Elijah was a prophet in the 9th century BCE. In the verses preceding this Haftarah portion, he was victorious over the Baal's prophets on Mount Carmel. Elijah prophesies that a longstanding drought will soon come to an end and that King Ahab should flee before the downpour. Elijah runs in front of the chariot down to the Valley of Jezreel. When King Ahab's wife, Jezebel, hears about the slaughter of Baal's prophets, she curses Elijah. He is forced to flee further south to escape her wrath. That is where the Haftarah portion begins:
Midrash Tanchuma, Bereshit 7:11
The Holy One, blessed be He, declared: I restore the dead to life, and Elijah likewise restored the dead to life, but he did not say: “I am a god”; I caused the rain to descend, and so too did Elijah; I withheld the rain, and Elijah did likewise, as it is said: There shall not be dew nor rain these years but according to my word (I Kings 17:1); I caused fire and brimstone to descend upon Sodom, and Elijah did the same, as it is said: If I be a man of God, let fire descend from heaven (II Kings 1:10). Nevertheless, he did not say “A god am I" yet you say: A god am I: In the dwelling-place of God I sit (Ezek. 28:2). If you would claim “A god am I” because you have lived for so many years, He lives and will live until the dead are revived. Concerning the Holy One, blessed be He, it is written: His throne was fire and flames (Dan. 7:9), and of Elijah it is said: There appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire (II Kings 2:11). It is written elsewhere concerning the Holy One, blessed be He: The Lord is in the whirlwind, and in the storm is His way (Nahum 1:3), and about Elijah Scripture says: And Elijah went up in a whirlwind to heaven (ibid. 2:11); nevertheless Elijah implored: O Lord, take away my life (I Kings 19:4). Yet you claim: A god am I, in the dwelling place of gods, I sit in the midst of the sea (Ezek. 28:2). Jonah descended into the deep, as it is written: Thou didst cast me into the depth, into the heart of the seas (Jonah 2:4). Finally, he (changed his mind) and pleaded for death, saying: Therefore, now, O Lord, take, I beseech Thee, my life from me; for it is better for me to die than to live (ibid. 4:4).
Because you have been so haughty and have said, “I am a god; I sit enthroned like a god in the heart of the seas,” whereas you are not a god but a human, though you deemed your mind equal to a god’s —
Then the word of GOD came to him: “Why are you here, Elijah?” (10) He replied, “I am moved by zeal for the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts, for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.” (11) “Come out,” He called, “and stand on the mountain before GOD.”
And lo, GOD passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by the power of GOD; but GOD was not in the wind. After the wind—an earthquake; but GOD was not in the earthquake. (12) After the earthquake—fire; but GOD was not in the fire. And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound. (13) When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his mantle about his face and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then a voice addressed him: “Why are you here, Elijah?” (14) He answered, “I am moved by zeal for the ETERNAL, the God of Hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and have put Your prophets to the sword. I alone am left, and they are out to take my life.”
My Jewish Learning, https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/haftarah-for-pinhas/
“Why are you here, Elijah?” (19:13)–God poses this question a second time. But Elijah is unchanged even after experiencing the wind, earthquake, fire, and small voice. He responds to God’s question with precisely the same self-important words he used before: “I am moved by zeal for the Lord, for the Israelites have forsaken…I alone am left…” (19:14).
In Elijah’s unchanged response, we can see the tragedy of his life. The still, small voice had been God’s attempt to teach Elijah that zealotry and grand miracles are not always the best way to serve God’s purpose. But Elijah is a man who only knows to act with fire and brimstone; he could not learn the lesson.
Because Pinchas's death isn't recorded in the Torah, one midrash explains that Pinchas and Elijah are actually the same person? How similiar are these two characters? Do you believe they could have been one in the same?
Why did God reward Pinchas for his actions?
Why did God grant him God's "pact of freindship"? What does that mean?
Netziv
In reward for turning away the wrath of HaKadoesh Baruch Hu, God blessed him with the attribute of peace, that he should not be quick-tempered or angry. Since, it was only natural that such a deed as Pinchas' should leave in his heart an intense emotional unrest afterward, the divine blessing was designed to cope with this situation and promised peace and tranquility of soul.
Rebbe Kotzk, Amud HaEmet
Having seen Pinchas' zealousness for God's name... Moses thought, 'A zealot cannot be the leader of Israel.' Therefore Moses turned to God to find an alternative.
Reading these texts and commentaries, what learnings can help us better understand Elijah's zealotry?
(15) GOD said to him, “Go back by the way you came, [and] on to the wilderness of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael as king of Aram. (16) Also anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah to succeed you as prophet. (17) Whoever escapes the sword of Hazael shall be slain by Jehu, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu shall be slain by Elisha. (18) I will leave in Israel only seven thousand—every knee that has not knelt to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.” (19) He set out from there and came upon Elisha son of Shaphat as he was plowing. There were twelve yoke of oxen ahead of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah came over to him and threw his mantle over him. (20) He left the oxen and ran after Elijah, saying: “Let me kiss my father and mother good-by, and I will follow you.” And he answered him, “Go back. What have I done to you?” (21) He turned back from him and took the yoke of oxen and slaughtered them; he boiled their meat with the gear of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and became his attendant.
What do these verses tell us about the kind of person Elisha is? How is he similiar to Elijah? How is he different?
As we have studied in the past, Elisha was known as a miracle worker. He resurrected the dead, and healed the sick. He was also intrumental in saving the life of the Israelite king Jehoash.
Rabbi Rachel Greengrass, "Being a Voice in the Face of Brokenness," in Prophetic Voices: Renewing and Reimagining Haftarah, p. 274-5.
In Parashat Pinchas, God is angry, watching the Israelite's leadership be anything but leaders. When a chieftain from the house of Simeon takes a Moabite princess to have sex with her in front of the Tent of Meeting, God instructs Moses to slay all the idol-worshippers. In this moment, Pinchas gets up onto his feet, follows the couple, and impales them while they are coupling...
Four hundred years later, once again, seduction has led Israel astray. King Ahab, seduced by his wife Jezebel to worship Baal and Ashera, allows the slaughter of the prophets of the Eternal, attempting to wipe our faith off the face of the planet. Elijah, being one of the hundred who survive, climbs Mount Carmel and challenges four hundred and fifty priests of Baal to a duel where each would offer their sacrifices and see which god would accept them. The face priests cut themselves and dance ecstatically, but their god does not bring down fire to accept their sacrifice. Then Elijah digs a hole, covers his sacrifice in water, and prays. God accepts his sacrifice. Then Elijah digs a hole, covers his sacrifice in water, and prays. God accepts his sacrifice. All the people see and believe once again...
There can be no doubt that Pinchas and Elijah were religious heroes. They stepped into the void at a time when the nation was facing religious and moral crises and palpable divine anger. Yet these zealots leave the reader, both ancient and modern alike, "uncomfortable." God gives Pinchas "My covenant of peace" (Numbers 25:12), meaning that he will never again have to act the part of a zealot. As for Elijah, God tells him to appoint Elisha as his successor.
Zealotry is an understandable reaction to our broken world, and our faith calls us not to stand idly by but to be a light unto the nations. It is easy to look at Pinchas and Elijah and believe that they are models of what God wants from us. However, when we look closer, we see that they got it only half right. They were right to stand up and act but wrong in the violence they did in God's name. As a result, one was eternally blessed with peace, never being permitted to even come in contact with the dead again, and the other lost his power. We learn that even in the moments that capture the height of idolatry and immorality, in a society completely gone astray, God does not want violence. God wants us to be God's voice-- the still small voice.
Are there times when zealotry is an appropriate response?
How does zealotry differ from remaining true to a deep seated belief?