Pinchas: Born in Between, Chose to Rise

By Yoni Laub

A few months ago, my sister sent me a meme that said something along

the lines of: “Born too late to buy a house for 50k, born too early to vacation on

Mars, born just in time to have paid 99 cents for a ringtone.” This reflects the

feeling that the people before us lived in a more ideal time, and the people born

after us will reap the benefits of future advancements, while we’re left

somewhere in the middle, without the advantages of either.

But no one in history faced as overt of a setback for being between

generations as Pinchas. Aharon, his sons, and all future descendants were

granted the honor of being Kohanim. That included everyone in Aharon’s lineage

except, as Rashi quotes from the Gemara in Zevachim, Pinchas — the oldest

grandson, who had already been born at the time of this declaration.

So, due to what seems like a bureaucratic technicality — being a grandson, not

a son, and already alive at the time so not a ‘future descendant’ — Pinchas was

left out.

That all changed after Pinchas bravely stood up for Kavod Shamayim,

killing Zimri, the leader of Shevet Shimon, and Cozbi, the Moavite woman with

whom he was sinning and causing a tremendous Chillul Hashem. Because ofבס“ד 2

Pinchas’s zealotry and heroism, he was rewarded with the gift of becoming a

Kohen.

Rav Yisroel Reisman points out that Pinchas must have had a challenging

life before this. He was the only non-Kohen in his family. During Birchas

Kohanim, he would be the only one in his household not to duchen. While his

family ate Terumah, which was forbidden to him, he couldn’t eat the food or

even use the same keilim.

Many in that situation would have felt dejected — and understandably so

— believing they had been given an unfair lot in life. But Pinchas didn’t let that

paralyze him. Instead, he grew into a righteous man, achieving a level of tzidkus

and devotion to Hashem that prepared him to act immediately and boldly when

the moment arose. We all face struggles and difficulties that are often outside

our control — whether it’s our upbringing, our abilities, our finances, or just the

challenges life throws our way. But Pinchas teaches us that we can’t control the

cards we’re dealt — only how we play the hand. And Hashem gave each of us

the exact cards we need to maximize our potential.