Not all so equal – Pinchas
A plague affected the people of Israel and the suffering was immense. Then came the intervention of Pinchas and the pain subsided.
Is there any way we can estimate the effect of the plague?
Not in the quantity of the pain. Everybody felt that they were suffering all the pain that existed. People have different pain thresholds. Some people seem able to endure more than others.
In an inverse way we can derive this from the Mishnah Sanhedrin chapter 10, in a passage that we say at the beginning of each chapter of Pir’kei Avot – “All Israel have a portion in the World to Come”.
There is a Chassidic interpretation that though everyone has a share in the World to Come, not every share is equal to every other share.
Similarly, not every share of pain is equal to every other share. The Almighty allocates to everyone the amount of pain which that person can handle.
