Pinchas Embodying Klal Yisrael

בפסוק השיב את חמתי כו' קנאתי בתוכם

On the pasuk, "He turned back My wrath... when he zealously avenged My vengeance among them" (Bamidbar 25:11), referring to the kanaus of Pinchas.

The Sfas Emes opens with the pasuk praising Pinchas for turning back Hashem's wrath through his zealousness on behalf of Hashem's honor.

כי ודאי לא הי' זה מעשה איש פרטי כי הלא כתיב ולא כליתי את בני ישראל כמו שמדייק בזוה"ק דהוי חזיין לאשתיצאי

For surely this was not the deed of an individual man, for behold it is written, "and I did not destroy Bnei Yisrael in My zeal," as the Zohar HaKadosh precisely derives that they were fit to be utterly wiped out.

Pinchas's act could not have been merely a personal initiative, since the Torah itself testifies that Hashem did not destroy Bnei Yisrael even though, as the Zohar explains, they had become deserving of total destruction.

וח"ו שהי' אופן לכלות בנ"י אבל האמת כי לעולם נמצא קנאה זו בכללות בנ"י אשר גם בימי ירידה ניצולים ע"י קנאה זו וע"י פינחס נתגלה מכח אל הפועל

And chas v'shalom that there should have been any way to destroy Bnei Yisrael; rather the truth is that this kanaus is found always within the totality of Bnei Yisrael, so that even in times of descent they are saved by means of this kanaus, and through Pinchas it was brought from potential into actuality.

Hashem never truly intended to wipe out Bnei Yisrael; rather, this very capacity for kanaus lives permanently within the collective of Bnei Yisrael, and it is what rescues them even in their lowest moments, with Pinchas merely actualizing what was already latent in the nation.

ולכן ניתן לו הכהונה שהוא עדות על מדריגתו שיש בו כח כללות בנ"י שזה מעלת הכהן העובד בשם כל ישראל:

And therefore the kehunah was given to him, which is testimony to his madreigah, that there is within him the power of the totality of Bnei Yisrael, for this is the lofty quality of the Kohen who serves in the name of all of Yisrael.

Because Pinchas carried within himself the power of the entire klal, he was rewarded with the kehunah, since a Kohen's whole greatness lies in serving Hashem as the representative of all of Yisrael.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that Pinchas's act of kanaus, which turned back Hashem's wrath, was not the deed of a lone individual but the expression of a power embedded within the totality of Bnei Yisrael. He brings the Zohar HaKadosh, which teaches that the nation had become deserving of destruction, yet Hashem testifies that He did not destroy them, chas v'shalom, for this zealousness for Hashem's honor is always present within the klal and saves them even in times of spiritual descent. Pinchas drew this latent power from potential into actuality. For this reason he merited the kehunah, since possessing the power of the entire klal is precisely the lofty quality of the Kohen, who serves Hashem in the name of all of Yisrael.