The Parsha starts off with Hashem praising Pinchas for his act of killing זמרי and כזבי.
פנחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן השיב את חמתי מעל בני ישראל
Rashi notes that the תורה mentions not only the name of Pinchas’ father, אלעזר, but also his grandfather אהרן too.
לפי שהיו השבטים מבזין אותו: הראיתם בן פוטי זה שפיטם אבי אמו עגלים לעבודה זרה והלך והרג נשיא שבט מישראל
People were degrading Pinchas who, from his mother’s side, was a grandson of יתרו, a former עובד עבודה זרה, by saying ” Look at this upstart who’s own grandfather would fatten and sacrifice animals to עבודה זרה. He had the audacity to kill a נשיא.”
Continues Rashi
לפיכך בא הכתוב ויחסו אחר אהרן
The Torah, therefore, tells us that not only was he a grandson of יתרו, but also a grandson of אהרן.
The מהר”ל asks: Every person has 2 sets of grandparents. Everyone knew that Pinchas was also a grandson of אהרן. Yet that did not stop them from degrading him. What does the תורה gain by specifying that he was the grandson of אהרן?
Explains the מהר”ל: Animal breeders will at times force feed them to make them grow extra plump. This is done by stuffing the food directly down the animals’ gullet in an effort to make them grow. In our times, this is done with the delicacy known as Foi Gras. The breeders force open the mouths of geese and directly place the food in their throats for a month’s period. During this time their liver grows to 10 times its normal size. Eventually the geese are slaughtered and the liver sold at high prices.
So this act of making the animal large is not an act of kindness but rather an act of cruelty against the animal. Says the מהר”ל, every person has within themselves a genetic component which they inherited. It includes their physical makeup, but also their personal traits as well.
When the שבטים were degrading פנחס for his act, they claimed that it was done out of cruelty. And that cruelty was a trait he inherited from his grandfather יתרו, who likewise was cruel to his animals by force feeding them. Says the תורה
, פנחס בן אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן
Pinchas was also a grandson of אהרן, the great אוהב שלום. And the act of killing זמרי and כזבי, was an act of love, a trait he inherited from his grandfather אהרן. Pinchas realized that כלל ישראל was dying in the מגיפה as a result of מעשה זמרי,and out of his great love of כלל ישראל, he saved them through his actions.
Concludes the מהר”ל, because his act was done out of love, פנחס received the gift of כהונה. The כהן Bentches כלל ישראל with love. As the ברכה goes:
וצוונו לברך את עמו ישראל באהבה.
Great Yidden have the fire of love within them, and through that, impact כלל ישראל.
We’ll conclude with a story that highlights this point. The Chofetz Chaim was visiting an inn and was being served his supper in the dining room. Suddenly, the door burst open and a massive, burly man stormed in. Taking a seat, he barks at the proprietor ” Bring me my food, now!” And accompanies his demands with a litany of vulgar words. Once served, the man proceeded to stuff himself with the food, in obscene fashion, without making Brachos or washing his hands. The Chofetz Chaim was shocked at this behavior of a fellow Yid, when the proprietor explained to him that the man was actually a former Cantonist, a Jewish boy who was forced into the Czar’s army, for many years. ” It’s the result of those years in the army that he acts like this” he concluded.
After hearing this, the Chofetz Chaim approached the former soldier. He held his hand and gently said:
” Reb Yid, I envy you. You were taken away as a child, and placed in the worst possible environment. Yet despite all that, you remained a Yid! Imagine, if you come back to Torah observance, how proud Hashem will be of you!”
The burly man started to cry. Never in his adult life had someone spoken to him with such love and concern. And with the ongoing support of the Chofetz Chaim, he went on to become a complete בעל תשובה.
Acts done with love for our fellow Yidden will always have a great impact.
Have a Good Shabbos
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