Rectifying Personal Concealment Through Mesirus Nefesh
בפסוק הנני נותן לו את בריתי שלום
On the verse, "Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace" (Bamidbar 25:12).
The piece opens on the verse where Hashem grants Pinchas a covenant of peace as reward for his zealous deed.
ובמדרש גדול השלום שניתן לפינחס כו' פי' השלימות הוא גמר המכוון להיות האדם בא למקום המיוחד לו ונודע לו עיקר המכוון שע"ז נברא
And in the Midrash: "Great is the peace (shalom) that was given to Pinchas, etc." The explanation is that shleimus (completeness) is the final purpose to be attained — that a person should arrive at the place that is uniquely designated for him, and that the essential purpose for which he was created should become known to him.
The Midrash's praise of the "peace" given to Pinchas is read as a hint to shleimus — a person reaching the unique purpose for which he was created and coming to recognize it.
וזהו השלימות
And this is shleimus (completeness).
This arrival at one's true purpose is the definition of completeness.
האדם אינו יכול למצוא
A person is unable to find this on his own.
Yet a person cannot attain this completeness through his own efforts alone.
רק בעזר עליון
It comes only through Divine assistance from Above.
It is reachable only with help from Hashem above.
והוא בחי' שבת שנק' שלום בכח הנשמה יתירה שמתדבק האדם לשורשו ומקומו לכן נק' יום מנוחה ושמחה
And this is the aspect of Shabbos, which is called "shalom (peace)," through the power of the neshamah yeseirah (the additional soul), whereby a person becomes attached to his root and his place. This is why it is called a day of menuchah (rest) and simchah (joy).
Shabbos, called "shalom," is precisely this aspect: through the neshamah yeseirah a person reconnects to his root and place, which is why it is a day of rest and joy.
אך איתא יש קונה עולמו בשעה אחת
However, it is taught: "There is one who acquires his world in a single moment" (Avodah Zarah 17a).
The Gemara teaches that a person can acquire his entire portion in the next world in one single moment.
פי' כדאיתא כל אדם יש לו עולם בפ"ע עפ"י מ"ש מו"ז ז"ל שהעולם נק' ע"ש ההעלם ע"ש פ' שלח
The explanation is, as it is taught, that every person has a world unto himself — based on what my grandfather, his memory is a blessing, said, that the world (olam) is so named because of concealment (he'elem), as explained on Parshas Shelach.
Drawing on his grandfather's teaching, the Sfas Emes explains that "olam" (world) is rooted in he'elem (concealment), so each person has his own private world.
לזה כל אדם יש לו איזה העלם והתנגדות שצריך לתקן בעולם
Accordingly, every person has some particular concealment and opposition that he must rectify in the world.
Because of this, every individual faces a particular concealment and opposition that he alone is tasked with rectifying.
ואמת שורש הטעם ע"י שיש לו ענין מיוחד באמת בעוה"ב ג"כ ממילא יש לו ג"כ הסתר והעלם המכוון לו
And in truth, the root of the reason is that since a person has, in truth, a particular portion designated for him in Olam Haba as well, it follows that he correspondingly also has a concealment and hiddenness designated specifically for him.
Since each person has a unique portion waiting in Olam Haba, it follows that he is given a correspondingly unique concealment to overcome in order to earn it.
וכפי תיקון ההעלם זוכה לאור הגנוז כפי ערכו
And in accordance with how he rectifies that concealment, he merits the Ohr HaGanuz (the Hidden Light) according to his measure.
The degree to which he breaks through that concealment determines how much of the Ohr HaGanuz he merits, each according to his own level.
וזה מלחמות האדם כל ימיו בעוה"ז
And this is the wars of a person all the days of his life in this world.
This lifelong struggle to overcome one's personal concealment is what the "wars" of a person in this world really are.
ואיתא מחלוקת לש"ש סופה להתקיים ואיתא כניסי' לשם שמים סופה להתקיים
And it is taught: "A dispute that is for the sake of Heaven is destined to endure" (Avos 5:17), and it is taught: "A gathering that is for the sake of Heaven is destined to endure."
He cites the Mishnah that a dispute for the sake of Heaven endures, and likewise a gathering for the sake of Heaven endures.
והם בחי' ימי המעשה שיהי' המלחמה לש"ש ובשבת נק' כנסי' וצריך להיות ג"כ לשם שמים
And these are the aspects: the weekdays, the days of action (yemei hama'aseh), when the war must be for the sake of Heaven; while Shabbos is called a "gathering," and it too must be for the sake of Heaven.
The weekdays are the time of "war" that must be waged for Heaven's sake, while Shabbos is the time of "gathering" that must equally be for Heaven's sake.
ופינחס ע"י מס"נ תיקן כרגע כל עולמו ובא אל השלימות
And Pinchas, through his mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice), rectified his entire world in a single moment and arrived at shleimus (completeness).
Pinchas, through his self-sacrifice, rectified his entire personal world in a single instant and thereby reached complete shleimus.
ובמד' בדין הוא שיטול שכרו כי כ' מי הקדימני ואשלם כו' זולת ע"י מסירת נפש יכולין לזכות עפ"י דין:
And in the Midrash: "It is fitting by law (din) that he should receive his reward," for it is written, "Who has preceded Me, that I should repay him, etc." (Iyov 41:3) — meaning, only through mesirus nefesh can one merit by strict law (din).
The Midrash teaches he earned his reward by strict law, for normally no one can obligate Hashem to repay; only through mesirus nefesh does a person merit reward as a matter of strict justice.
Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the covenant of "shalom" given to Pinchas points to shleimus — a person arriving at the unique purpose for which he was created, which is the true completeness no one can reach by his own power but only with Divine help, as embodied in Shabbos and the neshamah yeseirah. Building on his grandfather's teaching that "olam" stems from he'elem (concealment), he explains that since every person has a unique portion in Olam Haba, he is correspondingly given a unique concealment and opposition that he alone must rectify, and to the degree he breaks through it he merits the Ohr HaGanuz according to his level. This struggle is the "war" of a person's days in this world; the weekdays are a war for the sake of Heaven and Shabbos a "gathering" that must likewise be for the sake of Heaven. Pinchas, through his mesirus nefesh, rectified his entire world in a single moment and attained complete shleimus. This is why the Midrash says he earned his reward by strict law — for only through self-sacrifice can a person obligate reward from Hashem as a matter of justice.