Bris as Eternal Seal

בענין הברית שלום שניתן לפינחס וניתוסף לו היו"ד

Regarding the bris shalom, the covenant of peace, that was given to Pinchas, to whom the letter yud was added.

The Sfas Emes opens with Pinchas's reward, the covenant of peace, noting that a yud was added to his name, hinting at something deeper about this 'peace.'

כי זה חותם אות ברית קודש ונק' שלום שמו של הקב"ה וכמו כן אות השבת שנק' שלום שהוא התכלית של מעשה בראשית כדאיתא במד' משל לטבעת שאין עליו חותם וכשבא שבת נעשה החותם

For this is the seal of the os bris kodesh, the sign of the holy covenant, and it is called shalom, which is the Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He; and likewise the os of Shabbos, which is called shalom, for it is the ultimate purpose of the entire ma'aseh bereishis, the work of Creation, as the Midrash relates: it is comparable to a ring upon which there is no seal, and when Shabbos arrived the seal was completed.

He explains that both the os of the bris milah and the os of Shabbos are called shalom, which is a Name of Hashem, because each functions as a seal that completes and finalizes; Shabbos completes Creation the way a seal completes an otherwise plain ring.

כי כל מעשה בראשית בריאת הקב"ה והוא כמו כתיבה והשבת החתימה שהוא תכלית השטר שחותם שמו עליו כן הבריאה רק הכנה לעוה"ב שהוא התכלית כמ"ש עוה"ז דומה לפרוזדור בפני עוה"ב א"כ עוה"ז רק הכנה והתכלית הוא עוה"ב

For all of ma'aseh bereishis is the Holy One's creating, and it is like a writing, while Shabbos is the chasimah, the signature, which is the very purpose of a document, that one signs his name upon it; so too the entire Creation is only a preparation for Olam Haba, which is the true purpose, as it is said, 'This world is like an antechamber before Olam Haba' (Avos 4:16). If so, this world is only a preparation, and the ultimate purpose is Olam Haba.

Creation itself is like writing out a document, and Shabbos is the signature that gives the document its validity and purpose; this whole world is merely the preparatory antechamber, while Olam Haba is the true goal.

ולפי שבנ"י הם בני עוה"ב ניתן להם חתימת אות ברית ואות שבת שהוא מעין עוה"ב ולכן נק' שלום שהוא הגמר ותכלית והשלמת הכל

And since Bnei Yisrael are the children of Olam Haba, the seal of the os bris and the os of Shabbos was given to them, which is a foretaste of Olam Haba; and therefore it is called shalom, for it is the completion and purpose and perfecting of everything.

Because Bnei Yisrael belong to Olam Haba, they were given the seal of the bris and of Shabbos as a taste of that world, and these are called shalom because they bring everything to completion.

וכמו שאדה"ר הושם בג"ע שזה הי' מקומו ואחר החטא נתגרש משם

And this is comparable to Adam HaRishon, who was placed in Gan Eden, for that was his proper place, and after the cheit, the sin, he was banished from there.

He brings a parallel from Adam HaRishon, whose natural home was Gan Eden until his sin caused him to be driven out.

ולכן א"י לבוא לעוה"ב רק ע"י השתנות המיתה לפי שערלת הגוף הוא מסתיר שאין הנשמה מאירה בתכלית השלימות וע"י המילה זוכין לעוה"ב

And therefore one cannot enter Olam Haba except through the transformation of death, because the orlah of the body conceals, so that the neshamah does not shine forth in its ultimate perfection; and through the milah one merits Olam Haba.

Normally a person can reach Olam Haba only by passing through death, because the body's 'orlah' blocks the neshamah's full radiance; the milah removes that barrier and earns a share in Olam Haba.

ופינחס שהי' ניתקן לגמרי לא טעם מיתה וקבורה ונכנס לעולם העליון בלי השתנות כמו שהי' קודם החטא ועולה ויורד כמ"ש מי עלה שמים וירד

But Pinchas, who was completely rectified, did not taste death and burial, and entered the upper world without any transformation, just as it was before the cheit, ascending and descending, as it is written, 'Who has ascended to heaven and come down?' (Mishlei 30:4).

Pinchas, however, was so completely perfected that he bypassed death and burial entirely, entering the upper world directly and freely moving between worlds, like Adam before the sin.

וכמו כן בכל איש ישראל לפי שמירת הברית שבו כך הוא מוכן לעוה"ב

And likewise with every Jew, according to the degree to which he guards the bris within him, so is he prepared for Olam Haba.

The same principle applies to every Jew: his readiness for Olam Haba is measured by how carefully he guards the bris.

ועמך כולם צדיקים ובני עוה"ב

'And your people are all tzaddikim' (Yeshayahu 60:21), and they are children of Olam Haba.

He supports this with the verse that all of Hashem's people are tzaddikim and inheritors of Olam Haba.

אך שיש ע"י צער וחיבוט הקבר

Only that this comes through the pain and torment of chibut hakever, the punishment of the grave.

The qualification is that reaching that world ordinarily involves the suffering and ordeal of chibut hakever.

וכפי מה ששומרין הברית נכנסין לעולם העליון בנקל יותר:

And in accordance with the measure in which one guards the bris, one enters the upper world more easily.

And the better one guards the bris, the more easily and smoothly one enters the upper world.

Summary: The Sfas Emes explains that the bris shalom given to Pinchas reveals the deeper meaning of shalom as a seal of completion, a Name of the Holy One, Blessed is He. Just as Shabbos is the seal and signature that gives the entire ma'aseh bereishis its purpose, so too the os of the bris milah and the os of Shabbos are seals that mark Bnei Yisrael as children of Olam Haba and give them a foretaste of it. Ordinarily a person can enter Olam Haba only by passing through death, since the body's orlah conceals the full radiance of the neshamah, and the milah is what removes that barrier. Pinchas was so completely rectified that, like Adam HaRishon before the cheit, he entered the upper world without dying at all. The lesson for every Jew is that the more faithfully he guards the bris, the more easily and directly he reaches the upper world and his share in Olam Haba.