions, was blatantly immoral and desecrating on the surface. Instead of letting the status quo reign, he took decisive action by killing them both. Pinchas felt the nation's pain and affront to God, empowering himself from within to go beyond his own comfort zone and act decisively. 

The Tzror Hamor explains that the word "romach" (spear) in gematria corresponds to the 248 bones of a man's body. Pinchas took his entire being—body and soul—all of his 248 bones—for the love of God and to strengthen the covenant of God and His 248 positive commandments.

It was this profound inner conviction that drove Pinchas to act. Though he stood among the entire community, at that moment he was alone, acutely aware of the depth of his conviction. He delved into his inner being and psyche, realizing that his inner sense of truth would not allow him to remain silent. That which he was witnessing was an affront to his inner sense of self.

This courageous and selfless act made a significant difference for the Jewish people. His quick thinking and action stopped a bad situation from getting worse. This demonstrates how one person's right action can change everything. It was a smaller act in the grand scheme of things, akin to the techeiles on one string of tzitzis.

The power to change is instinctive, the ability to change is within us all; we just need to choose it wisely. The message of Pinchas is that change is within us, and once we change, we are blessed with ultimate peace, bringing about change to the world through seemingly insignificant acts. The heroic act of Pinchas earned him the blessing of peace for his family for eternity. It started with him and spread to the world. Whereas, Korach, who was unable to effect meaningful change, was swallowed by the earth.

Korach’s mistake was indeed followed by many great people who tried to effect rapid and total change. As Rabbi Sacks writes:

“Great leaders see the need for change, but not everyone else does. People cling to the past. They feel safe in the way things were. They see the new policy as a form of betrayal. It is no accident that some of the greatest of all leaders – Lincoln, Gandhi, John F. and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Sadat, and Rabin – were assassinated.

A leader who fails to work for change is not a leader. But a leader who attempts too much change in too short a time will fail.”

The idea of the Bris Shalom is not new. The Torah tells us in Bechukosai that peace will come to those who do teshuva for their sins and the sins of their parents. When we move out of the status quo of transgenerational stubbornness and trauma to become a changed person, we not only change ourselves, we change the world, and like Pinchas we earn the Bris Shalom. Chazal tell us that Pinchas is Eliyahu HaNavi, it therefore comes as no surprise that the Navi tells us that when Eliyahu comes, he will return the hearts of parents to children and children to their parents. 

Perhaps this change can be called Chutzpah. With this holy chutzpah, we will bring Mashiach. Mashiach comes slowly, through incremental change. The heralder of Mashiach will be Eliyahu HaNavi, who will answer all our questions.We need to try to fill a spiritual deficiency we may have, but as we do not know how to change, we are stuck and await Eliyahu. He will commend us for challenging the status quo and trying to change and will explain how to bring about true change.

This lesson is portrayed most vividly on the one night of the year when we are instructed to teach our children about the Geula of Mitzrayim. First, we encourage them to ask questions. Then Eliyahu HaNavi comes to answer and guide us. Finally, we sing Hallel to celebrate the Geula and our clarity as we are changed individually and as a nation.

Just as we practice this on Pesach, may we merit to visualize this great time very soon. Remember, it all starts with a little bit of change.

כל זמן שאדם חי אפשר לשנות