[Avodah] How to become a Kohen

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

When Pinchas was born, his father was not yet a kohen, so - obviously -
Pinchas did not become one automatically at birth. However, he was able to
acquire this privilege and status as a result of certain actions that he
took in a story which the Chumash tells us.

I often forget that he is not the only person to become a kohen without
being born one. The case of Aharon himself is obvious,  but let's set that
aside.  I'd like to ask specifically about Nadav, Avihu, Elazar and Itamar.
How did they get this zechus? Perhaps it was purely for practical reasons
(such as to distinguish between the Kohen Gadol and the hedyotos), or was
there something that made them more special than the other Leviim?

And a somewhat related question:  I don't know how old Elazar and Itamar
were at this point, but they probably were not too young, given that Aharon
was already past 80. So, was Pinchas the only grandson? In other words,
once Pinchas became a kohen, did the kehuna now include all of Aharon's
male descendants, or were some left out?

Akiva Miller
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