Peace As Containing Blessing

במדרש גדול השלום שניתן לפינחס שאין עולם מתנהג אלא בשלום כלי מחזק ברכה שנא' ה' עוז לעמו יתן ה' יברך את עמו בשלום כי בודאי הבורא ית' חפץ תמיד להשפיע כל טוב לבנ"י

In the Midrash: Great is the peace that was given to Pinchas, for the world is conducted only through peace. A vessel that holds together strengthens blessing, as the verse says, "Hashem will give strength to His people; Hashem will bless His people with peace" (Tehillim 29:11) — for the Creator, may He be blessed, certainly desires always to bestow every good upon Bnei Yisrael.

Peace is what allows the world to function, and like a sturdy vessel it holds and strengthens blessing. Hashem always wishes to pour goodness onto Bnei Yisrael.

אמנם שצריכין להיות כלי מוכן שלא יתפשט השפע לחוץ כמו כלי שניקב אינה מקבלת משקה

However, there must be a prepared vessel, so that the bounty not spill outward — just as a vessel that has a hole cannot hold liquid.

But the recipient must be intact, like a whole vessel; a cracked vessel lets its contents leak out, so the bounty would be wasted.

לכן בחר השי"ת בבנ"י שהם כלי שלם והם מקבלין השפע ומכסין אותו בכללות שלימותן שלא יתפשט לאומות העולם ולרשעים

Therefore Hashem chose Bnei Yisrael, for they are a complete vessel; they receive the bounty and cover it over through the entirety of their wholeness, so that it not spread out to the nations of the world and to the wicked.

Bnei Yisrael are that whole vessel. Through their wholeness they contain the bounty and keep it from leaking out to the nations and the wicked.

וע"ז כ' פורס סוכת שלום עלינו

And regarding this it is written, "He spreads a shelter of peace over us."

The blessing in Maariv, "He spreads a shelter of peace over us," expresses this protective containment of bounty within Klal Yisrael.

וזהו ענין השבת שמיוחד רק לבנ"י לאשר ביום זה מתאחדין בנ"י ברזא דאחד

And this is the matter of Shabbos, which is designated for Bnei Yisrael alone — for on this day Bnei Yisrael become unified in the secret of Oneness.

Shabbos belongs uniquely to Bnei Yisrael because on Shabbos they become bound together in the secret of Hashem's Oneness.

ולכן ניתן התורה בשבת כדי שלא להתפשט כו' כנ"ל שבנ"י הם המחיצה המבדלת בין הבורא ית' לשאר הברואים

And therefore the Torah was given on Shabbos, so that it not spread out, as above — for Bnei Yisrael are the partition that separates between the Creator, may He be blessed, and the rest of the created beings.

The Torah was given on Shabbos precisely so that its holiness would stay contained, because Bnei Yisrael act as the dividing partition between Hashem and all other creations.

כמ"ש מבדיל בין ישראל לעמים

As it is written, "Who separates between Yisrael and the nations."

This is reflected in the words of Havdalah, "Who separates between Yisrael and the nations."

ואיתא בספרים כלי הוא 'כהנים 'לוים 'ישראלים וכהן הראש הוא המחבר אותם להיות אחד לכן ניתן הכהונה לאהרן לאשר הי' אוהב שלום ורודף שלום

And it is brought in the sefarim that the vessel is the acronym for Kohanim, Leviim, Yisraelim, and the head Kohen is the one who joins them to be one; therefore the Kehunah was given to Aharon, since he was one who loved peace and pursued peace.

The Hebrew word for vessel hints at Kohanim, Leviim, and Yisraelim, and the Kohen Gadol unites these three into one. Aharon received the Kehunah because he loved and pursued peace, the very trait that unifies.

ובחי' השלימות א"א להשיג כראוי רק במתנת עליון לכן כתיב בשבת מתנה טובה יש לי כו'

And this level of wholeness cannot be attained as it ought to be except through a gift from Above; therefore it is written concerning Shabbos, "I have a good gift [in My treasure house]," and so on.

True wholeness cannot be reached by one's own efforts alone; it must come as a gift from Hashem, which is why Shabbos is called a good gift from His treasure house.

וכן הכהונה ניתנה לזרעו של אהרן במתנה

And likewise the Kehunah was given to the offspring of Aharon as a gift.

Similarly, the Kehunah came to Aharon's descendants as a gift rather than something earned.

אמנם פינחס בא לזה בזכות מעשיו ובמ"א הארכנו בזה

However, Pinchas came to this through the merit of his deeds, and elsewhere we have elaborated on this.

Pinchas was the exception: he reached the Kehunah through the merit of his own actions, a point the Sfas Emes develops elsewhere.

ואיתא לא נתכהן פינחס עד שהרג לזמרי שהי' בשעת המשיחה ולא נמשח

And it is brought that Pinchas did not become a Kohen until he slew Zimri — for he was present at the time of the anointing yet was not anointed.

The Chazal note that Pinchas only became a Kohen after killing Zimri, even though he was already present when the Kohanim were anointed and was passed over at that time.

והיא גופא קשיא למה לא נמשח הלא ראינו כי הי' צדיק גדול

And this itself is difficult: why was he not anointed? We see, after all, that he was a great tzaddik.

This raises a question: since Pinchas was clearly a great tzaddik, why was he not anointed along with the others?

אמנם השי"ת ראה שיוכל להרויח הכהונה במעשיו הטובים לכן לא נמשח כי גדלה מעלת כהונתו שהשיגה עפ"י מעשיו מאלו הי' בכלל מתנת כל זרע אהרן:

Rather, Hashem saw that he would be able to earn the Kehunah through his good deeds; therefore he was not anointed — for the loftiness of his Kehunah, which he attained by means of his deeds, is greater than had he been included in the gift given to all the offspring of Aharon.

The answer is that Hashem deliberately left him out so he could earn the Kehunah himself. A Kehunah attained through one's own deeds is loftier than one received merely as part of the gift to all of Aharon's offspring.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that peace functions like a whole vessel that contains and strengthens blessing, and that Hashem always desires to pour goodness upon Bnei Yisrael. Bnei Yisrael are that complete vessel, holding the Divine bounty and preventing it from leaking out to the nations and the wicked, which is also the meaning of Shabbos and of their role as the partition separating Hashem from the rest of creation. The Hebrew word for vessel alludes to Kohanim, Leviim, and Yisraelim, united by the Kohen Gadol, and Aharon merited the Kehunah through his love and pursuit of peace, which unifies. Such wholeness can normally only come as a gift from Above, like Shabbos and like the Kehunah given to Aharon's offspring. Pinchas, however, earned his Kehunah through his own deeds rather than receiving it as a gift, and Hashem deliberately left him unanointed so that his self-earned Kehunah would be loftier still.