Pinchas Acting For Klal Yisrael

ובפסוק צרור את המדינים כו' דרשו חז"ל גדול המחטיאו יותר מן ההורגו

On the verse "Be hostile to the Midianites etc." (Bamidbar 25:17), Chazal expounded: one who causes another to sin is greater than one who kills him.

The Torah commands Bnei Yisrael to oppose the Midianites, and Chazal teach that leading someone to sin is worse than killing him, since it damages the eternal neshamah, not merely the body.

וזהו בירר פינחס בקנאתו שמסר נפשו על הדבר לברר זאת כי גדול המחטיא

And this is what Pinchas clarified through his zealousness, for he gave over his very life on this matter in order to make this clear, that the one who causes another to sin is the greater offender.

Pinchas, through his act of zealousness, gave his life to demonstrate this very truth, that the one who entices Yisrael to sin is the worst kind of enemy.

וע"י שנתברר השנאה בלבות בנ"י עי"ז והכיתם אותם

And through the fact that the hatred became clarified in the hearts of Bnei Yisrael by means of this, the verse continues "and you shall strike them down."

Because Pinchas brought to the surface the latent hatred against this corruption that lay in the hearts of all Yisrael, the Torah was able to say "and you shall strike them down."

ובאמת שנאה זו הי' בכל בנ"י רק פינחס הוציאה מכח אל הפועל במעשה

And in truth this hatred was present within all of Bnei Yisrael, only that Pinchas brought it forth from potential into actuality through a deed.

The opposition to sin was not unique to Pinchas; it existed within every Jew, but Pinchas alone translated that hidden feeling into an actual deed.

כדכ' והמה בוכים כו' וירא פנחס כו' רומח בידו כו'

As it is written, "and they were weeping etc. and Pinchas saw etc. with a spear in his hand etc." (Bamidbar 25:6-7),

The verse describes Bnei Yisrael weeping over the sin while Pinchas rose with a spear in hand, showing that he acted while the others only felt the pain.

היינו בעובדא

meaning, through an actual deed.

The point is that Pinchas expressed the shared inner opposition specifically through a concrete action.

דיש מלחמה בלב ויש במעשה וזה כח הכהן העובד בביהמ"ק במעשה ממש

For there is a battle that is waged in the heart, and there is one waged in deed, and this is the power of the Kohen who performs the avodah in the Beis HaMikdash with actual physical deed.

There is a war fought silently in the heart and a war fought through deeds, and this is precisely the strength of the Kohen, whose avodah in the Beis HaMikdash is performed through tangible physical action.

וכמ"ש מזה למעלה בפ' בהעלותך ע"ש

And as we have written about this above in Parashas Beha'aloscha; see there.

The Sfas Emes notes that he developed this idea earlier, in Parashas Beha'aloscha, and directs the reader to examine it there.

ומעשה פינחס הי' עדות על מחשבתן של בנ"י כדכ' ויקם מתוך העדה

And the deed of Pinchas served as testimony regarding the inner thought of Bnei Yisrael, as it is written, "and he arose from amid the assembly" (Bamidbar 25:7).

Pinchas's deed bore witness to what was truly in the hearts of all Bnei Yisrael, as the verse stresses that he arose specifically from within the assembly, as their representative.

כענין דבר שהי' בכלל ללמד על הכלל כולו יצא:

This is in the manner of "a matter that was included in a general rule and emerged from the general rule in order to teach" — it teaches about the entire general rule.

This follows the hermeneutical principle that something singled out from a general category to teach a lesson actually teaches about the entire category, so Pinchas's act reveals what was true of all of Yisrael.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains, based on Chazal's teaching that causing another to sin is worse than killing him, that Pinchas's zealous act was meant to clarify this truth, that the enticer is the gravest enemy of Bnei Yisrael. He teaches that the opposition to this sin was in fact present within the hearts of all of Bnei Yisrael, but Pinchas alone brought that latent feeling from potential into actuality through a concrete deed. This is the unique power of the Kohen, whose avodah in the Beis HaMikdash is accomplished through actual physical action rather than inner feeling alone. Since Pinchas arose specifically from amid the assembly, his deed served as testimony to the inner thought of all Yisrael, in the manner of a case singled out from a general rule that teaches about the entire rule.