The attribute of zealotry, exemplified by Pinchas, seems entirely foreign to Aharon. Nevertheless, the Torah traces Pinchas’ lineage as the grandson of “Aharon the kohen” to teach us that had Aharon witnessed the deed of Pinchas, he would have recognized that his extraordinary act of kana’us (zealotry) was warranted and would have fully approved of it. Indeed, he would have wanted his own name to be mentioned as Pinchas’ grandfather. This is unlike Yaakov, who instructed that his name should not be mentioned in connection with the dispute of Korach, so that it would not appear in the genealogy of Korach.

  There are different paths by which kohanim may become worthy of the kehunah in the eyes of Hashem, and in attaining kapparah (atonement), and in safeguarding the holiness of Klal Yisrael. These are represented by the differing approaches of Aharon and Pinchas. Aharon’s way was “he will see you and rejoice in his heart,” and “loving peace and pursuing peace, loving people and bringing them close to Torah.” Pinchas’ path to the kehunah, to bringing kapparah upon Yisrael and preserving their holiness, was “because he was zealous for his G-d and brought atonement for Bnei Yisrael.” He therefore merited to be remembered as the grandson of Aharon the kohen, teaching that each validates the other. Both are beloved and cherished before Hashem and that each has its place.

Pinchas’ act of zealotry was in the category of Moshe Rabbeinu’s breaking of the Luchos

  Every year, we read Parashas Pinchas on the Shabbos closest to Shiva Asar B’Tammuz, and this is no coincidence. In the piyutim (liturgical poems) of the Selichos (penitential prayers) for the Seventeenth of Tammuz, we recall that on this day the Luchos were broken and the cause of this was the Luchos were broken, and the cause of this was the Chet ha’Eigel.

  In our sefer Chamudei Shai on Bereishis, in the essay on Sukkos–Shemini Atzeres, where we explored in depth Rashi’s final comments on the Torah (s.v. לְעֵינֵי כָּל יִשְׂרָאֵל “Before the eyes of all Israel”), that the Torah concludes with an allusion to Moshe’s breaking of the Luchos. There we explained that the breaking of the Luchos was a crucial act intended to awaken Bnei Yisrael to teshuvah. Hakadosh Baruch Hu praises Moshe for this, saying, אשר שברת “which you broke”—”Yasher kochacha sheshibarta” (“Thank you for breaking them”), as we read on every public fast day. That act took place on the very day that would later become known as the Fast of Shiva Asar B’Tammuz.

  Thus, although the breaking of Hashem’s Luchos was a shocking act, and one of the reasons we fast on this day, nevertheless it marked the beginning of Bnei Yisrael’s teshuvah and tikkun (rectification).

  The same may be said regarding Pinchas. Despite the tremendous shock of his act of zealotry, which lay outside the judicial framework of the Beis Din, and although it appeared as though Pinchas had rendered a halachic ruling in the presence of Moshe Rabbeinu and, above all, slew a nasi of Yisrael before the eyes of the people, including the members of the nasi’s own tribe, nevertheless this “shocking act,” carried out with mesiras nefesh, brought about kapparah and teshuvah for Klal Yisrael.

The matter of “Pinchas is Eliyahu”

  The well-known statement of Chazal, פנחס זה אליהו “Pinchas is Eliyahu,” opened a discussion that spanned many generations of Torah discussions in general and halachic discussions in particular, beginning with the Amoraim (Sages of the Gemara) and continuing through the Achronim (later authorities), seeking to understand in what sense this is true. If Eliyahu HaNavi was indeed a Kohen, how could he revive the dead and come into contact with the deceased? These discussions are extensive and well known. Our purpose here, however, is simply to explain the underlying meaning of Chazal’s statement “Pinchas is Eliyahu” according to our approach. Pinchas attained his kehunah and all his spiritual stature “because he was zealous for his G-d and brought atonement for Bnei Yisrael.” Eliyahu HaNavi likewise describes himself with the words,  קַנֹּא קִנֵּאתִי לַה׳ “I have been exceedingly zealous for Hashem” (Melachim I 19:10). (This indicates that they share the same spiritual root. Chazal likewise said concerning Pinchas: “Rabbi Simon said: When ruach hakodesh (Divine inspiration) would rest upon Pinchas, his face would burn like torches.” Similarly, Eliyahu ascended to Heaven in a fiery chariot. Both were consumed by the same holy fire, burning with passionate zeal for the honor of Hashem’s Name.

The Inclusion of Pinchas within Aharon

  Rabbi Elazar said in the name of Rabbi Chanina: “Pinchas did not become a kohen until he slew Zimri, as it says (Bamidbar 25:13), ‘And it shall be for him and for his descendants after him a covenant of eternal kehunah.’” Rav Ashi said: “[He did not become a kohen] until he made peace among the tribes, as it says (Yehoshua 22:30) : ‘And Pinchas the kohen, and the leaders of the congregation, and the heads of the thousands of Yisrael heard…’” (Zevachim 101b).

  In light of what we explained above, the view of Rav Ashi can be readily understood. We explained that the Torah traces Pinchas back to Aharon in order to teach that although their approaches were complete opposites, “both are the words of the living G-d” and both are necessary. Rav Ashi is coming to add that Pinchas did not become a kohen until he truly became “…the son of Aharon the kohen,” adopting Aharon’s attributes of loving peace and pursuing peace through making peace among the tribes, thus truly becoming included in his grandfather Aharon. And so will it be in the future era, as the Mishnah teaches:

  …And the Sages say: “[Eliyahu will come] neither to distance nor to bring near, but rather to make peace in the world, as it says, ‘Behold, I am sending you Eliyah the prophet… and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers’” (Eduyos 8:7).

Maharal Tzintz

A good deed and its reward

    Our parashah opens with the great mitzvah performed by Pinchas, and with his immense reward:

…פִּֽינְחָ֨ס בֶּן־אֶלְעָזָ֜ר בֶּן־אַהֲרֹ֣ן הַכֹּהֵ֗ן הֵשִׁ֤יב אֶת־חֲמָתִי֙ מֵעַ֣ל בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל “Pinchas the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohen, has turned away My wrath from upon the Children of Israel…” This is the mitzvah he performed.

:לָכֵ֖ן אֱמֹ֑ר הִנְנִ֨י נֹתֵ֥ן ל֛וֹ אֶת־בְּרִיתִ֖י שָׁלֽוֹם “Therefore say: Behold, I give him My covenant of peace.” This is Pinchas’s reward.

    What did our teacher, the Maharal Tzintz, choose to expound upon in Parashas Pinchas? He saw in it the appropriate occasion to discuss the great reward of the mitzvah of tzedakah in particular, and the reward for all mitzvos in general, a theme that corresponds well with the reward granted to Pinchas. Rabbeinu elaborated at length in his drashah (homiletic discourse); with Hashem’s help, we will present here a small portion of it.

Does a person “deserve” reward for performing a mitzvah?

    The Midrash states:

Rabbi Yirmiyah the son of Rabbi Elazar said: “In the future, a bas kol (Heavenly voice) will resound from the mountaintops and proclaim: ‘Whoever has acted together with G-d, let him come and receive his reward! … [as per the verse]כעת ייאמר ליעקב ולישראל מה פעל קל. ‘Now it shall be said to Yaakov and to Yisrael, “What has G-d wrought!?”’” [which can also as be read as, “Who has acted “(wrought”) with G-d”?].

    And ruach hakodesh (Divine inspiration) declares: “Who preceded Me that I should repay him?” (I.e., “Whoever gave Me something before I gave to him, I will repay him a reward… That is to say, since a person performs mitzvos having already received a gift from Hashem, he does not “deserve” payment.) Who praised before Me before I gave him a soul?… [Did he do the mitzvah of placing] a ma’akeh (fence around the roof)? I first gave him a roof! [Did he do the mitzvah of] mezuzah? I first gave him a house! Sukkah? I first gave him a place [to build it on]! Lulav? I first gave him the money [to buy it with]! Tzitzis (ritual fringes)? I first gave him a tallis (garment)! Pe’ah? I first gave him a field! Terumah? I first gave him a threshing floor! Challah? I first gave him dough! A korban (sacrificial offering)? I first gave him an animal!

    Rabbeinu expresses great surprise at this: Seemingly, the two statements contradict each other: If ruach hakodesh says that a person does not truly deserve reward, why does the bas kol proclaim that he should come and receive his reward!? This question will be resolved through another difficulty.

    The Midrash in Parashas Ki Sisa states:

The Holy One, blessed is He, said to Moshe: “The Jewish people are indebted to me for what they borrowed from Me,” as it says, כי תשא ‘Ki sisa’ (‘When you will take’), [which may be understood as ‘ki sasheh [ve’rei’acha’] (‘when you lend’) (Devarim 24:10). “Tell them to repay what they owe Me, namely, the machatzis hashekel (half-shekel), and I shall repay them, as it says: ‘The number of the Children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea.’” This immediately raises a difficulty: Since giving the machatzis hashekel is regarded as repayment of a debt, why does Hashem say, “I shall repay them”?

Why is the reward for mitzvos reserved for the World to Come? Rabbeinu explains: It says in Pirkei Avos (Ethics of the Fathers): “Do not be like servants who serve their master in order to receive reward; rather, be like servants who serve their master not in order to receive reward.” In other words, we ought to do mitzvos and give tzedakah “for free”—that is, without expecting compensation. And what will we gain by this? Let us understand…

   As is well known, the reward for mitzvos is received only in Olam Haba (the World to Come), for “sechar mitzvah behai alma leika“—”there is no [true] reward for a mitzvah in this world.” Hashem instituted the mitzvos in order to bestow merit upon the Jewish people, and He knows that in this world there is no complete joy, but rather all inhabitants of the world are full of worries. The poor man worries because he is poor and wonders how he will support himself; the wealthy man worries lest he lose his wealth. There is no person in this world whose heart is entirely free of worry. But Hakadosh Baruch Hu desires that our reward for performing mitzvos be complete and perfect. Therefore, He preserves that reward for the World to Come.

    However, because our reward is delayed until then, the Holy One, Blessed be He, gives in His great kindness an abundance of reward greater than the strict value of the mitzvah itself. Thus, the reward in the World to Come is much greater than what one would technically deserve. But one may ask: would this not constitute ribbis (interest)? The answer is that there is no prohibition of ribbis regarding gifts. For example, if Reuven gave Shimon a gift of one hundred dollars for his son’s wedding, and later Reuven celebrates a family simchah, Shimon may certainly give him a gift of one thousand dollars. There is no prohibition of ribbis here. The same applies to the reward for mitzvos. For example, a person gives tzedakah to a poor man; Chazal tell us that it is as though he has given Hashem a loan, as it says: “He who is gracious to the poor lends to Hashem.” But if he regards himself as a lender, who expects repayment, he will receive only the principal. If, on the other hand, he is “donating,” and therefore seeks no reward for his mitzvah, then in the future Hashem will bestow upon him many times over, for gifts are not subject to the prohibition of ribbis. This is why the Tanna (Mishnaic sage) advises us, “Do not be like servants who serve their master in order to receive reward,” for if you do so, your mitzvos will resemble a loan, and you will receive only the principal. “Rather, be like servants who serve their master not in order to receive reward,” and then Hashem will reward you many times over.

The proper way to receive reward for mitzvos

    We may now return to the Midrashim that troubled us earlier. Hashem tells Moshe: “Ki sisa—ki sasheh (‘When you will take”—When you will lend”)“: When you collect the machatzis hashekel from the Jewish people, tell them not to give it with the mindset of receive something in return. Rather, they should feel as though they are merely repaying a loan, for which no repayment is due. If they do this, then “I shall repay them”—I shall grant them far more than the strict accounting would require, and there will be no issue of ribbis. And then, “the number of the Children of Israel shall be like the sand of the sea.” This also explains the other Midrash about מה פעל קל (“Who has acted with G-d?”). The bas kol is proclaiming: “Whoever has acted together with G-d, let him come and receive his reward,” to which Ruach hakodesh responds: Who is the one who will truly receive that reward? He who did the mitzvos out of a feeling of “Who preceded Me that I should repay him?” He understood that nothing was owed to him, for he had never given Hashem anything prior to Hashem giving him. He therefore fulfilled the mitzvos using the very gifts Hashem had already bestowed upon him—a house, a roof, a garment, an animal, dough, etc. Such a person will come and receive his reward, a reward vastly greater than the strict calculation. Thus, the declaration, “Who preceded Me that I should repay him?” is not meant to deny reward. Rather, it is a piece of advice for those who perform mitzvos that they should do them with the mindset of “Who preceded Me that I should repay him?” and thereby they will merit abundant reward.

    In summation: It is specifically the one who does mitzvos as a “donation,” expecting nothing in return, who will merit the greater reward.