Every blade has two edges; he who wounds with one, wounds himself with the other.
—Victor Hugo, Les Misérables
(ו) וְהִנֵּ֡ה אִישׁ֩ מִבְּנֵ֨י יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל בָּ֗א וַיַּקְרֵ֤ב אֶל־אֶחָיו֙ אֶת־הַמִּדְיָנִ֔ית לְעֵינֵ֣י מֹשֶׁ֔ה וּלְעֵינֵ֖י כָּל־עֲדַ֣ת בְּנֵי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וְהֵ֣מָּה בֹכִ֔ים פֶּ֖תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵֽד׃ (ז) וַיַּ֗רְא פִּֽינְחָס֙ בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֔ר בֶּֽן־אַהֲרֹ֖ן הַכֹּהֵ֑ן וַיָּ֙קָם֙ מִתּ֣וֹךְ הָֽעֵדָ֔ה וַיִּקַּ֥ח רֹ֖מַח בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ (ח) וַ֠יָּבֹא אַחַ֨ר אִֽישׁ־יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶל־הַקֻּבָּ֗ה וַיִּדְקֹר֙ אֶת־שְׁנֵיהֶ֔ם אֵ֚ת אִ֣ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְאֶת־הָאִשָּׁ֖ה אֶל־קֳבָתָ֑הּ וַתֵּֽעָצַר֙ הַמַּגֵּפָ֔ה מֵעַ֖ל בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ (ט) וַיִּהְי֕וּ הַמֵּתִ֖ים בַּמַּגֵּפָ֑ה אַרְבָּעָ֥ה וְעֶשְׂרִ֖ים אָֽלֶף׃ (פ) (י) וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃ (יא) פִּֽינְחָ֨ס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֜ר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֗ן הֵשִׁ֤יב אֶת־חֲמָתִי֙ מֵעַ֣ל בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּקַנְא֥וֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִ֖י בְּתוֹכָ֑ם וְלֹא־כִלִּ֥יתִי אֶת־בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בְּקִנְאָתִֽי׃ (יב) לָכֵ֖ן אֱמֹ֑ר הִנְנִ֨י נֹתֵ֥ן ל֛וֹ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י שָׁלֽוֹם׃ (יג) וְהָ֤יְתָה לּוֹ֙ וּלְזַרְע֣וֹ אַחֲרָ֔יו בְּרִ֖ית כְּהֻנַּ֣ת עוֹלָ֑ם תַּ֗חַת אֲשֶׁ֤ר קִנֵּא֙ לֵֽאלֹהָ֔יו וַיְכַפֵּ֖ר עַל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
(6) Just then one of the Israelites came and brought a Midianite woman over to his companions, in the sight of Moses and of the whole Israelite community who were weeping at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting. (7) When Pinchas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, saw this, he left the assembly and, taking a spear in his hand, (8) he followed the Israelite into the chamber and stabbed both of them, the Israelite and the woman, through the belly. Then the plague against the Israelites was checked. (9) Those who died of the plague numbered twenty-four thousand. (10) Adonai spoke to Moses, saying, (11) “Pinchas, son of Eleazar son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the Israelites by displaying his passion for Me (בְּקַנְאוֹ אֶת־קִנְאָתִי) among them, so that I did not wipe out the Israelite people in My passion. (12) Say, therefore, ‘I grant him My (בְּרִיתִי שָׁלֽוֹם) pact of peace. (13) It shall be for him and his descendants after him a pact of priesthood for all time, because he took impassioned action for his God, thus making expiation for the Israelites.’”
(ב) בקנאו את קנאתי. בְּנָקְמוֹ אֶת נִקְמָתִי — בְּקָצְפּוֹ אֶת הַקֶּצֶף שֶׁהָיָה לִי לִקְצֹף; כָּל לְשׁוֹן קִנְאָה הוּא הַמִּתְחָרֶה לִנְקֹם נִקְמַת דָּבָר, אנפרט"מנט בְּלַעַ"ז:
בקנאו את קנאתי "displaying his passion for Me" (more lit., when he avenged my avenging) — 'when he displayed the anger that I (God) should have displayed.' The expression קנאה "jealousy" indicates one who is burning with anger to get revenge.
Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Lainer of Ishbitz (The Ishbitzer - Poland, 1801-1854)
[Pinchas] judged Zimri as no'ef b'alma (sexually corrupt.) However, the depth of the foundation of the matter was hidden from him, for Cosbi was his [Zimri's] soulmate from the six days of creation, as explained in the writings of the Rabbi Isaac Luria, z"l. Owing to this Moshe Rabeynu didn't become involved and sentence Zimri to death. Pinchas' response in this action is thus compared to a child, meaning that he didn't know the depth of the situation, seeing only through human eyes and no further... in Pinchas's mind he had done a great and self-sacrificing act in his zealotry.
Netziv (Rabbi Naphtali Zvi Yehuda Berlin - Lithuania, 1816-1893
In reward for turning away the wrath of HaKadoesh Baruch Hu, God blessed him with the attribute of peace, that he should not be quick-tempered or angry. Since, it was only natural that such a deed as Pinchas' should leave in his heart an intense emotional unrest afterward, the divine blessing was designed to cope with this situation and promised peace and tranquility of soul.
Who is mighty? He who subdues his [evil] inclination, as it is said: “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city” (Proverbs 16:3).
DeSean Jackson's tweets about Louis Farrakhan:
"This man [is] powerful... I hope everyone got a chance to watch this!! Don't be blinded. Know what's going on!!"
Farrakhan has made repeated antisemitic statements:
"Here the Jews don't like Farrakhan and so they call me 'Hitler'. Well that's a good name. Hitler was a very great man. He wasn't great for me as a Black man but he was a great German and he rose Germany up from the ashes of her defeat by the united force of all of Europe and America after the First World War. Yet Hitler took Germany from the ashes and rose her up and made her the greatest fighting machine of the twentieth century, brothers and sisters... He rose Germany up from nothing."
More recently, a video Farrakhan recorded for Facebook was removed from the social media platform for violating hate speech policies. In the video, Farrakhan referred to Jewish people critical of his views as "termites."
Mitchell Schwartz (Kansas Chiefs)
"We can only have change if we denounce racism and bias in all its forms. Our platforms as athletes are a powerful tool, and with them comes immense responsibility. We can all do better.”
Julian Edelman (New England Patriots)
"I know he said some ugly things, but I do see an opportunity to have a conversation. Anti-Semitism is one of the oldest forms of hatred. It's rooted in ignorance and fear. What we need to do is, we need to listen. We need to learn. We need to act. We need to have these uncomfortable conversations if we're going to have real change."
"DeSean and I spoke for awhile last night. We're making plans to use our experiences to educate one another and grow together. Stay tuned."
Edward Mosberg, Holocaust survivor
"I would like to invite you to join me at the sites of these German Nazi death camps to understand what evil truly is and why sharing quotes of the man behind this evil is so offensive to us all."
DeSean Jackson's apology tweets:
"I post a lot of things that are sent to me. I do not have hatred towards anyone. I really didn’t realize what this passage was saying. Hitler has caused terrible pain to Jewish people like the pain African-Americans have suffered. We should be together fighting anti-Semitism and racism. This was a mistake to post this and I truly apologize for posting it and sorry for any hurt I have caused.”
"This apology is more than just words — it is a promise to do better.”