The Haftarah Project: Pinhas—Not the Elijah We Thought We Knew
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Eliyahu Ha Navi. Eliyahu Ha Tishbi.
Eliyahu, Eliyahu, Eliyahu ha Giladi.
Elijah, the prophet, Elijah from Tishbi in Gilead.
Elijah, whom we praise at every Havdalah and at our seders.
Elijah, for whom we reserve a special cup at Pesah and an honored seat at circumcisions.
Elijah, who will precede–and help bring–the moshiah.
Yes, that Elijah. The pious, the admirable, the great prophet of Israel.
Well, there’s another aspect of Elijah that is not admirable and great.
In this week’s Haftarah (1 Kings, 18:46-19:21), we encounter a vengeful and self-pitying Elijah. Worse yet, we see this important prophet, blessed with the gift of hearing and interpreting the word of Adonai, miss the point–entirely–of those holy words. And it is for this failure, more than anything else, that this Haftarah cries out for examination and re-evaluation.
The Torah reading begins with praise of an act of vengeance and zealotry—the self-righteous murder by Pinhas of the Israelite Zimri son of Salu, who flagrantly consorts with Cozbi, a Midianite/Moabite woman.
The Haftarah appears to have been chosen because of parallels between the actions of Pinhas, grandson of Aaron the priest, and those of Elijah, who first defeated the 300-plus priests of Ba-al, then oversaw their slaughter. Some rabbis even see Pinhas and Elijah, united in zealotry, as one and the same person.
Both the Torah portion and the Haftarah start with the murders already done. In the Haftarah, Elijah’s bold actions have infuriated Queen Jezebel, and she threatens him with a gruesome death.
Elijah’s understandable response has an ugly undercurrent: He flees into the wilderness, where he complains of his fate and prays that he will die. But while he is sleeping, an angel appears and offers him food and drink, gifts meant to fortify him for a journey he is to take to Mount Horeb, the holy mountain also called Sinai.
Elijah walks 40 days and arrives to spend the night in a cave nearby. Then the word of God comes to him, asking, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
This is a profound question, but Elijah has an automatic answer: “I am moved by zeal for Adonai, 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.”
The holy voice replies, “Come out and stand on the mountain before Adonai.”
Elijah does what he is told… and witnesses an astonishing display:
“And lo, Adonai passed by. There was a great and mighty wind, splitting mountains and shattering rocks by the power of Adonai; but the Adonai was not in the wind. After the wind—an earthquake; but Adonai was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake—fire; but Adonai was not in the fire. And after the fire—a soft murmuring sound.
“When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his mantle about his face and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.”
God has shown Eliyahu overwhelming power, fury, and destruction. But the text tells us that God was not in any of those—and, the reader senses, God was in the soft, murmuring sound.
The account now returns to the great question: “Why are you here, Elijah?”
Surely, these powerful dramatic moments will have awakened Eliyahu to deeper meaning. And yet…
“I am moved by zeal for ADONAI, 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.”
His answer is utterly unchanged. He lacks the ability to see beyond vengeance. The great prophet is unable to grapple with this divine message.
The text indicates no response by the Holy One to this lack of insight and inspiration. God merely instructs Elijah to return to Israel and take on tasks, anointing a king of Aram and a king of Israel. God also instructs Elijah that he must anoint his own successor—Elisha will succeed him as prophet. And the instructions include further vengeance, as God apparently desires the death of those who knelt to Baal. The Haftarah ends with Elijah turning over his status to Elisha.
So: Aren’t the righteousness of vengeance and zealotry the themes of both of these texts? It’s easy to say “Yes.”
But I hear the Haftarah declaiming that God is not in those acts; God is in the soft, murmuring sound. This, to me, is the heart of this Haftarah, and its greatest lesson.
Editors Note: The reflections from the Haftarah Project represent the thoughts and opinions of the author.