Phineas Flynn is one of the two main protagonists from the animated television series Phineas and Ferb. He is voiced by Vincent Martella. In every episode long Phineas attempts to avoid boredom by finding something new to do for each day of his summer vacation. He does this with his less-talkative stepbrother Ferb, and often with many other neighborhood children. The activities they devise usually involve outlandish contraptions, including roller coasters, haunted houses, roller rinks, and a backyard beach etc. which Phineas and Ferb design and build cooperatively.
I enjoyed watching this show with my boys when they were younger. While it was mindless fun and a great excuse to spend time together, at some level I enjoyed the lessons taught to be curious and zealously fight boredom. It was ironic that we would watch a show in which the lesson learned should have been to stop watching and go and do something.
I was thinking about Phineas this week reading Pinchas, this week’s eponymous Torah in reading. While Pinchas’s behavior is morally challenging, it is surely zealous. It is also possible I just needed to explore something mindless or I am just missing snuggling with my kids as they are off having adventures at camp.
Said to Myself 
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