Becoming Grand

by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

It was in the midst of a rebellion against Moshe that Pinchas took action. As a plague of punishment swept the camp Pinchas killed the leader of the rebellion, and put an end to the rebellion and the plague that it caused. In return for restoring peace between Hashem and His people, Pinchas was rewarded with “peace”. He was awarded the status of Kehuna, to be part of the priestly family.

Rashi asks: Wasn’t Pinchas already part of the priestly family of Aharon? Why did he need to be awarded that status at this special time?

Rashi explains that when the Kohanim were appointed, Pinchas was already born. To be a Kohein one would have to be appointed, or born from someone who was appointed as a Kohein.  Pinchas was not appointed when Ahron was appointed, and he was already born, so until this moment Pinchas was not a Kohein.

Still, the question remains, why wasn’t Pinchas appointed at the time that his grandfather, Aharon, and his father, Elazar, were appointed. He was alive and available. Why was he excluded at the original time of appointment?

The basic answer is that Hashem knew that Pinchas was capable of earning the status of Kehuna on his own.  And so He excluded Pinchas from the original appointment- which would have been simply because he was part of the family- and waited for Pinchas to earn his status as a Kohein.

There are, indeed, in life, two forms of acquisition. There are people who are born into a status, and there are others who really earn the status that they have achieved.

An older gentleman told me that he had “just become a grandfather.” I was surprised, because I knew that his children had many children, and none had been born recently. He explained that his son and daughter-in-law had asked if he could take care of some of their children for a week so they could get a vacation. He agreed, and spent some very special quality time with the children. He said, “Until know I was a grandfather because my children had children. After some good outings and meaningful conversations I have really gotten to know the children, and I feel like I have truly now become a grandfather.”

There is a cute story of a man who comes to the Rabbi saying that he would like to become a Kohein. At first the Rabbi insists that he can’t make him a Kohein. But when the man offers a million dollars to become a Kohein the Rabbi becomes intrigued and asks him why he wants to become a Kohein. The man says, “My father was a Kohein, my grandfather was a Kohein, and I really want to be a Kohein too.”

In a halachic sense the man is happily mistaken. If his father was a Kohein he is a Kohein as well. But with an attitudinal approach we may find that there is much merit to his perspective. “My father was a Kohein. What do I have to do to earn that status? What do I have to do so that this title should really belong to me?”

In a similar vein the Medrash says that although Torah is an inheritance (Morasha) it should be viewed as a marriage (Miorasa). The commentaries explain that while Torah is an inheritance, and is the entitlement and obligation of every Jew born into it, a real appreciation for Torah only comes when we view it as a very personal relationship. Like the relationship with a spouse, it doesn’t necessarily come naturally. It takes work; you earn the relationship, and then you can take pride that the relationship is really “yours”.

Our sages tell us that this is what was unique about the forefathers of our people. Each one forged a special relationship with Hashem, and developed their own personal status as a leader. For Avraham this came naturally. His had to discover monotheism on his own. But for Yitzchak and Yakov, who could have simply followed in the footsteps of those who preceded them, it took the conscious effort of self development to develop a personal relationship.

In every one of us there is a piece of Pinchas’ legacy. There are things that we could just as well have as “status that we were born into”. Yet, we can choose instead to earn that status. We can study and devote ourselves well to Torah and develop a personal relationship as a Jew. Likewise, we can work to develop relationships with relatives so that we become Grand in the fullest sense of the word.

© 2016 by TEACH613™