“I hereby give him my covenant of peace for him and his descendants after him… “ (Bamidbar 25:12-13)
Rashi comments that although the kehuna was already given to the descendants of Aharon, it was given specifically to Aharon, his sons who were anointed with him, and their children who would be born after their anointment. Pinchas was born before this occasion, and had not been anointed. Indeed, the Talmud states that Pinchas did not become a kohen until he killed Zimri (Zevachim 101b).
With the performance of this once-in-a-lifetime mitzvah, Pinchas merited to change the course of history. His zealotry for Hashem’s honor earned him a unique reward that impacted all succeeding generations.
The Targum Yonasan says that the “covenant of peace” that Pinchas was also given granted him eternal existence as an angel; and at the end of days, he will relate the news of the redemption. Kedushas Levi puts forth that Pinchas is Eliyahu and he will continue to exist. The general rule is that the physical body of the person looks after its own needs and is removed from the service of Hashem. Contrary to the mortal physical body, only the neshama yearns for yiras Hashem and ahavas Hashem and thrives on spirituality.
When Pinchas was willing to selflessly give up his life, he demonstrated that he was more concerned about the welfare of his neshama than that of his physical body. In fact, our sages tell us that Pinchas did not concern himself at all with his physical needs. Rather he served Hashem with truth and sincerity, only heeding the spiritual benefit in his life. It is for this reason that Pinchas merited to become an angel who would live for eternity.
The midrash elaborates that Pinchas earned the “covenant of peace” by epitomizing the service of Hashem and completely subjugating his body. The Ohev Yisroel observes that this is the reason we usually read the parsha of Pinchas during the Three Weeks. It is a time of teshuva, a time to focus on the needs of our neshama as Pinchas did. In that zechus, says the Apter Rav, we will merit all the holidays that are mentioned in this parsha as well as additional ones.
According to the Lev Simcha, the reason this parsha is read during the Three Weeks is to allude to that time when our days of sorrow and sadness changing into days of great happiness and joy when the Bais HaMikdash will be rebuilt and the korbanos will once again be brought.
Those who are attuned to their neshama sense the spiritual void in their lives and are distressed over the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash.
Surviving the Holocaust, the Imrei Emes fled to Yerushalayim. When he was already an elderly man, one of his well-known followers, Rabbi Aharon Krul, once accompanied him to the Kosel HaMaaravi, a place where the Divine Presence is always present.
After walking by way of Shaar Yaffo, they then had to ascend a long flight of steps to reach their destination. The Imrei Emes no longer had the strength to climb those steps, so his gabbaim, including Rabbi Aharon, quickly carried him up in a chair.
It was a very hot day and the trip was quite arduous. When they finally arrived at the Kosel, the gabbaim were exhausted and they looked forward to a few moments of rest, while the holy Imrei Emes prayed fervently.
To their surprise, however, as soon as the tzaddik was put down at the wall, he signaled that he was ready to return.
The gabbaim were shocked and could not imagine what prompted the urgency of his return. They had barely had a chance to recite one chapter of Tehillim, and the Imrei Emes was ready to go back!
When he was questioned, the Imrei Emes explained that the great pain of the destruction of the Bais HaMikdash suddenly devastated him, and he became overwhelmed thinking of the Divine Presence in exile.
Rabbi Gamliel Rabinovich observed how far removed we are from this state of mind. We come and go to and from the Kosel without giving much thought to the significance of the situation. We do not sufficiently feel the anguish of the Divine Presence in exile. We look forward to the fulfillment of the prophecy, “May You return in compassion to Yerushalayim Your city, and may You rest within it.”
