Difficult To Be a Zealot
Pinchas had many hurdles to overcome after his heroic act of stopping the plague. Great people are often challenged for acting in a non-conventional manner.
Mordechai of the Purim was questioned by many Jews, for rocking the boat too much. Even when he succeeded, he was not accepted by all of the Jewish people.
The nation did not know how to absorb Pinchas’s act. After all, he took the law into his own hands, and killed a head of a tribe and a Midianite princess. They were afraid of what the repercussions might be. They thought that greater impurity would be brought to the Jewish people.
Rav Kook felt that ultimately Pinchas was a unifying force among the people. It took time for them to realize that taking a drastic step was necessary to bring peace.
Hashem blessed Pinchas with a “covenant of peace.” He was also told that his descendants would live forever.
The Talmud in Masechet Zevachim said that all of the Kohein Hagadols, the high priests in the first and second Temples, descended from Pinchas.
There were a total of 380 High Priests. Eighty served in the First Temple that lasted 410 years, and 300 in the Second Temple which lasted 420 years. (There were many corrupt High Priests during this period.)
The Torah spells the word, שלום, with the letter “Vav” broken. It makes the word look like שלים, which is a hint to these High Priests. The numerical value of שלים, is 380, the exact number of High Priests that descended from Pinchas.
The truth wins in the end. Despite the obstacles Pinchas had to overcome, he emerged as a great leader in Israel.