We know the ways of Hashem are middah k’neged middah, yet how does Pinchas’s action merit him to become a Kohen? A Kohen is a person that spreads love and harmony, yet Pinchas’s action was one of violence? Furthermore, the Gemarah teaches us there is no reward for doing a mitzvah in this world, so how can Pinchas be gifted a reward of becoming a Kohen?
David Hamelech was unable to be the one to build the Bais Hamikdash because his hands were covered with blood. Even though the bloodshed was for the benefit of the people and was permissible, it was not appropriate for him to construct the home of Hashem. It should be the same in regards to a Kohen; being that he is empowered with service in the Bais Hamikdash, it should be a prerequisite that his hands should be clean of blood. The Halacha states that if a Kohen accidentally killed someone, he can’t bless the nation. If Dovid Hamelech couldn’t build the walls of Bais Hamikdash due to blood on his hands, serving in the Temple is even more significant and shouldn’t be allowed to be done by Pinchas who has blood on his hands. How can it be that the reward to Pinchas was to become a Kohen?
The Gaon of Vilna in Parashat Vayeira addresses the fact that the Jewish people to this day survive on the merit of the Akeidat Yitzchak. The question is; how can that be if there is no reward for a mitzvah in this world? The Gaon explains; there is no physical reward for the mitzvah itself, rather for the preparation and the attitude and swiftness with which the mitzvah was performed. Avraham prepared for the Akaida fulfilling the request of Hashem promptly in its full glory and therefore we receive reward till today. The same is true for Pinchas. The merit he received was due to the manner that he did the mitzvah, without hesitation and totally for Hashem’s name. There was no personal agenda, he was not a hater, and the proof to this is he never did it before even though there were many opportunities for one to be a zealot in the midbar.
King David was frequently at war, so his hands shed blood on a constant basis. Pinchas however, was a kind loving person and only under the one circumstance that a plague broke out did he shed blood to save the lives of many others.
The middah k’neged middah is that one of the main attributes of a Kohen is zerizus, doing their avodah swiftly. Pinchas therefore is entitled to the status of Kohen due to the way he acted with complete zerizus. This gives us a great insight to life. When we do a mitzvah the physical reward is granted according to the preparation and the methodology on how we go about the mitzvah. If we wish to receive great physical reward and not only spiritual reward, it requires that we perform our mitzvos immediately in the fullest, and best, way.
