Earning the Divine Gift

הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום

"Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace" (Bamidbar 25:12).

Hashem grants Pinchas a covenant of peace as a reward for his zealous act in stopping the plague.

ובמד' בדין שיטול שכרו

And in the Midrash it is taught that it was a matter of strict justice that he should receive his reward.

The Midrash stresses that Pinchas earned this reward through strict justice, not mere favor.

כברו דברנו במ"א כי ענין הכהונה שניתנה לאהרן הכהן הוא מתנה מאת ה' אשר ע"י פעילת האדם בעצמו אי אפשר לבוא לזה כמ"ש לא יקרב איש זר כו'

As we have already spoken elsewhere, the matter of the Kehunah that was given to Aharon HaKohen is a gift from Hashem, which a person can never attain through his own efforts, as it is written, "No alien shall draw near, etc." (Bamidbar 18:4).

The Kehunah given to Aharon is fundamentally a gift from Hashem that no person can attain by his own striving, since an outsider may not approach it.

והנה פנחס זכה לכהונה עפ"י מעשיו אמת שעפ"י מעשיו זכה למתנה כמ"ש הנני נותן אעפ"כ בא הכתוב ויחסו אחר אהרן

Now Pinchas merited the Kehunah by virtue of his deeds; it is true that through his deeds he merited the gift, as it is written, "Behold, I give," yet nevertheless the verse comes and traces his lineage back to Aharon.

Although Pinchas earned the Kehunah through his own deeds, the Torah still links him to Aharon's lineage rather than presenting it as purely self-earned.

שאם שהי' ע"י מעשיו עכ"ז הי' משותף בו כח האב אשר אעפ"י שלא נמשח אז מ"מ ע"י הכהונה של אבותיו זכה למתנה זו ע"י מעשה הקנאה

For although it came about through his deeds, even so the power of the father was bound up within it, so that even though he had not been anointed at that time, nevertheless through the Kehunah of his forefathers he merited this gift by means of his act of zealousness.

His own action drew on the inherited power of his forefathers' Kehunah; the act of zealousness activated a gift rooted in his ancestry, even before he was formally anointed.

והענין הוא כי השלימות הוא בא בכח עליון כמ"ש לאל גומר עלי

And the matter is this: that wholeness comes through a higher power, as it is written, "to the Almighty Who completes for me" (Tehillim 57:3).

True completeness in anything comes only from a higher, Divine power, not from man alone.

ולא עליך המלאכה לגמור רק השי"ת שנקרא מלך שהשלום שלו הוא המשלים גמר כל דבר

"It is not upon you to complete the work" (Avos 2:16); rather it is Hashem, Who is called King, whose is the peace, Who brings to completion the finishing of every matter.

A person is not the one who finishes the work; it is Hashem, the King of peace, who brings every matter to its true completion.

והכהן הוא השלום אשר על ידו יכולין כל הברואים לעלות דצח"ם

And the Kohen is the embodiment of peace, through whom all the creatures are able to ascend, the inanimate, the growing, the living, and the speaking.

The Kohen embodies peace and serves as the channel through which all levels of creation can rise upward to Hashem.

כידוע מענין הקרבנות והקטורת

As is known from the matter of the korbanos and the ketores.

This elevating function of the Kohen is evident in the avodah of the korbanos and the ketores.

ואיתא על ירושלים מקודם נק' שלם ובא אברהם אע"ה וקראו יראה

And it is brought down that concerning Yerushalayim, at first it was called Shalem, and Avraham Avinu came and called it Yireh.

Yerushalayim's name combines two earlier names: Shem called it Shalem and Avraham called it Yireh.

היום בהר ה' יראה

"On this day, on the mountain, Hashem shall be seen" (Bereishis 22:14).

Avraham's name 'Yireh' comes from the verse declaring that Hashem will be seen on this mountain, reflecting yiras Shamayim.

ובא הקב"ה וצירף ב' השמות ירושלים

And the Holy One, Blessed is He, came and joined the two names together: Yerushalayim.

Hashem merged the two names, Yireh and Shalem, into the single name Yerushalayim, fusing both ideas.

והענין כנ"ל כי קודם אבותינו נהג הבורא ית' העולם רק בחסדו ית' כמ"ש חז"ל כ"ו כל"ח על כ"ו דורות בלי תורה שנהגם הבורא ית' בחסדו

And the matter is as stated above: that before our forefathers, the Creator, may He be blessed, conducted the world solely with His kindness, as Chazal expounded "Ki l'olam chasdo" ("for His kindness is forever") upon the twenty-six generations without Torah, whom the Creator, may He be blessed, conducted with His kindness.

Before the Avos, Hashem ran the world purely on kindness, sustaining the twenty-six generations that lived without Torah, as Chazal derive from the refrain 'for His kindness is forever.'

אח"כ בא אברהם ועשה הכנה שיוכל האדם למצוא השלימות ע"י הכנת היראה ושניהם היו צריכין כי ע"י שהקדים הבורא ית' הנהגה בחסדו ית' הוכן העולם להיות יכולת אח"כ לאדם לזכות ע"י מעשיו לעורר ולמצוא עזר השי"ת וכן הוא בכל דבר בפרט שמקודם ניתן לאדם דרך בחסד השי"ת

Afterward Avraham came and made a preparation whereby a person could find wholeness through the preparation of yiras Shamayim; and both were necessary, for through the Creator, may He be blessed, first instituting a conduct of His kindness, the world was made ready so that afterward a person would have the ability to merit, through his deeds, to arouse and find the help of Hashem. And so it is with every matter in particular, that first a way is given to a person through the kindness of Hashem.

Avraham then introduced yiras Shamayim as the preparation enabling man to attain wholeness; both stages were needed, since Hashem's initial kindness first readied the world so that afterward man's own deeds could arouse Divine help, and this pattern repeats in every area of avodah.

אח"כ צריכין ללמוד מזה איך להנהיג את עצמו אח"כ לזכות לסיוע עליון עפ"י מעשיו ומ"מ הכל מהשי"ת וזהו ענין אני ראשון ואני אחרון:

Afterward one must learn from this how to conduct himself thereafter, in order to merit higher assistance by virtue of his deeds; and yet, all of it is from Hashem, and this is the matter of "I am first and I am last" (Yeshayahu 44:6).

From the kindness given first, a person must learn how to act and thereby merit Divine assistance through his deeds, while recognizing that even that earned help is entirely from Hashem, who is both 'first and last.'

Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses the puzzle of Pinchas earning the Kehunah through his own zealous deed, even though the Kehunah is essentially a gift from Hashem that man cannot attain by his own effort. He explains that Pinchas's action drew upon the inherited power of his forefathers' Kehunah, so that the gift and his deeds worked together; true completion of anything comes only from Hashem, the King of peace, with the Kohen serving as the channel through which all of creation ascends. He develops this through the names of Yerushalayim, joining Shem's 'Shalem' with Avraham's 'Yireh,' to show two necessary stages. First the Creator conducted the world purely through His kindness for the twenty-six generations before Torah, and then Avraham introduced yiras Shamayim so that man could merit Divine help through his own deeds. The lesson is that Hashem's initial kindness readies the way, man must then act to merit higher assistance, yet all of it remains entirely from Hashem, who is 'first and last.'