Zealousness Rooted In Unity
במדרש בדין שיטול שכרו
The Midrash teaches that by right Pinchas should receive his reward, [the question being: he was already a Kohen beforehand, so what new reward was given to him?].
The Midrash asks why Pinchas needed a reward of Kehunah when he was apparently already a Kohen. This sets up the whole piece.
כי הי' כהן מקודם ג"כ
For he was already a Kohen from before [the incident].
It clarifies the basis of the question: Pinchas was of priestly descent already.
אך כי כהן בחי' אהבה וחסד
However, the explanation is that Kehunah is the aspect of love and chesed (kindness).
The Sfas Emes opens his answer: the essence of Kehunah is the trait of love and kindness, which is something granted, not earned by birth alone.
ונודע כי ע"י יראה השי"ת נותן אהבה כמ"ש בתניא ע"פ עבודת מתנה אתן כו' כהונתכם כו'
And it is known that through yirah (fear of Heaven) Hashem grants love, as is explained in the Tanya on the pasuk "the avodah of a gift I give to you... your Kehunah..." (Bamidbar 18:7).
He cites the Tanya: yiras Shamayim is what draws down Hashem's love, and Kehunah is described as a 'gift,' meaning it flows from this dynamic.
לזאת כהונה לזרעו של אהרן לדורות
For this reason Kehunah was given to the offspring of Aharon for all generations.
Because Kehunah is rooted in this granted love, it was given to Aharon's descendants permanently.
וזה מתנה
And this is a gift.
He emphasizes the key word: Kehunah is fundamentally a gift, not a wage.
אבל פינחס זכה ג"כ בדין אל הכהונה וג"כ לדורות ע"י שכיפר על בנ"י לכלל ישראל עי"ז השכר ג"כ על לדורות
But Pinchas merited Kehunah by right as well, and also for all generations, through the fact that he atoned for Bnei Yisrael, for the entire Klal Yisrael — and through this his reward too was for all generations.
Pinchas, however, earned Kehunah by strict right and for all generations, because his act of atonement was on behalf of the entire Klal Yisrael.
וכ' בקנאו כו' בתוכם
And it is written, "when he was zealous... in their midst" (Bamidbar 25:11).
He brings the proof-text: Pinchas acted 'in their midst,' a phrase that becomes central.
והפי' שלא יצא מכללותם ח"ו ע"י הקנאה והכעס
And the meaning is that he did not, chas v'shalom, remove himself from the totality of Klal Yisrael through his zealousness and anger.
He explains that despite his zealous anger, Pinchas never separated himself from Klal Yisrael.
רק אדרבה העיד הכתוב עליו שלא עשה הדבר כדי לזכות למדריגה וכדומה
Rather, on the contrary, the pasuk testified about him that he did not do the deed in order to merit some lofty madreigah (spiritual level) or the like.
The pasuk testifies that Pinchas was not seeking personal spiritual advancement through his deed.
רק הכניס המעשה בכלל ישראל ועשה רק להראות שאף שחטאו בנ"י עכ"ז יש בהם מי שינקום
Rather, he brought the act within the totality of Klal Yisrael, and he did it only to show that even though Bnei Yisrael had sinned, nevertheless there is among them one who will avenge.
His sole intent was to show that within a sinning nation there still exists someone who will rise up to avenge Hashem's honor.
ובזה שכך חמת המלך
And through this the wrath of the King was assuaged.
Because the act came from within the nation, it succeeded in calming Hashem's anger.
ומה"ט לא עשאו משה רבינו ע"ה
And for this very reason Moshe Rabbeinu, alav hashalom, did not carry it out himself.
This is precisely why Moshe Rabbeinu, the leader, did not perform the act himself.
כי הי' צריך להיות ע"י איש פשוט תוך כלל ישראל
For it needed to be done by a simple person from within the totality of Klal Yisrael.
The deed had to come from an ordinary member of the people, not from the top.
ומה"ט י"ל שלא הי' נמשח מקודם
And for this reason it can be said that he was not anointed beforehand.
This explains why Pinchas was not anointed into Kehunah in advance.
כמ"ש רש"י ז"ל שכיון שלא נמשח הי' צריך למתנה זו
As Rashi, of blessed memory, writes, that since he was not anointed he required this gift [of Kehunah].
Rashi notes that since Pinchas was not previously anointed, he needed this special gift of Kehunah.
והיא גופא קשה למה לא נמשח
But this itself is difficult: why was he not anointed?
The Sfas Emes presses further: but why was he not anointed to begin with?
רק כנ"ל להיות ע"י איש פשוט שאינו כהן וגם שיזכה כהונתו עפ"י הדין ג"כ כנ"ל [ועל ידי שמתוך אהבה עשה דין בחוטאים עירב וחיבר החסד עם הדין ועי"ז בא לבחי' כהן וחסד גם עפ"י הדין כנ"ל]. ובמד' כי הכהונה הי' עתיד להיות משם ואח"כ ניתן לאברהם אע"ה
Rather it is as above — so that it would come about through a simple person who is not a Kohen, and also so that he would merit his Kehunah according to the law as well, as above. [And through doing din (judgment) upon the sinners out of love, he blended and joined chesed together with din, and through this he came to the aspect of Kohen and chesed even according to the law, as above.] And in the Midrash, that the Kehunah was destined to be from Shem, and afterward it was given to Avraham Avinu, alav hashalom.
He answers: so the act would come from a simple non-Kohen, and so Pinchas would earn Kehunah by law; by doing judgment out of love he fused chesed with din and reached the level of Kohen. He then pivots to a Midrash about Kehunah passing from Shem to Avraham.
עוד שם כי שם קרא לירושלים שלם ואברהם יראה כמ"ש ויקרא כו' המקום כו' ה' יראה כו' ע"ש פ' לך לך
Further there [in the Midrash]: for Shem called Yerushalayim "Shalem," and Avraham called it "Yireh," as it is written, "And Avraham called... the place... Hashem Yireh..." (Bereishis 22:14); see there in Parshas Lech Lecha.
Shem called Yerushalayim 'Shalem' (wholeness) while Avraham called it 'Yireh' (will see/fear), grounding the discussion in these two names.
כי שם לא זכה ע"י מעשיו רק שהי' נבחר לכהונה
For Shem did not merit it through his deeds, but rather he was chosen for Kehunah.
Shem received Kehunah not through his own deeds but by being chosen for it.
וזה בחי' שלום שהקב"ה שמו שלם שהוא שלימות הכל
And this is the aspect of shalom (peace) — that the Holy One, Blessed is He, whose Name is Shalem, is the wholeness of everything.
The name 'Shalem' reflects shalom: Hashem's Name is wholeness, the all-encompassing completeness of everything.
והכלל כי הנקודה ממנו ית' שמחי' כל נק' שלום
And the rule is that the nekudah (point) from Him, Yisbarach, which gives life to all, is called shalom.
The governing principle: the life-giving point that flows from Hashem into creation is called shalom.
ולכך כלי מחזיק ברכה הוא להיות בנקודה זו והיא נק' שבת ולכך ויברך כו' כי מחזיק ברכה כנ"ל
And therefore the vessel that holds blessing is to be in this nekudah, and it is the aspect of Shabbos; and therefore "and He blessed [the seventh day]" (Bereishis 2:3), for it holds blessing, as above.
This nekudah is the vessel that holds blessing, and it is identified with Shabbos, which is why the Torah says Hashem blessed the seventh day.
וזה פורס סוכת שלום כי בשבת יש הארה מהשי"ת במתנה בלי עבודה כמ"ש מתנה גנוזה כו'
And this is "He who spreads the sukkah of peace," for on Shabbos there is an illumination from Hashem as a gift, without avodah, as it is written, "a hidden gift..." (Shabbos 10b).
This is the 'sukkah of peace': on Shabbos Hashem sends an illumination as a free gift, without any avodah required, like the 'hidden gift' the Gemara describes.
ואברהם אע"ה חידש זה לזכות ע"י עבודה וז"ש שנק' יראה שע"י היראה יזכה אדם לבחי' אהבה הבא במתנה כנ"ל
And Avraham Avinu, alav hashalom, innovated this — to merit [it] through avodah; and this is what is meant that it is called "Yireh," for through yirah a person merits the aspect of love that comes as a gift, as above.
Avraham's innovation was to access this gift through avodah; the name 'Yireh' teaches that through yirah a person earns the love that comes as a gift.
[וזה עצמו הי' בעקידה שהי' בחי' גבורה כמ"ש בזוה"ק וזה הי' נסיון אחרון שאז נתקן בשלימות לבחי' אהבה שהיא מדתו]. ופעל כן שיזכה כל אדם לבחי' אהבה ושלם ע"י היראה כנ"ל וזה ירושלים
[And this itself was at the Akeidah, which was the aspect of gevurah (severity), as is stated in the holy Zohar; and this was the final test, for then he was perfected completely into the aspect of love, which is his middah (trait).] And he brought it about that every person should merit the aspect of love and shalem through yirah, as above; and this is Yerushalayim.
The Akeidah, an act of gevurah, was Avraham's final test in which he was perfected into love; through it he enabled every person to reach love and wholeness via yirah — and this is Yerushalayim.
וכן בכל ש"ק שזוכין ע"י ימי העבודה לבחי' שבת שהוא אהבה ומתנה מהשי"ת כנ"ל
And so too on every Shabbos Kodesh, when we merit, through the days of avodah, the aspect of Shabbos, which is love and a gift from Hashem, as above.
The same pattern recurs weekly: through the workdays' avodah we earn Shabbos, which is love and a gift from Hashem.
[וזה יראה יראה כשם שבא לראות כך זוכה להראות שהוא ההתגלות כנ"ל
[And this is "Yireh-Yeira'eh" (He will see — He will be seen): just as one comes to see, so too he merits to be seen, which is the revelation, as above.
The double name 'Yireh-Yeira'eh' teaches a reciprocity: one who comes to see Hashem merits to be seen, i.e. revelation.
איני זוכר אם אמרתי כ"ז]. וכן פינחס זכה ע"י הקנאה לבחי' אהבה וחסד כנ"ל
I do not recall whether I have said all of this.] And so too Pinchas merited, through the zealousness, the aspect of love and chesed, as above.
After an aside, the Sfas Emes returns to the parallel: Pinchas too reached love and chesed precisely through his zealousness.
ובגמ' שלום כשהוא שלם בלי מום
And in the Gemara: "shalom" — when he is shalem (whole), without blemish.
He cites the Gemara that the covenant of 'shalom' applies when one is 'shalem,' whole and without blemish.
בזוה"ק אמור הקשה על שבעל מום פסול והלא כתיב אשכון את דכא שהקב"ה בוחר במאנין תבירין
In the holy Zohar on Emor it raises a difficulty: that one with a blemish is disqualified [from avodah], yet it is written "I dwell with the crushed" (Yeshayahu 57:15), [implying] that the Holy One, Blessed is He, chooses broken vessels?
He brings the Zohar's question: a blemished Kohen is disqualified, yet Scripture says Hashem dwells with the crushed-hearted, seemingly favoring brokenness.
אך מי שלבו נשבר באמת חל עליו גיאותא דקוב"ה כו' והוא הביטול ונקודה הנ"ל הנק' שלום כנ"ל
Rather, one whose heart is truly broken — upon him rests the exaltedness of the Holy One, Blessed is He; and this is the bittul (self-nullification) and the nekudah mentioned above, which is called shalom, as above.
The resolution: a truly broken heart is itself the vessel of wholeness, for upon it rests Hashem's presence; this brokenness is bittul, the nekudah called shalom.
וברש"י שהשבטים זלזלו על פינחס הרג נשיא שבט כו'
And in Rashi: that the tribes denigrated Pinchas, [saying] "he killed the prince of a tribe..."
He cites Rashi that the tribes spoke disparagingly of Pinchas for killing a tribal prince.
וח"ו שאמרו שלא טוב עשה
And chas v'shalom that they said he did not act well.
He clarifies that they did not, chalilah, claim the act was wrong in itself.
אבל בודאי הבינו כי איש יחיד לא יוכל לעשות זה
But surely they understood that a single individual could not [be permitted to] do this.
Rather, they understood that no lone individual should be permitted to do such a thing on his own authority.
ובאמת עשה פינחס זה בשם כל ישראל כמ"ש בתוכם כנ"ל
And in truth Pinchas did this in the name of all of Yisrael, as it is written, "in their midst," as above.
But Pinchas acted in the name of all Yisrael, as the word 'in their midst' indicates.
וזה שהכתוב יחסו אחר אהרן שמדתו אוהב שלום וכל מעשיו בשם כל ישראל שהיה מיוחד לעבודת כל בנ"י כנ"ל:
And this is why the pasuk traced his lineage after Aharon, whose middah is to love peace, and all of whose deeds were in the name of all of Yisrael, for he was designated for the avodah of all Bnei Yisrael, as above.
This is why the Torah traces Pinchas to Aharon, the lover of peace whose every act was on behalf of all Bnei Yisrael — showing Pinchas too acted for the whole nation.
Summary: The Sfas Emes asks why Pinchas was rewarded with Kehunah when he was seemingly already a Kohen, and answers that Kehunah is essentially the trait of love and chesed, which Hashem grants as a gift in response to yiras Shamayim. Pinchas, however, earned this Kehunah by strict right and for all generations precisely because he acted 'in their midst' — not for personal advancement, but from within Klal Yisrael and on its behalf, fusing din with love so that his zealousness itself became chesed. The piece weaves this into the theme of shalom/shalem: the life-giving point flowing from Hashem, called shalom, is the vessel that holds blessing, embodied in Shabbos as a free gift and in Yerushalayim, which Avraham reached through the avodah of yirah at the Akeidah. So too the truly broken heart is the real wholeness, for upon it rests Hashem's presence. Thus Pinchas, traced to Aharon the lover of peace whose every deed was on behalf of all Bnei Yisrael, reached the aspect of Kohen, love, and shalom through a zealousness that united him with the entire nation.