The Bnei Yissaschar (Agra d'Kalah) explains: When a person serves Hashem according to his nature, like a person who does chesed because he enjoys doing chesed, it isn't surprising. It isn’t such a great chidush that he does those good deeds since he doesn't have to battle with his yetzer hara or overcome his human nature. But when a person serves Hashem in a way that is opposite his nature, it is a great accomplishment. He had to overcome the yetzer hara and his tendencies to do Hashem's will. For this, he is called an 'ה עובד, a servant of Hashem.
Therefore, Chazal (Brachos 5a) say, ירגיז לעולם הרע יצר על טוב יצר אדם, "A person should always have his yetzer tov battle with the yetzer hara," because those deeds are most spectacular.
The Bnei Yissaschar quotes the following Gemara (Chagigah 9b): Bar Hy Hy asked Hillel, what is the meaning of the verse (Malachi 3:18) לֹא ֶׁרלַאֲש א ֱלֹק ִים עֹבֵד בֵּין ָׁעלְרָש צַדִּיק בֵּין וּרְא ִיתֶם ׁ ַבְת ֶּםוְש עֲב ָדוֹ, "then you will return and see the difference between the tzaddik and the rashah, between one who serves Hashem and one who doesn't serve Hashem." Isn’t a צַדִּיק and א ֱלֹק ִים עֹבֵד one and the same? He is a tzaddik because he serves Hashem! Why are they mentioned twice in this pasuk? Similarly, ָׁערָש and עֲב ָדוֹ לֹא ֶׁרלַאֲש (a rasha and someone who doesn’t serve Hashem) aren't they the same? Why does the pasuk write the same concept twice?
The Gemara asks this question, and Hillel replies that עֲב ָדוֹ לֹא ֶׁרלַאֲש א ֱלֹק ִים עֹבֵד "One who serves and Hashem and one who doesn't serve Hashem" are both referring to perfect tzaddikim. "Only it is incomparable a person who studies a chapter one hundred times to someone who studies a chapter 101 times." In other words, א ֱלֹק ִים עֹבֵד, a servant of Hashem, is someone who studies Torah 101 times. עֲב ָדו לֹא ֶׁרלַאֲש, is someone who studies it just 100 times.
Bar Hy Hy asked, "For one time, will you call him עֲב ָדוֹ לֹא, that he didn't serve Hashem?" Hillel replies, "Yes. You can learn this from a market for donkeys. Traveling ten parsah costs one zuz. To travel eleven parsah, costs two zuz."
The Tanya (ch.15) explains this Gemara. In those days, it was standard and routine to review each portion of Torah one hundred times. When one goes beyond the routine and reviews it one time more, it is a fantastic accomplishment. That one time is precious to Hashem, like all the other 100 times, and even more than them. This is because he did something hard, something that was beyond his natural routine and abilities.
When one studies one hundred times, this is called, לֹא עֲב ָדוֹ, that he didn't serve Hashem. He isn't truly serving Hashem because he isn't applying any extra effort. When one studies just one time more, he is an א ֱלֹק ִים עֹבֵד, a person who serves Hashem, because he is doing more than he standardly would do.
6. There was a person who owned a large stock of bottled drinks. Once, on an exceptionally hot day, he told his family, "Go outside and sell drinks for an enormously exaggerated price." "Who will pay so much for a bottle of soda?" they asked. "It's so hot today, and people must drink today, and they are prepared to pay for it. You will earn a huge profit," and that is what happened. Similarly, heaven desires the mitzvos that are performed with effort. When you do so, you will be rewarded handsomely.
7. A chosid of Rebbe Yitzchak of Vorka zt'l would annually purchase from the government the rights to collect the toll from those crossing over a particular bridge. He earned a lot of money from this endeavor. Once, the chasid discovered that a group of goyim got together and decided to outbid him, and to take this permit away from him. Every year, the right to collect the toll was sold at a public auction. The chasid always presented the highest bid. This year, the goyim were planning to outbid him, no matter the price, just to take the parnassah away from a Yid.
Bnei Yissaschar explains that the Torah tells us Pinchas's yichus, that he was the son of Elazar and the grandson of Aharon Hakohen. This is to tell us that Pinchas's natural nature from his birth was to seek peace, like his father and grandfather. As it states in Pirkei Avos (1:12) מִת ַּלְמ ִידָיו הֱוֵי ,אוֹמֵר ה ִלֵּל וּמְק ָרְבָן ה ַבְּרִיּוֹת אֶת אוֹהֵב ,שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם אוֹהֵב ,אַה ֲרֹן שֶׁל לַת ּוֹרָה, "Be from the students of Aharon, love peace, pursue peace, love people and draw them to Torah." The Torah tells us that Pinchas descended from them, and this tells us that peace was Pinchas's nature, as well. So, this time, when he went against his nature to do Hashem's will, it was an extraordinary deed, a deed done with mesirus nefesh.
Therefore, Chazal say, שכרו שיטול ראוי, Pinchas deserves to be rewarded. Therefore (25:12) שָׁלום בְּרִיתִי אֶת לוֹ נֹתֵן ה ִנְנִי א ֱמֹר לָכֵן, "Behold I give him My covenant of peace." He changed his nature and went away from the path of peace for Hashem's sake, and therefore, he deserves to be rewarded with peace.
The Ksav Sofer zy'a (לכן ה"ד) writes a similar explanation, and he adds that this is taught by Rashi, as well. Rashi discusses the reason the Torah tells us the yichus of Pinchas, and he writes, פוטי בן הראיתם ,אותו מבזים השבטים שהיו לפי שבט נשיא והרג ,אלילים לעבודת עגלים אמו אבי שפיטם זה אהרן אחר ויחסו הכתוב בא לפיכך ,מישראל, "The shevatim were disgracing Pinchas. They were saying, 'Did you see this person... whose maternal grandfather (Yisro) would fatten calves to sacrifice for avodah zarah, and he went and he killed a nasi of a shevet in Yisrael!' Therefore, the Torah tells us that his yichus is from Aharon."
The Ksav Sofer explains that the people in the desert knew that Pinchas was a descendent of Aharon, and they nevertheless ridiculed him, so how does repeating to us that Pinchas was the son of Elazar, and grandson of Aharon, stop the people's ridicule?
The explanation is that the people were saying that Pinchas’s nature was to get angry and take revenge because he is a descendent of Yisro. The Torah corrects them. He was a descendant of Elazar and Aharon, and he possessed their natures of kindness and seeking peace. When Pinchas killed the sinners, he had to fight his inner instincts. His nature was to pursue peace, and he went against his nature to bring honor to Hashem's name.
Bnei Yissaschar (Agra d'Pirka 24) writes, "The Magid Reb Yechiel Michel of Zlotchev zt'l said that when a person wants to bring a salvation that is beyond the rules of nature, for example, by nature one can't bear children [and he wants to merit bearing children] he should do a great mitzvah that is beyond his nature."
