Zevachim 101: Pinchas's Priesthood

Briefly on today's daf:

• to explain the role of priests regarding ritual impurity and offerings, the rabbis tell stories about Moshe, Aaron and Miriam, particularly regarding their descendant  Pinchas
• priesthood was conferred upon Pinchas after he killed Zimri ben Salu (one head of Shimon's tribe) and the Midianite woman who sinned with him (both idolatry and licentiousness)
• Pinchas was Aaron's grandson, but Rav Ashi says that he did not become a priest unit much later because he was not at the initial ceremony conferring priesthood on Aaron and his sons
• Pinchas is said to have "brought peace to the warring Israel tribes when they first came to the land"
• the rabbis argue about whether Pinchas's calling to priesthood was in fact a blessing and what that blessing might have been
• Pinchas's role continues to be debated and interpreted by modern Jewish thinkers
• Pinches is used to defend violence in the name of adhering to Torah law
• Pinches can also be understood as one who ended the inter-tribal conflict in the name of keeping Torah law