Pinchas Restoring The Covenant Seal

השיב את חמתי בקנאו כו'

"He turned back My wrath through his zealousness, etc." (Bamidbar 25:11).

The pasuk credits Pinchas with turning away Hashem's anger through his zealousness, and this serves as the opening theme of the piece.

כי יש שכיכת חימה בהתעוררות החסד והרחמים וזה מדת כהן חסיד המתחסד עם קונו

For there is a stilling of wrath through the arousal of kindness and mercy, and this is the trait of a Kohen who is a chassid, one who acts with devoted kindness toward his Maker.

Wrath is calmed when kindness and mercy are aroused, and this is precisely the avodah of a Kohen who acts with loving devotion toward Hashem.

אכן פינחס בכח הקנאה והחימה השיב והמתיק הדין בשורשו

Indeed, Pinchas, through the power of his zealousness and wrath, turned back and sweetened the judgment at its very root.

Pinchas's seemingly harsh zealousness actually reached down to the root of the judgment and transformed it into mercy.

וז"ש שעשה פלילות עם קונו כי בהתגלות הפנימיות ועומק הדין הוא הרחמים כדאיתא כשיעמדו אברהם ויעקב מלהגן על בנ"י יעמוד יצחק ויצדיק את בנ"י בעומק הדין

And this is the meaning of the statement that he carried out judgment on behalf of his Maker, for through the revelation of the inner dimension and the depth of judgment, it becomes mercy, as is brought down that when Avraham and Yaakov will cease defending Bnei Yisrael, Yitzchak will stand and vindicate Bnei Yisrael through the depth of judgment.

When the depth of judgment is fully revealed, it turns into mercy; this mirrors the teaching that Yitzchak, the one associated with judgment, will ultimately defend Bnei Yisrael through that very depth.

ז"ש פינח"ס גי' יצחק

This is the meaning of the fact that Pinchas has the same gematria as Yitzchak.

The numerical value of Pinchas equals that of Yitzchak, hinting at their shared connection to judgment that becomes mercy.

והוא בחי' ברית אש כמ"ש בריתי אקים את יצחק וז"ש במד' בדין הוא שיטול שכרו שנשתנה פינחס מכל הבריות שאינם יכולין לזכות בדין רק בחסד עליון כמ"ש לך ה' החסד כי כו' תשלם כו'

And he is the aspect of the covenant of fire, as it is written, "I will establish My covenant with Yitzchak" (Bereishis 17:21); and this is what the Midrash means when it says that it was by right that he should receive his reward, for Pinchas was distinguished from all other creatures who are unable to merit through strict judgment but only through the Supreme kindness, as it is written, "To You, Hashem, is the kindness, for You repay etc." (Tehillim 62:13).

Pinchas embodies the covenant of fire linked to Yitzchak, and unlike all others who can only earn reward through Hashem's kindness, Pinchas earned his reward through strict justice itself.

ופינחס זכה בדין לכן נתעלה בחיים למעלה

But Pinchas merited through strict judgment, and therefore he was elevated while still alive to the upper worlds.

Because Pinchas merited through actual judgment rather than mere kindness, he was uniquely elevated to the upper worlds while still living.

וענין היו"ד שניתוסף לפינחס לפי שנתקנא על חותם אות ברית קודש דאיתא שבטי יה עדות שחתם הקב"ה יו"ד באיש ה' באשה

And the matter of the letter yud that was added to Pinchas's name is because he was zealous over the seal, the letter of the holy covenant, as it is brought down regarding "the tribes of Yah, a testimony" (Tehillim 122:4), that the Holy One, Blessed is He, sealed a yud in the man and a hei in the woman.

The yud added to his name corresponds to his zealousness for the bris milah, the seal Hashem placed in the Jewish man, paralleling the yud in 'ish' and the hei in 'ishah.'

ואות ברית קודש הוא היו"ד דאיתא עוה"ז נברא בה' ועוה"ב ביו"ד

And the letter of the holy covenant is the yud, as it is brought down that this world was created with the hei and the World to Come with the yud.

The yud, the letter of the holy covenant, is associated with the World to Come, just as the hei is associated with this world.

ואות שבת ותפילין הוא בה'

And the sign of Shabbos and of tefillin is in the hei.

Shabbos and tefillin are signs connected to the hei, the letter of this world.

ואות מילה ביו"ד

And the sign of milah is in the yud.

The sign of milah, by contrast, is connected to the yud, the letter of the World to Come.

והוא עדות שבנ"י הם בני עוה"ב

And it is a testimony that Bnei Yisrael are children of the World to Come.

This milah serves as testimony that Bnei Yisrael belong to the World to Come.

וזה השם עדות לישראל שנמשכין אחר מעשה אבות ושבטים ואז חל עליהם חותם זה

And this is the Name that is a testimony for Yisrael, that they are drawn after the deeds of the Avos and the Shevatim, and then this seal rests upon them.

Hashem's Name placed within Bnei Yisrael testifies that they follow the path of the Avos and Shevatim, and when they do, this seal rests upon them.

וכאן ע"י הזנות נסתלק רשימת החותם וזכה פינחס להחזיר לבנ"י זה החותם

And here, through the immorality, the imprint of the seal was removed, and Pinchas merited to restore this seal to Bnei Yisrael.

The sin of immorality erased the imprint of this seal, and Pinchas's act restored it to Bnei Yisrael.

ואמרו חז"ל פינחס הוא אליהו דכ' השיב את חמתי

And Chazal said that Pinchas is Eliyahu, as it is written, "He turned back My wrath, etc." (Bamidbar 25:11).

Chazal identify Pinchas with Eliyahu, linking them through the shared language of turning back Hashem's wrath.

ושם כתיב והשיב לב כו' בנים כו' שהוא המקשר ומדבק בנ"י למדריגת אבותיהם ולכן אחר מעשה פינחס נמנו בני ישראל לבית אבותם

And there it is written, "And he shall turn back the heart of the fathers to the children, etc." (Malachi 3:24), for he is the one who binds and attaches Bnei Yisrael to the level of their fathers; and therefore, after the deed of Pinchas, Bnei Yisrael were counted according to their fathers' houses.

Eliyahu's role of turning the hearts of fathers to children is the same binding function, reconnecting Bnei Yisrael to their forefathers, which is why they were counted by their fathers' houses right after Pinchas's deed.

וזהו השלום שניתן לפינחס כי אות י' הוא שלום שאין בו הפסק וחלל כמו בכל האותיות ורומז אל הדביקות בשורש העליון:

And this is the peace that was given to Pinchas, for the letter yud is peace, in that it has no interruption or empty space as is found in all the other letters, and it alludes to the dveikus with the Supreme root.

The peace granted to Pinchas is symbolized by the yud, a letter with no break or empty space, representing unbroken dveikus with the Supreme root above.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains how Pinchas, through an act of seemingly harsh zealousness, actually reached down to the very root of judgment and sweetened it into mercy, which is why he carries the gematria and the fiery covenant of Yitzchak, who likewise defends Bnei Yisrael from the depth of din. Uniquely among all creatures, Pinchas merited his reward through strict judgment rather than through Hashem's kindness, and so he was elevated alive to the upper worlds. The yud added to his name corresponds to the bris milah, the seal of the holy covenant and the letter of the World to Come, which testifies that Bnei Yisrael belong to Olam Haba when they follow the path of the Avos and Shevatim. Through the sin of immorality this seal had been erased, and Pinchas merited to restore it, which is why he is identified with Eliyahu, who reconnects the hearts of fathers and children. The peace granted to him is embodied in the yud, an unbroken letter that alludes to perfect dveikus with the Supreme root.