I would have loved to have Aharon haKohen serve as my Kohen in the Beit Hamikdash. I would have felt safe even bringing a sin-offering, knowing that I was being guided by one of the most beloved and loving personalities. I would approach Aharon with confidence that he would guide me through the Teshuva process as he spoke with me and led me step by step through the Offering and its consumption.

I don’t picture myself feeling quite so safe with Pinchas as my Kohen; he killed a man. I would be more reticent describing my sin to someone who publicly killed a sinner. I would imagine him thinking, “What’s one less Weinberg? I should just kill him, but, now I have to do my job.” It’s difficult to win people’s trust after they’ve seen you lose your temper, no matter how justified.

“Therefore, say: Behold! I give him My covenant of peace (Numbers 25:12).” God does not inform Moshe that He gave Pinchas His covenant of peace, but that Moshe should publicly declare the gift. He received the covenant of eternal priesthood, but the declaration is not about Pinchas becoming a Kohen, but his being awarded God’s covenant of peace.

What is the covenant of peace? Rashi explains that it should be seen as the greeting one sends to a person to whom one is indebted. It’s a picture of God waving to Pinchas and saying, “Shalom!”

Imagine bringing a sin-offering and as the Kohen meets with you to discuss your sin and Teshuva process, God pops His head into the room, waves to the Kohen and says, “Hi!”  That is exactly what people felt when they met with Pinchas. Yes, they were intimidated by the man who killed Kozbi and Zimri, but as soon as they sat with him, they experienced a sense of peace with God. A perfect experience for bringing any offering, especially after sinning: Fear and awe, intimidated by being in the Beit Hamikdash, and then, a sense of peace, Pinchas healing from the experience of having killed, the person healing from the spiritual illness of his sin.

Pinchas is a reminder that the Teshuva process should end with a sense of peace. His story is a lesson that the person who takes three steps forward into God’s Presence, filled with awe as he beings his prayer, should conclude with, “Sim Shalom,” a sense of peace, as if God is waving farewell as he takes his three steps back as he leaves his prayer.

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