Therefore say: Behold, I give him my bris of shalom.[2]
The Mesorah points to only one other use of the phrase, “therefore say.” Hashem uses it in commanding Moshe to bring word of the soon-to-come redemption from Egyptian slavery: “Therefore say to the Bnei Yisrael, I am Hashem!”[3] What is the connection? What lesson does the Mesorah find in this similarity?
The answer can be found in a mashal taught by the Toldos Yaakov Yosef, about an extremely coarse and lowly person who disparaged the king. Rather than execute him, the king came up with an even more painful punishment: he gave him a ministerial position. The culprit quickly found out about the real sterling and noble character of the king. His embarrassment and humiliation became unbearable, as he became consumed with guilt for his misdeed. At which point the king promoted him once more. Etc. With each promotion, the king’s maligner learned more about the greatness of the figure he had insulted – which only added to his pain and remorse.
The Besht employed this idea in explaining a line in Tehillim: “G-d of vengeance! G-d of vengeance, shine forth!”[4] Hashem is indeed a G-d of vengeance. How does He take revenge? By showing more of Himself! He heaps upon us more and more chesed – which causes us to shrink in painful remorse when remembering how we have behaved so terribly towards Him.
This remorse, however, is extremely valuable. “A single impulse of self-reproach,” says Reish Lakish,[5] “is more effective than a hundred lashes.” Furthermore, because we react to Hashem’s largesse to us with humility rather than self-aggrandizement, His chesed acts as din! When din might otherwise demand that we sustain some punishment, c”v, heaping even more of His kindness upon us can get us to the same end even more effectively. Hashem’s punishment is never of the vindictive variety; it is meant to return us to proper behavior. When we react to His chesed by diminishing ourselves, and further subjugating ourselves to His Will, we arrive at the true purpose of His din.
Our pasuk now takes on new meaning, as does the pasuk in Shemos to which the Mesorah points. “Therefore say:” Because Pinchas demonstrated his intense yir’as Hashem by undertaking his dangerous action against Zimri, there is no risk that showering him with spiritual riches will lead to ga’avah. To the contrary, he will receive them with so much gratitude, that he will become even more humble than before. Therefore, I Hashem will grant him a gift of a revelation of Divine peace.
Similarly, Hashem instructed Moshe “Therefore say.” They, too, will receive Divine chesed with submissive gratitude, rather than with inflated egos. Therefore, say to them “I am Hashem,” i.e. midas harachamim. I can shower them with extraordinary displays of chesed, and they will react properly. Which is why the following pasuk explicitly articulates not one, but four different expressions of redemption.
Halevai that we should always receive Hashem’s favors to us by minimizing ourselves, and stand in ever greater awe of His Majesty!
- Adapted from Be’er Moshe, by the Ozherover Rebbe, zt”l ↑
- Bamidbar 25:12 ↑
- Shemos 6:6 ↑
- Tehillim 94:1 ↑
- Berachos 7a ↑