Category Archives: Korach

5783, AI art, Bat Ayin, Korach, Numbers, Parsha

The Shortcut Fallacy (Korach)

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The Shortcut Fallacy (Korach)

The heights by great men reached and kept

Were not obtained by sudden flight,

But they, while their companions slept,

Were toiling upward in the night.

-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

No Shortcuts

Korach is a Levite. He is a cousin of Moses and Aaron. He is as close to nobility as one could get in the fledgling nation of Israel. According to the Midrash he was brilliant, insanely wealthy and was married to an ambitious wife. However, all these blessings and distinctions were not enough for Korach. Still dissatisfied with his lot and envious of Moses and Aaron, Korach proceeds to launch a rebellion against their leadership.

Korach’s rebellion is short-lived and proves fatal to Korach and his followers. A heavenly fire consumes 250 of Korach’s followers, while the rest of the rebels who are part of the sub-group of brothers Datan and Aviram die when the earth miraculously opens to swallow them.

The Bat Ayin on Numbers 16:1 recalls some of the theological arguments that Korach used in his rebellion. One of them was that Korach understood that the ultimate purpose of creation and of human existence is to develop our awe of God, to become wholehearted servants of the Master of the World, the Creator of the Universe. Korach argued that if that is the point, why do we need to bother with the Torah and its commandments. Let’s just meditate and focus on the ultimate awe of God. Let’s get straight to the point without going through the long, challenging, arduous process of learning an endless number of laws and having to be particular about an infinite number of details and nuances.

The Bat Ayin explains that such “direct” thinking was Korach’s fatal mistake. There are no shortcuts to lofty goals. Developing the right connection with God is the loftiest of all goals. It requires study, practice, training, and work. Any accomplishment requires these elements. Even people who are gifted with great talent in any area, still need to hone it, still need preparation and a massive investment of time, energy and resources to achieve their goals.

The Torah and the commandments are the path to connect to God. It is the practice, the investment, the work, the devotion, the focus, the sacrifice. All these things and more are what build the foundation, the conduit and the steps for us to reach God.

Let’s not be afraid to do the work.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To Ira the Starman of Astronomy Israel. For a magical tour of the night sky in Machtesh Ramon.

5782, Chidushei HaRim, Korach, Numbers, Parsha

Treacherous Prominence (Korach)

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Treacherous Prominence (Korach)

Rust consumes iron and envy consumes itself. -Danish proverb

Korach, Moses’ first cousin, also from the tribe of Levi, was a great man in his own right. He was an elder, a knowledgeable sage, a gifted orator, wealthy beyond measure, touched by prophecy and a natural leader of men.

So, the question is, why did honored and prominent Korach unite with veteran troublemakers Datan and Aviram, raise a conspiracy of 250 other leaders of Israel and incite a doomed rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron?

The Chidushei HaRim on Numbers 16:1 deepens the question by referencing a Midrash that states that God intended for Korach to be the titular leader of the Levites, in parallel to Aaron’s leadership of the Kohens. Indeed, there was nobody else at Korach’s level from amongst the other Levites for such a prominent position. Korach himself was cognizant of his exalted level, which may have been the beginning of his downfall.

According to the Chidushei HaRim, Korach’s ruin came about from two related emotions: envy and arrogance. He became envious of another prominent cousin, Elizafan son of Uziel who had been given an important honor. That little seed of jealousy grew and corrupted the previously righteous sage until he was blinded by it. He was so blinded that it inflated his arrogance to a level that he started to throw baseless accusations against Moses. His envy, his arrogance and the resulting blindness were so complete, that he couldn’t appreciate that he was attacking the man who was directly and expressly chosen by God to lead the nation, the man whom God declared was the humblest of all men.

God’s reaction is severe and immediate, and Korach’s ruin is complete and permanent.

The 250 leaders who supported Korach are consumed by a heavenly fire when they recreate part of the Tabernacle service. Korach’s allies, Datan and Aviram, all their household and possessions are swallowed up by a miraculously opened earth. It’s not clear from the verses, which of the two dooms falls upon Korach personally. Some commentaries explain that both immolation by divine fire and getting swallowed by the earth occurred to Korach simultaneously for a particularly dramatic death for a formally great man.

While the cliché “the greater they are, the harder they fall,” could very well be associated with Korach, his story is also a warning to all, no matter how low or high, of the dangers of the twin emotions of self-destruction: envy and arrogance. May we steer clear of both.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the memory of Rabbanit Tova Rhein z”l.

5781, Bechor Shor, Korach, Numbers, Parsha

Premeditated Ritual Entrapment? (Korach)

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Premeditated Ritual Entrapment? (Korach)

It is a revenge the devil sometimes takes upon the virtuous, that he entraps them by the force of the very passion they have suppressed and think themselves superior to. -George Santayana

Korach, together with accomplices Datan and Aviram, instigate a rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, the sons of Amram. They encourage 250 distinguished leaders of Israel to protest against the seeming nepotism of Moses, the de facto leader, and his brother Aaron, the High Priest.

Moses offers an unusual solution to their protest. He suggests that the 250 rebels come in front of the Tabernacle, each with his own fire pan with burning incense on it. Aaron will also come with his, and God will decide directly who is worthy of the designation of High Priest.

The 250 leaders come the next morning with their fire pans filled with burning incense. Aaron also arrives. Besides holes miraculously opening up in the ground and swallowing up Datan, Aviram, and their entourage, God sends a fire that kills each of the 250 rebellious leaders holding their incense burning fire pans. Aaron, Moses, and all other non-participants are unharmed.

However, the people of Israel are furious with Moses and Aaron and accuse them of murder. The Bechor Shor on Numbers 17:6 takes the accusation seriously and tries to understand what’s behind the murder accusation.

He explains that the accusers felt that Moses knew incense burning was a dangerous act. Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu, had died by the hand of God for offering unauthorized incense. The rebel leaders had trusted Moses when he told them to bring their incense, but the accusers surmised that Moses must have known it would lead to their death, that handling incense was a death sentence to those who came in contact with it, except for Aaron who must have had some immunity.

God is not amused by the constant challenging of the leadership He chose. Having lost patience, He strikes the nation of Israel with an insanely fast-hitting plague. Moses, realizing God had struck, sends Aaron with incense in his ladle right into the middle of where the plague had started. Aaron rushes in and stops the plague, standing right in between the dead and the living; giving a very palpable demonstration that incense, correctly used, is not only not dangerous, but can save lives. In a matter of moments, 14,700 had died from the plague. Aaron and his incense were the only things that stood between the dead and the survivors.

May we realize the value of rituals as well as the value of good deeds.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

On the marriage of our niece Leora Spitz to Sammy Landesman. Mazal Tov!

5780, Korach, Meshech Chochma, Numbers, Parsha

The Meaning of Holiness (Korach)

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The Meaning of Holiness (Korach)

God created the flirt as soon as he made the fool. -Victor Hugo

The word “Holy” (Kadosh or Kodesh in Hebrew) is used extensively in the Torah. There are many Hebrew words whose etymological root “k-d-sh” stems from the concept of holy, sacred, sanctified, consecrated. Most people are familiar with “Kadish,” the mourner’s prayer, where we sanctify God’s name in that prayer. In Hebrew, to marry is “lekadesh,” and the marriage ceremony is called “kiddushin.” The Temple is called the “Bet Hamikdash” (literally, the sanctified house). The innermost chamber of the Temple is known as the “Kodesh Kodashim” (the Holy of Holies).

In talking about the portions of the sacrifices which the Kohens would consume as part of the Tabernacle (and Temple) service, the Torah states as follows:

This shall be yours from the most holy sacrifices, the offerings by fire: every such offering that they render to Me as most holy sacrifices, namely, every meal-offering, sin-offering, and guilt-offering of theirs, shall belong to you and your sons. You shall partake of them as most sacred donations: only males may eat them; you shall treat them as consecrated. – Numbers 18:9-10

The Meshech Chochma wonders as to why the Torah emphasizes that only a Kohen and his sons, only males, may eat from these sacred sacrifices.

He explains that these holy offerings were eaten exclusively in the Temple courtyard. The eating was part of their divine service. Women were not allowed to eat with them there. The men needed to be focused on consuming these offerings in a state of single-minded divine service. Were they to perform this service accompanied by women, it would turn into a social affair that would sidetrack the Kohens from focusing on the sacrificial service.

The Meshech Chochma adds that this separation of men and women during the holy service is the very essence of what “holiness” means. He states that wherever the Torah refers to “holiness” it is creating a fence against promiscuity. Marriage, “kiddushin,” for example, is the consecration of the bond of a couple, a unique and holy relationship, excluding and prohibiting all other romantic relationships.

May we gain a deeper appreciation for what holiness, “kodesh,” means.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the partial end of the school year and the partial start of the summer. We’ll take what we can get.

5779, Berdichever, Korach, Numbers, Parsha, The Times of Israel

Master’s Words, Disciple’s Actions (Korach)

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Master’s Words, Disciple’s Actions (Korach)

It is not whether your words or actions are tough or gentle; it is the spirit behind your actions and words that announces your inner state. -Ching Ning Chu

The events in the Torah portion of Korach, the rebellion that Korach led against Moses, occurs after the Sin of the Spies and the decree of forty years of wandering in the desert. That generation of Israelites, known as the Generation of the Desert, would never cross the Jordan River, would never enter the Promised Land. Their children are the ones who would fight the battles, conquer the land, see the promise fulfilled.

The Berdichever explores some interesting differences between the Generation of the Desert, under the leadership of Moses, and the generation that entered Israel, under the leadership of Moses’ disciple, Joshua.

He takes his cue from the Hebrew word for desert (Midbar) which has the same root as the word “speaks” (Medaber) and demonstrates a deep connection in our story. Moses, the leader of the Generation of the Desert, accomplished things primarily via speech. In this week’s reading, Moses speaks, and God causes the earth to swallow the rebels. Moses is the great orator. He speaks with God. He speaks the word of God to the nation of Israel. Ironically, even though when we first meet Moses, he states his suffering of a speech impediment, he subsequently speaks more than any other person in the Torah. Moses undoubtedly has a divinely-powered faculty of speech.

Joshua on the other hand, the leader of the generation that entered Israel, is a man of action. When Israel fights Amalek shortly after their departure from Egypt, it is Joshua who leads the actual fighting. He continues to lead active battles when they enter Israel.

However, there is one curious exception. When Joshua conquers Jericho, the first city they encounter after crossing the Jordan, they conquer it exclusively by the sound of their voices and Shofar blasts. After a siege of seven days and an enforced silence upon the Israelite troops, Shofar blasts and the cries of the Israelite soldiers cause the walls of Jericho to come tumbling down, decisively ending the siege without one armed strike.

The Berdichever explains that the miraculous conquest of Jericho was in merit of the Sabbath. The “audio” attack of Jericho occurred on the Sabbath. He quotes the Kabbalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria (the ARI), who elaborates as follows: The elevated, superior “mind” of the master (in this case, Moses), is not generally within reach of the disciple (Joshua). Moses’ mind was so powerful, so refined, that he was able to affect the world just by the power of speech. Joshua was not at the same level as Moses (the classic comparison is that if Moses was the sun, then Joshua was the moon). Joshua affected this world as most mortals do – through action. However, the Sabbath has a special quality which allows the disciple to grasp the mind of the master. It allows the disciple to possess, even if for a limited time, some of the powers, some of the capabilities of the master.

Joshua uses his master’s powers of speech to supernatural effect by causing, just with sonic waves, the walls of Jericho to fall.

May we realize the underlying powers of both speech and action and always use them for good.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To our daughter, Tiferet, on her graduation and moving on to high school! Mazal Tov!

5778, Korach, Numbers, Parsha, Rabbeinu Bechaye, The Times of Israel

The Posture of Prayer (Korach)

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The Posture of Prayer (Korach)

In prayer it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart. -John Bunyan

Jewish prayer is filled with a variety of different body positions and movements that to the uninitiated may seem confusing. We sit, we stand, we bow, we take steps forward, backwards, we lean on our arm, we stand with our legs together, and thanks to Chassidic influence many also “shuckle” (a back-and-forth shaking movement).

In the confrontation at the start of Korach’s rebellion against the leadership of Moses, Moses and Aaron are described as “falling on their faces.” Rabbeinu Bechaye on Number 16:22 (Korach) claims that this is the source of our own leaning on our arms during a particularly contrite portion of the daily prayer.

He explains that when Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, it demonstrates three things:

  1. It demonstrates fear and awe of the Almighty;
  2. It demonstrates anguish and submission;
  3. It demonstrates the “imprisonment” of one’s faculties and annulment of one’s senses.

He further delves into how each of these aspects is demonstrated:

By covering our face with our arm, we show humility and shame in front of God. It also shows anguish and submission, prerequisites for repentance. God, seeing our anguish is more likely to accept our prayers. And by covering our eyes and closing our mouth, we show our blindness and our inability to accomplish anything for ourselves without God’s approval.

He observes that the nations of the world have the custom of putting their hands together in prayer from this very same concept of demonstrating that their hands are bound and that they are submitting themselves to the one to whom they are praying, though they themselves no longer realize the biblical origin of their custom.

The Jewish custom of keeping our legs together and unmoving during the silent prayer is a stronger demonstration of this principle, as the movements of the legs are greater than those of the hands to reach ones’ goals and to distance oneself from harm.

However, while many of the positions and movements during prayer are filled with symbolism and significance, without meaningful intent, it is little more than light calisthenics.

May we understand, mean and feel our prayers, no matter how much or little we move.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the residents of Netiv Ha’avot who were forcefully evicted from their homes. May they be resettled quickly, with greater strength and numbers.

5777, Hirsch, Korach, Numbers, Parsha, The Times of Israel

The Authority of Servitude

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The Authority of Servitude

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant. -Max De Pree

Some of the high and mighty of Israel contest the authority of Moses. Moses’ reaction is unusual. He falls on his face. He doesn’t debate with Korach and his followers. He doesn’t remind them that God chose him. He doesn’t mention that he consistently refused the job and repeatedly asked God to choose someone else. Moses, the unquestionable choice of God to lead the people of Israel, doesn’t do any of what we might expect him to do to buttress his position and exert his divinely-ordained authority.

Rabbi Hirsch on Numbers 16:4 explains the rationale for Moses’ submissive response of falling on his face, as opposed to the myriad of stronger responses he could have faced this rebellion with.

Korach and his followers weren’t being rationale. They had an agenda, with little connection to the reality or history of their miraculous exodus from Egypt and the direct divine revelations they encountered in the dessert. Moses understood that it would be folly to debate these people. Furthermore, since God had appointed Moses, it was God’s job to reaffirm His decision that Moses was his choice. The discussion was out of Moses’ hands.

Rabbi Hirsch explains further:

“The veracity of a messenger can be confirmed only by the one who sent him; so, too, the authenticity of Moses’ mission can be confirmed only by God Himself. For this reason Moses does not utter a word to counter Korach’s accusations. If God would not consider it proper to refute Korach’s words by reconfirming the authenticity of Moses’s mission, then his mission was indeed at an end, and so “he fell on his face.”

However, we know that God did indeed intervene in a most dramatic way which cost Korach and the rebels their lives. The authority of Moses and Aaron is clearly demonstrated by God, to the eventual satisfaction of the nation of Israel. God retained the men that demonstrated true service and violently and destructively removed the self-serving demagogues.

May our varied leaders understand the meaning of service.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To the authoritative team at Farsight, for their incredible example of service.

5776, Korach, Numbers, Parsha, Sfat Emet, The Times of Israel

Strength of our Fathers

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Strength of our Fathers

My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my courage and skill to him that can get it. -John Bunyan

Lightsaber_LukeObiWan

Korach leads a rebellion against Moses, Aaron and their leadership of Israel. They are accused of unlawfully ruling over the people. Moses seems to take the personal attack to heart and prays to God that the death of the rebels should be most unnatural, a change of the very laws of creation.

Not a moment later and the very earth opens up miraculously and swallows the rebels whole. The Sfat Emet in 5636 (1876) learns an unusual lesson from the episode and the subsequent good stature of Korach’s sons and the eventual leadership of their descendent, the prophet Samuel.

The Sfat Emet explains that by the miraculous punishment of Korach and his companions, when they were sent alive to Sheol (apparently an unpleasant afterworld), they retained their own errors and sins and did not pass them on to their descendants. Had they died in a more conventional fashion, their sons would have inherited their characteristics, including the negative traits that would not have allowed their descendants to have reached the levels of prophecy which they did.

The Sfat Emet therefore states that when a person dies, their children inherit their characteristics, their strengths and their capabilities and continue to contribute positively to the wider community as their parents did before, so that in a sense the power of the parent is never lost, neither to the family nor to the entire community.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

In memory of Rabbi Miki Mark hy”d.

5775, Baal Haturim, Korach, Numbers, Parsha, The Times of Israel

Corruptibility

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First posted on The Times of Israel at: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/korach-corruptibility/

Baal Haturim Numbers: Korach

Corruptibility

Remember, when the judgment’s weak, the prejudice is strong. -K. O’Hara

corruption

The theme of justice runs strongly throughout the Torah. We are advised to pursue justice diligently. One of the first organizational efforts of the nascent nation of Israel is to create a justice system. Judges were appointed to represent every ten individuals, with a system of additional judges to handle cases that may have been too difficult for the parochial judges.

This court system is likewise warned of the danger of bribes, with the famous line that “the bribe will blind the sharp ones, and will corrupt the words of the wise.”

The Baal Haturim on Numbers 18:19 explains that a judge’s corruptibility is directly dependent on his financial situation. If the judge is independently wealthy “like a king,” states the Baal Haturim, then his judgement and his rulings will be established and impervious to financial considerations. If, however, the judge is needy “like a Cohen,” (the Cohen in biblical times was completely dependent on the donations, handouts and charity of the Israelite landowners), then his judgements and rulings will only lead to ruin, as he may have other pressures or considerations in mind, besides those of absolute justice.

May we reach levels of success that will make us incorruptible.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

Dedication

To my teacher from many years ago, Rabbi Kalman Ber, current Chief Rabbi of the city of Netanya. It was an incredible surprise and delight to have him in Montevideo.

5774, Korach, Netziv, Numbers, Parsha, The Times of Israel

Too Holy

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First posted on The Times of Israel at: http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/korach-too-holy/

Netziv Numbers: Korach

Too Holy 

“Fanatical religion driven to a certain point is almost as bad as none at all, but not quite.” -Will Rogers

My Talmud instructor (Rebbe) at Yeshiva University (YU), Rabbi Shimon Romm of blessed memory, had a lasting impact on me. Since his childhood he was considered a Torah prodigy. He was an alumnus of the famed Mir Yeshiva that escaped the Nazis and ended up for a time in Shanghai. After Shanghai, he spent a number of years in Israel and subsequently moved to New York. At YU he was one of the only Rabbis that gave his classes in Hebrew. He had a photographic memory and a sharp sense of humor.

A line I heard from him often was “don’t be too religious”. He was particularly acerbic against the growing movement of Jews who continually sought greater levels of strictures in the name of religion. In that sense, he mirrored the thoughts of the Netziv on the episode of Korach and his supporters.

In this week’s Torah reading, two hundred and fifty men of ostensibly high religious standing join Korach’s desert rebellion against the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Korach and his supporters are killed by very clear divine intervention, with the two hundred and fifty men being burned by divine fire when they bring incense as part of their effort to reach an even higher level than what they were at.

The Netziv warns in Numbers 16:1 that an attempt to reach too high in ones holiness can actually lead a person to go against basic commandments that God does demand we perform. It becomes ironic that a person seeking to become holier ends up failing in basic principles. The Netziv claims that though the person may get some credit for good intentions, they are nonetheless punished by God for their wrong-headed, holier-than-thou, anti-Torah acts.

As something else that Rabbi Romm would say: “Be a mentsch (well-behaved man) before trying to be a tzaddik (a holy man).”

May we aim for high levels of holiness, without forgetting the more fundamental commandments that are the basis of good, proper human relationships.

Shabbat Shalom,

Ben-Tzion

 

Dedication

To the safe and speedy return of Eyal, Gilad and Naftali.

Mazal Tov to our Akiva on his graduation from high school.