Daily Chidush: The BIG difference between Public vs Private Sin.

0:01How are you? I hope you had a wonderful Shabbat. Today, I wanted to start a short series for this week to talk about Pinchas. Pinchas from last week's parasha. Over the past couple of weeks, we've learned about this extraordinary tzaddik, this extraordinary person named Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen. which, when you really read the parashat Pinchas, you realize there are so many lessons just within the first page that we could learn about Pinchas and his character, that we could study it for the next five years and still not get enough. But one of the things that I wanted to cover today is the whole issue of pheresya, which means public. In today's age, there's a lot of confusion about what is a public sin and what is a private sin, and why does this matter?

1:26In Judaism, Hashem says that it's better that you die and not commit these specific sins. Those sins are idol worship, illicit sexual relations, and murder. Even if it's done privately, these sins are of such gravity that one should not transgress them, even at the cost of their life. Meaning that if someone puts a gun to somebody's head, chas v'shalom, and tells them, "Listen, either you worship this JC statue or Buddha statue or whatever other idol worship is in the world today, or I'll kill you." Hashem is telling you, according to the Torah, to die and not bow to this idol. The second one is in regards to a forbidden sexual act. If a person puts a gun to your head and says, either I'll kill you, or you must sleep with this married woman, or you must sleep with your sister, or even with your own wife when she's in niddah. She's not allowed to have relations with your own wife when she's nida. It's not considered a sex crime. Therefore, homosexuality is the same thing. So, Hashem says, according to history, die and do not sin. Last but not least, murder: your life is not worth more than anybody's life. So if someone says, "Either kill him or I'll kill you," then you say, "Kill," as Hashem says you have to die.

2:52so why is this? Why am I mentioning all of this? Why do I really want to start, you know, depressing you guys at the beginning of the week by talking about death? No, no, because the only way that we could truly understand the significance of Hashem's word is by understanding punishment, by understanding consequences. That's generally how mankind understands things. We don't understand the concept of reward because we don't really know what's good. Most of the things, according to the Rambam, all of the things. that mankind thinks are good, are bad for him. Whether it's money, or it's women, or it's having multiple women, or it's having multiple men, or it's pride, and all types of respect. All of those things that man chases throughout their entire life are bad for him, especially since most people don't know how to deal with any of these things. So generally, the only way that we can actually understand the significance of Hashem's word is by understanding the consequences of them.

3:55The significance of Hashem's word is understood by recognizing the consequences of His commandments. Therefore, when we see that Hashem states, according to the Torah, that someone who violates Shabbat incurs three different punishments—death upon death and karet, which means the soul is cut off from the nation—we understand this is very serious and indeed considered even more stringent than the punishment for murder. Because murder, which is one of the Ten Commandments—it's the sixth commandment in the Ten Commandments—we see that the punishment for murder is death. Whereas the fourth commandment, which is Shabbat, we see that it has death upon death and being cut off from the nation. Death upon death means a shorter life in this world. In the old days, it would actually be a death penalty immediately. But in today's age, we don't have a Sanhedrin, so we don't punish the person immediately. We don't have the right to punish anyone. But Hashem cuts their life short in this world. Upon death, it means that they have no share in the world to come. And being cut off from the nation means that, according to the Rambam, the Shulchan Aruch, the Zohar, and the Gemara,

5:07And every single book that was ever written by a sage about the issue of Shabbat states that being cut off from the nation means that the Jew who violates Shabbat is cut off from the nation, meaning they are no longer considered as fulfilling their Jewish obligations. However, this does not mean they are considered a goy, and thus, they do not lose their Jewish identity. It’s important to note that a righteous goy has a share in the World to Come. Conversely, a Jew who violates Shabbat is considered like an idol worshiper. 100% idol worshiper, which is something that HaShem considers disgusting. So you go from one level of being one of the chosen people to a completely different level of being an idol worshiper. This is obviously a pretty significant thing. But the Torah says that this is only if the person is violating Shabbat befarhesya, publicly. Befarhesya is the exact word in Hebrew or in Aramaic. Befarhesya. So what does Befarhesya mean? It literally means publicly. So the sages actually have an explanation that they actually get from last week's parashat Pinchas. Last week's parashat Pinchas, we see that after Pinchas saw

6:28Zimri and Kozbi - Zimri, the leader of the Shimon tribe, and Kozbi, one of the daughters of the leaders of the Midianite nation - engaged in an act of intimacy, which was a strict violation of Hashem’s Torah. Pinchas took a spear and killed them both during the act. He expressed his zealousness for Hashem and killed them. And actually, we find out in Chapter 25, verse 11, it says, "Pinchas, son of Elazar, son of Aharon, the Kohen, turned back my wrath from upon the children of Israel when he zealously avenged my vengeance among them." So, I did not consume the children of Israel in my vengeance. Hashem is telling us here that because Pinchas actually killed these two sinners, he actually stopped Hashem from destroying the entire nation of Israel. So, this is obviously...

7:36not considered murder in Hashem's eyes because Hashem is saying that not only do I not consider it murder, but in the very next verse, He says, "Therefore, behold, I give him My covenant of peace." He gives Pinchas a special blessing and then makes him a Kohen Gadol. He gives him all these blessings, and the covenant of peace means that he's going to live forever. Later on, the Sages tell us that Pinchas becomes Eliyahu HaNavi (Elijah the Prophet). who never died. And he's also going to be the prophet that comes three days before the Mashiach comes to let us know that the Mashiach is coming. So Pinchas never dies. So how do we go from one end of the spectrum to the other? How do we go from somebody taking a spear and killing what seems like two innocent people to Hashem rewarding him with eternal life? When we just found out that, according to the Gemara, you're not allowed to kill. And not only are you not allowed to kill, but you're not allowed to do it in such a way where you're actually making such a public event. How could this be? So here's the main thing that could put this all together for us: Pinchas, it specifically says, was zealous for Hashem. In essence, Pinchas was fulfilling an actual mitzvah by doing what he did, which is a mitzvah called "kana'im pog'im bo," which means that if someone is always zealous for Hashem and he sees a Jew with a non-Jew in the middle of the intimate act—not if you're just walking around in the street and...

8:57Pinchas, it specifically says, was zealous for Hashem. In essence, Pinchas was fulfilling an actual mitzvah by doing what he did, which is a mitzvah called kana'im pog'im bo, meaning that someone who is always zealous for Hashem and sees a Jew with a non-Jew in the middle of the intimate act—not just if you're walking around in the street— According to the Torah, they're allowed to kill those two people. Now obviously today there's no one that's zealous to that extent, so we're not advocating murder. But the point we're trying to convey here is that Pinchas was zealous all the time. This is not the only instance where he demonstrated his zealotry. Why is this important to us? Because that is what changes this from being a major sin that would have cut him off from olam haba (the next world), into actually being a mitzvah. into actually being a mitzvah. And we learn from here that the line between a mitzvah and a sin can be very, very thin and is only possible for Hashem to know what's really in it. So we can't fool Hashem. Now, all of this sums up with one major thing. In today's age, unfortunately, there's a lot of wrong teaching out there where people are telling...

10:25the public that if you violate Shabbat privately, it's okay. You know, as long as you drive not next to the Beit Knesset, you park far from the Beit Knesset. As long as you smoke your cigarette inside a house or not next to everyone else. Meaning as long as it's not considered a public sin where 10 Jews see you, Therefore, it's not considered a public sin; it's considered a private sin. A private sin is not the highest level of sin. Therefore, if it's not the highest level of sin, then the Jew is still considered a Jew. He's just considered a sinner, he's just considered wicked. Unfortunately, this is what many ignorant Jews are relying on in some cases. that is justifying them driving on Shabbat to the Beit Knesset. Nonetheless, not only are they driving on Shabbat, but they're driving to the Beit Knesset due to this foolishness where someone told them that if they drive to the Beit Knesset on Shabbat, at least they're making one big mitzvah in comparison to one big sin. But since no one actually sees them driving

11:47Therefore, it's not as big of a sin as if ten Jews actually saw them sinning. So, no one is driving with ten people in the car. So, not all ten people see him sinning, and even when he pulls out of the parking lot, that's a hundred fifty yards away from the Beit Knesset; not ten people see him. This is the stupidity that's being told to people who don't spend even five minutes looking at the Torah and finding out how this is completely against the Torah and how this... is not only wrong, it's the highest level of being wrong. And where do we learn it from? We learn it from Pinchas. The reason why Hashem specifically named Pinchas here, saying, "Pinchas ben Elazar ben Aharon HaKohen," saying, Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aaron, the Kohen, is to make sure that everyone knows, this was a bat kol, a heavenly voice that came out from Shamayim, emphasizing who is being referred to. If there are two individuals named Pinchas among millions, it's crucial to know it's Pinchas, the son of Elazar. If there's more than one Pinchas ben Elazar, as there might be more than one Elazar.

13:00Make sure you know that it's Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohen. There's only one of those. So make sure that you know that I'm talking about him. Why? Because at this point, before Hashem's blessing came down on Pinchas, the people wanted to kill Pinchas. They said, how dare you kill one of our leaders? Not only are you killing a regular person. You're not killing a common person. You're killing one of the leaders, one of the princes. The prince of the Shimon tribe. This is the equivalent of assassinating a president of a country. How could you do this? Even if you say that he sinned and went with a non-Jew, he did it privately. He didn't. Intimate relations with a woman in the middle of the street, like they do in the modern age. He did it privately in his tent. Who told you to go into his tent and check out what he was doing? This is what the people were telling him; they were calling him a murderer. So, Hashem is telling them...

14:05Yehudim yekarim, my precious Jews, not only was what he did not a violation and not a murder, it was actually a mitzvah that saved all of you. Why? Because according to the Gemara, Masechet Avodah Zarah, page 36b... A public sin is not when ten Jews see you commit a sin, but rather when ten Jews know you're committing a sin. Meaning, if ten people know you drive on Shabbat, regardless of whether it's to the Beit Knesset Hashem Menachem, or it's to the mall, or it's to the beach, or anywhere else. If ten Jews know you drive on Shabbat, then, my friend, it's considered a public sin. They don't need to witness it with their eyes but rather with their minds. Once it becomes public knowledge that you're a Shabbat desecrator, it is considered befarhesia, a completely public sin. This distinction is critical in understanding how such actions are viewed in the community. If ten Jews know you smoke on Shabbat, if ten Jews know you play with your iPhone on Shabbat, then, my friend, it's considered a public sin. They don't have to see you with their eyes; they have to perceive it with their minds. They know it's public knowledge that you're a Shabbat desecrator. Once it's public knowledge that you're a Shabbat desecrator, then it's considered pheresiah. It's considered a completely public sin. And that is why...

15:17Pinchas was permitted to kill Zimri and Cozbi, because even though they were having their intimate relations privately in a tent, everyone else knew that that's what they were doing. And once everyone else knew that that's what they were doing, it became a public sin. And once it's a public sin, it becomes a public Chilul Hashem, a public desecration of Hashem's name. And when it comes to desecration of Hashem's name, the only punishment for that is the death penalty. So now, we go back to what we learned in the beginning. The Tannaim, the sages, say that there are three cardinal sins: idolatry, illicit relations, and murder, for which one must sacrifice their life, even in private. So now we know if somebody, like I said before, someone puts a gun to somebody and says, worship this idol, or die, they have to die. Fine. But why do I mention it again? Because the halakha follows their opinion, but that's not the end of their opinion. That's not the end of the halakha. If you look at Yoreh De'ah, and you look at the Tosafot, you'll see something even more extraordinary. With respect to a public violation...

16:46Public violation of any negative commandment, one must die and give up his life rather than violate any of the negative commandments publicly. Meaning, if someone puts a gun to their head for idol worship, if it's private, they do not have to die. Public, of course, they would have to. But in the case of a negative commandment, such as eating non-kosher, the requirement to give up one's life applies when done publicly as well. in the case of not being allowed to even eat pig, let's say, somebody says, "Eat this burger, or I'll kill you." A non-kosher burger. And it's in public, and people see you, you actually even have to die for something like that. Why? Because once it becomes public, it becomes a desecration of Hashem's name. it's the highest level. Once it becomes public, it's not just a burger that's not kosher, that's a problem. Once it becomes public, it becomes a desecration of Hashem's name. And the desecration of Hashem's name is the highest level of sin that there is. So, my dear friends, whether you're a Jew from birth, or you're a convert, or you're in the process of converting, or you have no idea where you are even in,

18:01If you want to do the will of Hashem, you have to understand that there's only one direction, there's only one truth. Obviously, if you're Jewish, you must follow the Torah completely. If you're not Jewish, then you must follow the seven mitzvot Bnei Noach (Noahide Laws). But one thing you need to know is that you can't make up your own rules. If you ever hear anyone making up their own rules, that is a heretic. That is a heretic. That's a place you have to run from. And that's a place that is not where HaKadosh Baruch Hu rests. May Hashem continue to bless you. B'ezrat Hashem, we will continue giving you more and more lessons from Parashat Pinchas throughout the week. If you have any specific questions, please send them to me by email or text. It's usually the best. I am looking forward to learning more Torah with you. Kol Tuv.