What passion! Eliyahu must truly be a zealot for the Lord. Or perhaps not. Chazal convey a somewhat different sense and mood to this dialogue.
Eliyahu: I have been very zealous for the Lord God…. for they have forsaken Thy covenant.
God: My covenant? Perhaps your covenant?
Eliyahu: Thrown down Thy altars.
God: My altars? Perhaps your altars?
Eliyahu: Your prophets they have slain with the sword.
God: And of what concern is this to you?
Eliyahu: And only I am left, and they seek my life to take it away.
Eliyahu’s zealous claims are met with disdain and doubt. What we are seeing is a thorough investigation of zealousness and extreme passion. What this scrutiny reveals are the questionable motives on the part of Eliyahu – Eliyahu HaNavi! Even Eliyahu’s kana’ut is easily confused with insecurity, inflexibility, and intolerance.
God rebukes Eliyahu. He does not seek Eliyahu’s zealousness but rather his compassion for Israel. His zealousness is inappropriate so God reappears to him in wind, in earthquake, in fire, and then in a still, small voice. Finally, God inquires once again: “What are you doing here, Eliyahu?” And Eliyahu replies as he did before: “I have been very zealous for the Lord God.”
Chazal take note of this dialogue. Eliyahu had not changed but God was now seeking to speak words of consolation to him. “When I descended to give the Torah to Israel, only angels of peace, who sought their welfare and well-being, descended with me,” God said, referring to the wind and fire of Matan Torah so Eliyahu might recall the good angels and recognize his own negative zealotry.
God waited three hours.
Still, Eliyahu remained unchanged, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God.”
At which point God declared, “Elisha the son of Shefat shall you anoint to be prophet in your stead: and that which you have in mind, you may not do.”
Eliyahu the zealot, whose passions and fervor were determined to be impure and self-serving, was denied leadership of God’s children. Pinchas zeh Eliyahu.
The zealous Eliyahu-Pinchas was blessed and endowed with eternal peace, and ultimately moved to the opposite extreme to become the harbinger of peace and tranquility. “Behold, I will send you Eliyahu the prophet…and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers.”
Indeed, Eliyahu became the angel of peace. The very passion for zealotry he possessed was reversed to a passion for peace, compromise, merit, and resolution. All matters of doubt and uncertainty will be “resolved upon Eliyahu’s arrival.” Yehei munach ad sheyavoh Eliyahu.And this holy man of unbending truth and conviction sits in all Jewish homes as the Sabbath ebbs away to count the merits of the people therein.
Eliyahu HaNavi, Eliyahu HaTishbi, Eliyahu HaGiladi…As the day of contentment slips away, provide relief to Your people. Send the Tishbi.
Eliyahu the kanai, who had passionately and uncompromisingly sought God’s stern judgment of His children, now passionately, lovingly, and unceasingly sits and counts their merits.
* * * * *
As every male Jewish infant is welcomed into the covenantwith the call of Baruch Haba, the mohel promptly recites the first pesukim of Parshas Pinchas.Since Chazal refer to Pinchas and Eliyahu as one and the same, it is customary to recite these pesukim that contain God’s pledge that Pinchas be given the covenant – hineni noten lo et briti shalom. Then the baby is placed on the kisei shel Eliyahu, the Throne of Eliyahu, whereupon the mohel says: “This is the Throne of Eliyahu the prophet, who is remembered for the good.”
