Awakening Divine Zeal Below

על המד' שאמרו השבטים הראיתם בן פוטי כו'

Regarding the Midrash, where the shevatim said, "Have you seen this descendant of Putiel, etc." (questioning Pinchas's pedigree).

The Midrash relates that the tribes belittled Pinchas's lineage, calling him a mere descendant of Yisro who fattened calves for idolatry. The Sfas Emes opens by questioning this.

ותימה שחלילה לומר שלא הסכימו כל בנ"י לנקום מזמרי ומדינית

And it is astonishing, for it would be unthinkable to say that not all of Bnei Yisrael agreed to take vengeance upon Zimri and the Midianite woman.

It seems impossible to say that the rest of Bnei Yisrael did not also want Zimri and the Midianite woman punished, so why single out Pinchas's act as if others opposed it.

וי"ל דכ' בקנאו את קנאתי בתוכם

And one may answer based on what is written, "When he was zealous with My zealousness in their midst" (Bamidbar 25:11).

The answer is hinted in the verse that Pinchas was zealous "in their midst" - among all of them.

יש לפרש כי פינחס פעל קנאת ה' בלב כל איש ישראל ולכן היו כולם מוכנים לזה

It can be explained that Pinchas aroused the zealousness of Hashem in the heart of every man of Yisrael, and therefore they were all prepared for this.

Pinchas did not act alone in spirit; he ignited Hashem's zealousness in every Jew's heart, so all of them stood ready to do the deed.

ולכן אמרו

And it was for this reason that they said it ("Have you seen this descendant of Putiel").

Because everyone was now ready to act, the tribes wondered why Pinchas took the act for himself.

שלמה לקח לו פינחס זאת

For why did Pinchas take this for himself (the act of vengeance, if all of Bnei Yisrael were ready)?

If all were prepared, the tribes questioned why this single descendant of Putiel seized the deed as his own.

אכן הפסוק מעיד כי מעשה פנחס הי'

Indeed, the verse testifies that the deed of Pinchas was his own doing.

Despite their objection, the Torah itself confirms that the act was genuinely Pinchas's own accomplishment.

וכאשר הבין משה רבינו ע"ה ואמר קריינא דאגרתא כו'

And when Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, understood this, he said, "Let the one who reads the letter be the one to carry it out" (i.e., the one through whom the matter was aroused should be the one to act).

Moshe grasped this and applied the principle that the one who stirs up a matter should be the one to carry it through.

שראה כי הוא פעל זאת ההתעוררות אצל כל בנ"י

For he saw that Pinchas had brought about this awakening among all of Bnei Yisrael.

Moshe recognized that Pinchas was the one who awakened this readiness throughout all of Bnei Yisrael.

ורמז לדבר דכתיב השיב את חמתי וכתיב התם ורבים השיב מעון

And a hint to this matter is found in what is written, "He turned back My wrath" (Bamidbar 25:11), and it is written there (regarding the tzaddik), "And he turned many back from sin" (Malachi 2:6).

The verse "he turned back My wrath" is linked to the praise of the tzaddik who "turned many back from sin," showing Pinchas's effect on others.

פי' בקנאתו זאת התעורר קנאה ותשובה בלבות כל בנ"י כנ"ל

The meaning is that through this zealousness of his, he aroused zealousness and teshuvah in the hearts of all of Bnei Yisrael, as explained above.

His single act of zealousness kindled both zealousness and teshuvah in the hearts of the whole nation.

ולכן ניתן לו הכהונה שהיא עבודת הכ"ג לעורר במעשיו כל בנ"י שהוא השליח לקרב קרבנם ועבודתם לה'

And therefore the Kehunah was given to him, for it is the avodah of the Kohen Gadol to arouse, through his deeds, all of Bnei Yisrael, since he is the emissary who brings their korbanos and their avodah close to Hashem.

He earned the Kehunah precisely because a Kohen Gadol's role is to arouse all of Bnei Yisrael and bring their avodah close to Hashem - exactly what Pinchas had just done.

וכבר כתבנו כי זכה לכהונה בדין

And we have already written that he merited the Kehunah by law (as his rightful due).

The Sfas Emes notes he has previously explained that Pinchas was entitled to the Kehunah as a matter of justice.

והכל הי' מוכן כי דור המדבר הי' בחי' תורה בחי' מרע"ה והוכן להם אהרן הכהן שהי' עוד נביא קודם מרע"ה

And all of this was prepared, for the generation of the wilderness was on the level of Torah, the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, and Aharon HaKohen was prepared for them, who had been a navi even before Moshe Rabbeinu.

The wilderness generation lived on the plane of Torah, embodied by Moshe, and was paired with Aharon, a navi from even before Moshe's time.

וכמו כן עתה התחיל בחי' א"י בחי' תפלה וקרבנות והוא התעוררות התחתונים ולכן הקדים כהונת פינחס קודם התמנות יהושע על בנ"י

And likewise now there began the level of Eretz Yisrael, the level of tefillah and korbanos, which is the awakening of those below, and therefore the Kehunah of Pinchas came before the appointment of Yehoshua over Bnei Yisrael.

Now, as they neared Eretz Yisrael, a new plane began - tefillah and korbanos, an awakening that rises from below - which is why Pinchas's Kehunah preceded Yehoshua's appointment.

וזהו ענין פרשת תמידין ומוספין שנאמרו כאן שהוא בחי' התקשרות כל המעשים אליו ית'

And this is the matter of the parsha of the daily and additional offerings (tamidin and musafin) that were stated here, for it is the level of binding all of one's deeds to Him, may He be blessed.

The parshiyos of the daily and additional korbanos appear here because they represent binding all of one's actions to Hashem.

לכן התיקון גם בזמן כי בחי' תורה שבכתב למעלה מן הזמן וכ' העשוי' בהר סיני

Therefore the rectification is also within time, for the level of the Written Torah is above time, and it is written, "that was made at Har Sinai" (Bamidbar 28:6).

The fixed times of the korbanos rectify time itself, whereas the Written Torah, given at Sinai, stands above time.

דאמרו נעשה ונשמע

For they said, "We will do and we will hear" (Naaseh v'nishma) (Shemos 24:7).

At Sinai Bnei Yisrael declared "we will do and we will hear," placing action before understanding.

ודור המדבר הי' בחי' נשמע

And the generation of the wilderness was on the level of "we will hear" (nishma).

The wilderness generation primarily embodied the "we will hear" - receiving from above.

ועתה התחיל בחי' נעשה

And now there began the level of "we will do" (naaseh).

Now the "we will do" began - active service rising from below.

ורצה הקב"ה שע"י משה רבינו ע"ה יהי' חיבור בחי' תורה ותפלה

And the Holy One, Blessed is He, desired that through Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, there should be a joining of the level of Torah and the level of tefillah.

Hashem wanted Moshe to be the one through whom the plane of Torah (from above) and the plane of tefillah (from below) would be joined together.

כענין מאמר חז"ל עד שאתה מצוני על בני צוה בני עלי כנ"ל

This is in the manner of the statement of Chazal, "Before you command Me concerning My children, command My children concerning Me" (i.e., the bond runs in both directions), as explained above.

Chazal teach that the relationship is mutual: just as Hashem commands us regarding His honor, He invites us to bring our requests to Him - a two-way bond.

שבחי' מרע"ה הי' המשכת רצון מלמעלה למטה

For the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, was the drawing down of the Divine will from above to below.

Moshe's essence was channeling the Divine will downward, from Heaven to earth.

ועתה התחיל השתוקקות מתחתונים למעלה כנ"ל

And now there began the yearning of those below upward, as explained above.

Now began the opposite current - the yearning of people below rising upward toward Heaven.

[ובזה פרשנו מאמרם ז"ל ע"י שאמר משה והדבר אשר יקשה כו' תקריבון אלי ושמעתיו הראה לו דין בנות צלפחד

[And with this we have explained their statement, of blessed memory, that because Moshe said, "And the matter that is too hard for you, bring close to me, and I will hear it" (Devarim 1:17), he was shown the case of the daughters of Tzelafchad (their law was hidden from him).

The Sfas Emes now turns to the Midrash that, because Moshe said hard cases should be brought to him, the law of Tzelafchad's daughters was hidden from him as a rebuke.

ותימה הלא האיש משה עניו מאוד

And it is astonishing, for behold, "the man Moshe was exceedingly humble" (Bamidbar 12:3).

This is puzzling, since the Torah testifies that Moshe was exceedingly humble.

וגם הא אמר ושמעתיו ולא תלה הגדולה בעצמו ח"ו

And furthermore, behold he said, "and I will hear it," and did not attribute the greatness to himself, chas v'shalom.

Moreover, Moshe said "I will hear it," crediting the answer to Hashem, not claiming greatness for himself.

אכן הוא הדבר אשר דיברנו כי משה רבינו ע"ה היו כל מעשיו עפ"י הנהגה שבשמים כאשר חכמים הגידו אין מרע"ה אומר כלום רק מפי הגבורה

Indeed, this is the very matter of which we have spoken, that all the deeds of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, were according to the conduct that is in Heaven, as the Sages have told, that Moshe Rabbeinu says nothing on his own, but only from the mouth of the Almighty.

The resolution is that all of Moshe's conduct flowed entirely from Heaven; he originated nothing on his own, speaking only from the mouth of the Almighty.

ועתה התחיל התחדשות ההנהגה עפ"י עבדי ה' שהיא בחי' תורה שבע"פ

And now there began the renewal of the conduct by means of the servants of Hashem, which is the level of the Oral Torah.

Now a new mode of guidance began - one channeled through Hashem's servants from below, which is the realm of the Oral Torah.

כאשר היה במעשה פינחס קנאין פוגעין

Just as it was in the deed of Pinchas, that the zealous ones strike (kanain pog'in bo) (it is the act of those below that brings the law into effect).

Pinchas's deed exemplified this: the law that "the zealous may strike" is only activated by the initiative of the one acting below.

אח"כ כן בנות צלפחד דוברות

Afterward, so too the daughters of Tzelafchad spoke (and through their speech the law was revealed).

Likewise, the daughters of Tzelafchad's law came to light only through their speaking up and presenting their claim.

דלכאורה מיותר דהול"ל נתן תתן כו'

For seemingly the word ("speak" in their portion) is superfluous, since it should have said simply, "You shall surely give, etc."

The Sfas Emes notes that the wording in their portion seems redundant, since a simpler phrasing would have sufficed.

רק להודיע כי ע"י דיבורם נעשה כך

Rather it is to make known that through their speaking it became so (the law was newly established).

The extra wording teaches that it was specifically through their speech that the new ruling came into being.

ואח"כ כן כו' בני יוסף דוברים

And afterward, so too the sons of Yosef speak (their claim likewise brought forth a new ruling).

The same pattern recurs with the sons of Yosef, whose claim also produced a fresh ruling.

וכן בבני גד ובני ראובן כו' שהתחיל בחי' התחדשות התחתונים

And so too with the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuven, etc., where the level of the renewal of those below began.

And again with the sons of Gad and Reuven - all instances where the renewal initiated from below took hold.

ובודאי בחי' מרע"ה הי' למעלה יותר אבל אין כל הדורות זוכין להתמשך אחר הנהגה עליונה ואין להאריך יותר]:

And certainly the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, peace be upon him, was on a higher plane, but not all the generations merit to be drawn after the supernal conduct, and there is no need to elaborate further.]

Moshe's plane was certainly loftier, but later generations cannot remain drawn after that supernal mode, so the Oral-Torah path of arousal from below was opened; the piece closes here.

Summary: The Sfas Emes addresses the tribes' belittling of Pinchas and resolves it by showing that Pinchas's zealousness was not a solitary act but an awakening he kindled in the heart of every Jew, arousing zealousness and teshuvah throughout Bnei Yisrael. For this reason he merited the Kehunah, whose very avodah is to stir all of Bnei Yisrael and draw their korbanos and avodah close to Hashem - which is why the Kehunah and the parshiyos of the tamidin and musafin appear precisely here, as the nation neared Eretz Yisrael. He frames this as a pivotal transition: the wilderness generation lived on the plane of Torah and "we will hear," a drawing of the Divine will downward through Moshe Rabbeinu, while now the plane of "we will do" and tefillah began - an awakening that rises from below. This new mode, the realm of the Oral Torah, is exemplified by Pinchas's deed, by the daughters of Tzelafchad, and by the claims of the sons of Yosef and of Gad and Reuven, where the law itself was brought into effect through the initiative of those below.