Transcript
Good morning, good morning, בוקר טוב Boker tov. Welcome back to Parsha Perspectives for today may be a day of בשורות טובות besoros tovos, a ceasefire hold, that there be peace, let חמאס Hamas surrender, let the hostages come home. Let's continue to have, אמירצה השם im yirtzeh Hashem, victory and good news. Our פרשה parsha series is generously sponsored by Becky and Avi Katz and family in memory of David Grossman. We're very grateful to the Katzes for sponsoring in memory of Becky's father, לעלוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנוס l'iluy nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Manus. This morning is also sponsored by Ron Eisenberg in honor of his father's יארצייט yahrzeit, מרדכי Mordechai Eisenberg, on ג' תמוז Gimmel Tammuz, and in honor of his daughter who was born on the same day as his father's יארצייט yahrzeit. And this morning's שיעור shiur is also dedicated in memory of my זיידע zeideh. My grandfather's יארצייט yahrzeit is tonight and tomorrow, Sam Aboff, שמואל בן יונה גדליה Shmuel ben Yona Gedalia. Tremendous man, gentle giant, we miss him terribly, and our learning is לעלוי נשמת l'iluy nishmas.So, פרשת קרח Parshas Korach, page 820 in the Artscroll Stone חומש Chumash. ויקח קרח בן יצהר בן קהת בן לוי ודתן ואבירם בני אליאב ואון בן פלת בני ראובן Vayikach Korach ben Yitzhar ben Kehas ben Levi v'Dasan v'Aviram bnei Eliav v'On ben Peles bnei Reuven. After making our way through ספר ויקרא Sefer Vayikra, such esoteric, complicated, detailed laws, we're now back in the narrative of ספר במדבר Sefer Bamidbar. Unfortunately, it's not an uplifting and a happy and a gratifying and a positive narrative. It's complaint, it's failed mission, it's rebellion, it's divisiveness and מחלוקת machlokes. And yet the Torah communicates it all because our sacred Torah is not trying to pretend to be a utopian document, to capture a utopian life. It's not painting a picture of perfect people living perfectly. It's rather describing a reality. It's describing imperfect people, human beings with all of our failures and all of our foibles and all of our challenges. And that too is an inspiration to all of us because the Torah is giving us the blueprint, the recipe for how to navigate and overcome so much of it.So the פרשה parsha begins with the word ויקח קרח Vayikach Korach. And we've discussed this many times in the past. You can listen to all the שיעורים shiurim, of course, from before. ויקח Vayikach, the word ויקח vayikach means and קרח Korach and קרח Korach took. Which begs the question, what did he take? If I say, \"And you took,\" I would continue to say, \"And you took the box of tissues, you took the phone, you took the last piece of beef jerky.\" You took something. ויקח Vayikach. And yet the פסוק pasuk goes on, ויקח Vayikach, and it never tells us what he took. ויקח Vayikach, and קרח Korach took. Who is קרח Korach? All of a sudden we get on a it's like an ADD פסוק pasuk. We get on this distraction. We go on this detour. קרח Korach, the son of יצהר Yitzhar, the son of קהת Kehas, the son of לוי Levi, and דתן ואבירם Dasan v'Aviram, and און בן פלת בני ראובן On ben Peles bnei Reuven. Well what happened to ויקח Vayikach, the opening word?So רש\"י Rashi says, לקח את עצמו לצד אחד, להיות נחלק מתוך העדה לעורר על הכהונה lakach es atzmo l'tzad echad, l'heyos nechlak mitoch ha'eida l'orer al hakehuna. He took himself to one side. He divided himself. Instead of being part of, integrated, connected, of a whole, of a community of people, he extracted himself. He divided himself. ויקח Vayikach. What did he take? The answer is, he took himself. וזה שתרגם אונקלוס ואתפלג נחלק משאר עדא לאחזק מחלוקת V'zeh shetirgem Onkelos v'ispaleg nechelok m'shaar eida l'achzok machlokes. ואתפלג V'ispaleg is like a פלוגתא plugta. In the Gemara, a פלוגתא plugta means a מחלוקת machlokes, a debate. So תרגום Targum טייטש'ס taitches the word ויקח vayikach, not \"he took,\" \"he divided.\" ויקח Vayikach means he divided. He divided. In order to hold on to מחלוקת machlokes, לוקח אותך להפליכך משאר בני אדם lokeach oscha l'haflicha m'shaar bnei Adam.So says רב שמואל בערנבוים Rav Shmuel Berenbaum in תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, asking on Rashi: לקח את עצמו לצד אחד לעורר לכאורה, המקלוקת מזעור תחילה ורק אחר כך לקח את עצמו לצד אחד lakach es atzmo l'tzad echad l'orer lichora, hamachlokes meza'er techila v'rak achar kach lokach es atzmo l'tzad echad. It's out of order. What happens? First someone does something to upset you, to aggravate you, you're divided, you have a debate, you have a מחלוקת machlokes, and then, לקח את עצמו לצד אחד lakach es atzmo l'tzad echad. An issue arises. There's two ways to see it. Something breaks out, a debate, a fight, an argument, in a community, in an institution, God forbid in a family. So first the מחלוקת machlokes rises, and then you choose a side. You don't choose a side and then have a מחלוקת machlokes. למה כתב רש\"י תחילה לקח את עצמו לצד אחד Lama kosav Rashi techila lokach es atzmo l'tzad echad, at first he chose a side, and then חלק על הכהונה chalak al hakehuna, and then he had a debate, a disagreement, he accused Moshe and Aharon of usurping, of taking the כהונה kehuna. It's out of order. First there's a debate, and then you choose a side. You don't choose a side and then have a מחלוקת machlokes.So that's what he asks, the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, that is the question. ויש לומר v'yeish lomar, says the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, זה גופא, שהקפיד קרח על מה שמינה משה רבינו את אליצפן בן עוזיאל והרגיש בלא אחדות עם משה רבינו shehikpid Korach al ma shemina Moshe Rabbeinu es Elitzafan ben Uziel v'hirgish b'lo achdus im Moshe Rabbeinu. That is exactly how it works. The very question is the insight. We said first you see there's a debate, there's an issue, and you choose a side. But it's not true. Sometimes you choose a side. The other person so bothers you, the other person is so different than you, the other person you so recoil or withdraw from, לקח את עצמו לצד אחד lakach es atzmo l'tzad echad, all you know is, I can't stand them. I'm in a debate with them. What's it about? We'll figure it out. What am I upset about? What am I outraged over? What am I arguing about? I don't know, we'll figure it out. But all I know is, I disagree with them. I have nothing to do with them. All I know is, they're wrong. They're wrong. אז כל מה שנעשה אחר כך הוא רואה זה בעין הרע, ודן אותו לכף חובה Az kol ma shena'asa achar kach hu ro'eh zeh b'ayin hara, v'dan oso l'chaf chova. So after Moshe appointed Elitzafan ben Uziel and he says, \"I want nothing to do with those people.\" \"Ah, what am I upset about? What am I disagreeing about?\" We'll figure it out afterwards. But all I know is, the first thing is, I disagree.And you see this today in our time. The level of hyper-partisanship is insane. So what happens is nothing's getting done in the government here in America. Why? Because all I know is they're a Republican, I'm a Democrat. I'm a Republican, they're a Democrat. All I know is, whatever they say, I disagree with. I'll then I'll hear what they have to say. Not, \"Let me hear and maybe we agree, maybe we disagree.\" How can anyone not see it as an outrageous success to obliterate Iran's nuclear program and not go to war? All everyone should be saying is ישר כח yishar koach, it's an outrageous success. But if you're on the other side of the aisle, you have to say, no, no, he usurped his powers, he had to go to Congress, he violated an act. And by the way, the same was true in the other direction. Depending on who's in office. So when the Democrats are in office, the Republicans said they usurped their power, they had to go to Congress. Instead of looking and saying we're united, we have this in common. This was a goal, this was an achievement. ישר כח Yishar koach, congratulations. There's a hyper-partisanship that exists in this world. First, I'm in a מחלוקת machlokes. You're the other side of the aisle. You're the other side. Now, what are we arguing over? We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. All I'm confident, all I know is one thing, we disagree. What's the issue? I don't know, we'll find out. I just know we disagree.התחלה של מחלוקת בין שני אנשים כשהם עושים את עצמם לשני צדדים Hatchala shel machlokes bein shnei anashim k'shehem osim es atzmam l'shnei tz'dadim. So you see that where does מחלוקת machlokes begin? You can have a healthy disagreement. Any topic that comes off, we have a fantastic program started after COVID, called Off the Record. After the 9 o'clock minyan, we sit, we make לחיים l'chaim, we have קידוש kiddush, we bring up a controversial topic and it's a chance not for the rabbis to speak. Everyone can voice their opinion. And it's a beautiful, beautiful conversation. It's an outstanding, smashing success. And people disagree, they disagree vociferously and vehemently and passionately, and then they drink לחיים l'chaim and eat cholent and say we're one community, we're one people. There are legitimate things to disagree about. But the question is, are you having a legitimate disagreement but you're really united? Or are you divided and now you find that you disagree about everything? You see that the beginning, the beginning of מחלוקת machlokes, of a pernicious, negative, destructive debate is to first see yourself as שני צדדים shnei tz'dadim. As long... In other words, you have a shul board and there's a policy that has to be debated. So do you say, \"Let's start with this. We're all invested in the well-being of our community. We're all equally committed, we all equally care about the well-being of our community.\" Now we can have a healthy discussion how to pursue that. What should the policy look like? But really we're united, there's no other. You're not the other, the other side. We're united. But when it begins with \"You're the other, you're the other side,\" ויקח קרח, לקח את עצמו לצד אחד Vayikach Korach, lakach es atzmo l'tzad echad. When you live a life of \"us and them,\" there's the other side and me. And now later you fill in what you're arguing about, that's how you get to destructive מחלוקת machlokes, devastating מחלוקת machlokes. כשהוא עושה את עצמו לשני צדדים, שהוא צד אחד והאחר הוא צד שני, זה התחלה של מחלוקת, רחמנא ליצלן K'shehu oseh es atzmo lishnei tz'dadim, shehu tzad echad v'ha'acher hu tzad sheini, zeh hatchala shel machlokes, rachmana litzlan. וזהו כוונת רש\"י, ויקח V'zehu kavanas Rashi, vayikach. And that's what Korach said, ויקח vayikach. שמיד שקרח לקח את עצמו לצד אחד לא הרגיש כחבורה אחת עם משה רבינו Shemiyad she'Korach lakach es atzmo l'tzad echad, lo hirgish k'chevura achas im Moshe Rabbeinu. If he said, \"Moshe, you're my cousin. No, let's go out. Let's have some sushi. Let's talk about what's going on. You're my cousin, I love you. We equally care about the future of the Jewish people. I've got some concerns. I want to share with you. In the end, we're united and we love each other.\" But when it starts ויקח לצד אחד vayikach l'tzad echad, you're the other side. I can't talk to you, I can't break bread with you, I can't give you a שלום עליכם shalom aleichem, you're the other side. זה יסוד מחלוקת Zeh yesod machlokes. Because really it should be the opposite. It says in the תפארת שמואל Tiferes Shmuel, when כשהיו באים לראש ישיבה, איש ואשתו k'shehayu bo'im l'rosh yeshiva, ish v'ishto. When a couple would go meet with Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, the Rosh Yeshiva of the Mir Brooklyn, to meet with them about שלום בית shalom bayis. Couple had conflict. Couple had conflict, there were issues, שלום בית shalom bayis challenges. Or two brothers who were having a fight about business. כשהיו נכנסים לחדרו k'shehayu nichnasim l'chedro, when they would come into his office, he saw the following. He had a table set up with chairs on both sides. If they sat on opposite sides of the table, he understood the issue. He would say, first, one of you move. When you sit next to each other on the same side of the table, I can meet with you, and now we can have a conversation. If you position yourself as opposites, if when you sit down, you're enemies, you're adversaries, you're opposites, לצד אחד l'tzad echad, you're on other sides, you're divided, you're partisan, then we're never going to break through. But when you can sit on the same side of the table, and what's true, it's important how you sit, the posture you take physically, reflects and indicates a lot of what you're thinking, a lot of where you're holding. So when you walk in a room and you sit on other sides of the table and you cross your arms and you sit back and you fold your legs and you can't make eye contact, it's telling you everything about whether you're really open to שלום shalom, to שלום בית shalom bayis, to figuring it out. When you sit on, you know I have a couch in my office. I used to have a table and had the same phenomenon. People sitting on either side. And I realized that a couch is much more productive for the meetings I have. So I have a couch that's like an L. It's a couch with a corner. And when a couple walks in, do they sit next to each other on the couch, or do they sit on opposite of the couch? And it tells you so much where they're thinking, how they're feeling, and what they want the outcome to be. What they want the outcome to be. If you sit on the other side, then it's לקח את עצמו לצד אחר lakach es atzmo l'tzad acher. You're going to another side. If you sit next to, we're here, we're working something through, we need some advice and some support, but the goal is we're united, the goal is that we're one.And that in fact is the mission of the Jewish people. Because כלל ישראל בעצם Klal Yisrael b'etzem, in our essence, we're one. כאיש אחד בלב אחד k'ish echad b'lev echad. ולכן יש חיוב גדול של ואהבת לרעך כמוך V'lachen yeish chiyuv gadol shel v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha, we're one, we're united. And that's why we have an obligation to love our neighbor as ourself. ומיא כשחס ושלום נפרדים ואינם מרגישים את האחדות u'miyad k'she'chas v'shalom nifradim v'einam margishim es ha'achdus, when that splinters, when that breaks down, when that dissolves, when we become צד אחד, צד אחד tzad echad, tzad echad, partisan, opposite sides of an aisle, when there's an aisle breaking the Jewish people, then we lose our ואהבת לרעך כמוך v'ahavta l'reacha kamocha, we lose our sense of כאיש אחד בלב אחד k'ish echad b'lev echad, and then we're in danger, and then we're in trouble, and then we're in trouble.I wrote an article, I didn't put it out yet, hopefully later today, for my article for this week. I was at a wedding on Sunday and at the חופה chuppah, we all stood towards the end of the חופה chuppah for the מי שברך לצבא Mi Shebeirach l'tzahal. A beautiful rendition of it from my buddy Shim Cramer. I haven't been to a wedding since October 7th and I've been to dozens and dozens and dozens, ברוך השם baruch Hashem, just since October 7th, I haven't been to a wedding since October 7th that didn't include maybe it was תהילים Tehillim, maybe it was the מי שברך לצבא Mi Shebeirach l'tzahal, but it wasn't business as usual. An acknowledgment and recognition, a pause on our joy that there's a war going on in our holy land, our brothers and sisters, people on the front line. And certainly this past Sunday while in the aftermath of the attack on Iran and the uncertainty of what was going to be. And it occurred to me, as America entered the war on מוצאי שבת Motzei Shabbos and Saturday night and I stood at that חופה chuppah listening and closing my eyes and adding our own תפילות tefillos to the מי שברך לצבא Mi Shebeirach l'tzahal, I was thinking, in all of America's wars, against Afghanistan, against Iraq, was there one American wedding that was interrupted with a prayer for the troops? In America, was there one American wedding interrupted to, maybe if there was an immediate family member of the bride or groom, maybe, maybe. But it's unlikely. Was there, were there, were there many, were there any American weddings interrupted with a prayer for American troops?And yet, here we are 6,000 miles away and Jews around the world, wherever they are, can't go on with their שמחה simcha if there are Jews in harm's way. Because that's what it means, that's what it means to be one. That's what it means to be one. So it reminded me. The Gemara in several places, יבמות, בבא מציעא, כריתות Yevamos, Bava Metzia, Krisus, the Gemara says, \"You, אתם atem, you the Jewish people are קרויים אדם kruyim adam. You're called אדם adam. But the nations of the world, the אומות העולם umos ha'olam are not called אדם adam.\" And read simply, it's a horribly prejudiced and biased statement. Only the Jewish people are called people, are called man, and the other nations of the world, the other non-Jews of the world, they're not worthy of being called אדם adam, man. Wow. That's pretty harsh. That sounds pretty biased. Rabbi friend shares a story that has an insight. In 1912 in Russia, Mendel Beilis was accused of killing a Christian child and using his blood to bake מצות matzos. One of the horrible blood libels. And Beilis was put on trial. And the slander and the variations of it were prevalent for many years in Europe and even believe it or not in New York in the beginning of the 20th century. And these were blood libels, and choose, continue. Anyone who accuses Israel of a of a genocide in Gaza is a modern-day blood libel. The blood libels have a new form but they still continue. So Beilis's lawyer was very afraid that when they got to court the opposing counsel to buttress their case as evidence that Jews look at non-Jewish blood as inferior, as less than, would quote this Gemara, in no less than three places, יבמות, בבא מציעא, כריתות Yevamos, Bava Metzia, Krisus, אתם קרויים אדם atem kruyim adam, the Jewish people are אדם adam, and non-Jews are not אדם adam. And the lawyer was worried, how will I refute, how will I defend, how will I explain this statement of the rabbis in in Beilis's defense? So the lawyer went to go see the צ'ורטקובער רבי Chortkover Rebbe and asked him, how will I respond to the opposing counsel raises this Gemara as evidence that Jews look down on non-Jews and indeed, maybe Mendel Beilis baked a with non-Jewish blood, how will I answer?So the צ'ורטקובער רבי Chortkover Rebbe said the following. He said, \"If an Italian was seized and put on trial, we would not witness a scenario where all Italians were congregating in their churches to pray for the one Italian. And the same can be said about the French for a Frenchman or about any other nation, any other ethnicity, any other race. If one were on trial, it wouldn't make everybody gather in their place of worship, they wouldn't gather to rally for that person, they wouldn't pray for him around the world. But when a Jew is seized and put on trial, the solidarity that Jews have towards one another is that Jews around the world stop and daven for the welfare of that Jew. That's uniquely Jewish,\" said the צ'ורטקובער רבי Chortkover Rebbe, that's the פשט pshat. You see, we have many words in Hebrew for man. איש, אנשים Ish, anashim. גבר, גברים gever, gvarim. Every synonym that we have for man has a singular and a plural. How do you say אדם adam in plural? You can't and you don't, because there is no plural. It's אדם adam for the individual and the plural because the only people on earth who interrupt their weddings, all of them, to pray for people and soldiers on another side of the world, are כלל ישראל Klal Yisrael, are עם ישראל Am Yisrael. מי כעמך ישראל גוי אחד בארץ Mi k'amcha Yisrael goy echad ba'aretz. This is something that is uniquely, special, uniquely Jewish, and that's what the Gemara means. אתם קרויים אדם Atem kruyim adam, you're the only ones that could be used a word that has no plural, because you're so united. It's not knocking, it's not prejudice, it's not bias. It's not saying non-Jews are inferior. It's a phenomenon, and it's a 100% true phenomenon. The only people on Earth that interrupt their lives, wherever they are, because a Jew is in trouble, are the Jewish people. אתם קרויים אדם Atem kruyim adam. And that's the opposite of ויקח קרח vayikach Korach. ויקח קרח Vayikach Korach was so dangerous, so catastrophic, so so destructive, because Korach was introducing this notion of ויקח vayikach. לקח עצמו לצד אחד Lakach atzmo l'tzad echad. Jews are ever on another side? We might be having a healthy debate, but we're never on the other side. We're always on the same side. A couple can have a healthy debate about what to do in a particular circumstance, but they're always on the same side of the well-being of their family. And Korach introduces this notion of ויקח vayikach, of being taken and going to the other side. And when you go to the other side, that was incredibly, incredibly dangerous for the Jewish people.Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, a second piece of Shmuel Berenbaum, continues. The Rambam in Iggeres Teiman writes, וכן אמרו רבותינו זכרונם לברכה, כל המסתפק בנבואה שעמד על הר סיני, המקום יצילני ויצילכם מן הספק ויחזק ממנו ומכם המחשבה אשר מביא לידי ספק ולידי מכשול V'chein amru raboseinu zichronam livracha, kol hamistapek b'nevua she'amad al Har Sinai, hamakom yatzileinu v'yatzilchem min hasafek v'yarchik mimenu u'mikem hamachshava asher mevia lidei safek v'lidei michshol. וקשה V'kashe, says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, הלא קרח ועדתו עמדו על הר סיני halo Korach v'adaso amdu al Har Sinai. The Rambam writes that anybody who doubts prophecy wasn't at Har Sinai. If you challenge Moshe's authority, his leadership, you weren't at Har Sinai, where it was clear Moshe's role as appointed by Hashem. So asks Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, \"I don't understand. Korach and his entire, his whole, his whole group, thank you, his faction, they were all at Har Sinai. כמו שאמרו כי כל העדה כולם קדושים K'mo she'amru ki kol ha'eida kulam kedoshim. Rashi says, כולם שמעו דברים מפי הגבורה kulam shamu d'varim mipi ha'Gevura. When they said we're all equally holy, says Rashi, what they meant is all, we were all equally at Har Sinai.\" So if indeed they were all equally at Har Sinai, how could they make such a terrible mistake to challenge Moshe's authority? בפסח יתרו כתוב ואמר משה לעם הר סיני וגם בו יאמינו לעולם, אם כן איך חלקו קרח על משה רבנו B'parshas Yisro kosuv v'omer Moshe l'am Har Sinai, v'gam bo ya'aminu l'olam. Im kein, keitzad chalku Korach al Moshe Rabbeinu. If the Rambam says anyone at Har Sinai would see the authority of Moshe, the prophecy of Moshe, and if you challenge Moshe's authority and prophecy, all it means is you weren't at Har Sinai. So how could it be? Korach and his eida were at Har Sinai, and yet, they were challenging the authority. So listen to this insight. Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, ויש לומר על פי פשטות דיש לדמות את הכופרים במשה רבנו למה שאנו רואים היום V'yeish lomar al pi pshutus, d'yesh l'damos es ha'kofrim b'Moshe Rabbeinu l'ma she'anu ro'im hayom. You see the challenge, the כפירה kfira, the denial, the heresy of the authority of Moshe is similar to what we see today. יש אנשים שמחישים בהצרות והנוראות שעברו על כלל ישראל במלחמת העולם השניה Yeish anashim she'machishim b'tzaros v'hanoraos she'avru al Klal Yisrael b'Milchemes Ha'olam Ha'shniya, Holocaust deniers. Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, of course, was talking decades ago, but it didn't take long after the Holocaust for there to emerge Holocaust deniers, Holocaust deniers. By October 8th, there were October 7th deniers. Hamas videoed themselves. They wore GoPros and they videoed, they chronicled all their atrocity. It's undeniable, the record aside from the testimony that we have. And yet, and yet, by October 8th, there were October 7th deniers. אף על פי שיודעים האמת, הם רק אומרים כן משנאת ישראל. המציאות הוא שאחר כל כך הרבה פעמים שהם מחישים במזיד, הם מתחילים להאמין באמת שלא אירע את הצרות ההם, שטבע האדם להחזיק בדיבורו Af al pi sheyod'im ha'emes, heim rak omrim kein m'sinas Yisrael. Ha'metzius hu she'achar kol kach harbeh pa'amim sheheim machishim b'meizid, heim maschilim l'ha'amin b'emes shelo eira hatzaros haheim, sheteva ha'adam l'hachzik b'diburo. When you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. And that's what happens here, too. Yes, Korach and his eida were at Har Sinai. And yes, they knew that Moshe's authority and that he's the אב הנביאים av ha'nevi'im, the father of all prophets. But they began to say a lie. And when you repeat the lie often enough, it becomes a truth. וכן היה יצרו של קרח ועדתו, ודאי ידעו שמשה אמת ותורתו אמת, וכשהתחילו לחפור, התם שחלקו עליו בני ישראל שרצו הכבוד V'chein hayah yitzro shel Korach v'adato. V'adai yad'u she'Moshe emes v'soraso emes. K'shehischilu lachpor, hatam shechalku alav Bnei Yisrael sheratzu hakavod. When they first said about Moshe, \"Who is he? What's his authority? Who put him in charge?\" They knew he was in charge. What they really meant was, \"We want honor, we want distinction, we want power.\" But in the context of their pursuit of power, they introduced this idea, \"Who says Moshe is special?\" They knew he was special. But they began to repeat that lie. And when you repeat the lie over and over again, you forget the truth. He has a long essay about this, but that is the primary, that is the fundamental יסוד yesod. פרק טז פסוק ג Perek Tes Vov, Pasuk Gimmel.So they get up and they challenge, ויקהלו על משה ועל אהרן ויאמרו אליהם רב לכם, כי כל העדה כולם קדושים ובתוכם השם, ומדוע תתנשאו על קהל השם Vayikahalu al Moshe v'al Aharon vayomru aleihem rav lachem, ki chol ha'eida kulam kedoshim uv'socham Hashem, u'madua tisnasu al kehal Hashem. They they rally, they gather against Moshe, against Aharon, and they say, \"It's too much for you. All of us are equally holy. Why do you elevate yourself over the congregation of Hashem?\" Over the congregation of Hashem. \"Who are you? And what are you? And why do you raise yourself over everybody, over everybody else? Over everybody else?\" So says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, \"We're going to see other commentators today, but we got a few Tiferes Shmuels. אם לקחת אתה המלכות, לא היה לך לוותר על אחיך הכהונה Im lakachta ata hamalchus, lo hayah lecha l'vater al achicha hakehuna.\" You know, you got to have a division of powers. You took מלכות malchus, royalty. Why'd you make your brother the כהן kohen? So יפרוש השם להמיתם במיתה שלא מתו בה אדם עד הנה yifrosh Hashem l'hamisom b'misa shelo meisu ba adam ad heina. And Moshe says, \"What's his response?\" If you keep reading the rest of this פרק perek, Moshe says, בזאת תדעון b'zos teidun, Moshe says, \"Hashem, you've got to avenge my honor. You've got to knock them out, you've got to take them out.\" And Rashi quotes, listen to Rashi, להמיתם במיתה שלא מתו בה אדם עד הנה l'hamisom b'misa shelo meisu ba adam ad heina. Moshe appeals to God and says, רבנו של עולם Ribono shel Olam, kill them in a way no one has died until now. Wow. Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, \"What happened to the Moshe who's the most humble of all men? Where did the Moshe who always fought for and advocated for Klal Yisrael go? After חטא העגל chet ha'egel, what does Moshe Rabbeinu say? אם עין מחני נא מספרך אשר כתבת Im ayin, m'cheini na misifr'cha asher kasavta. Forgive them, if not erase me from your book. Now, after חטא העגל chet ha'egel, after חטא המרגלים chet ha'meraglim, after throughout the wilderness, after the מתאוננים mis'onenim, after each episode where the Jewish people are incorrigible complainers, where they rebel, where they make horrible mistakes, what does Moshe do each time? He prays to Hashem, forgive them, forgive them, forgive them. What does he do now here? Kill them a death nobody's ever seen before. What happened to the gentle, sweet plea for forgiveness, Moshe? What happened to the humble Moshe? Now all of a sudden his honor is challenged and Moshe goes from the sweet, gentle advocate, the one who is constantly standing up for and pleading with Hashem for forgiveness, and now instead all of a sudden he says, kill them with a death nobody's ever died from before. What happened? What happened?\" Says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, \"The חטאים הקודמים היו עבירות של תאוה וממילא היה מקום שמשה רבנו ילמד עליהם זכות לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא, שהיצר הרע של תאוה התגבר עליהם באותו מקום ובאותו זמן dachatoim hakodmim hayu aveiros shel ta'avah, u'memaila hayah makom sheMoshe Rabbeinu yelamed aleihem zchus lifnei haKadosh Baruch Hu, she'yetzer hara shel ta'avah hisgaber aleihem b'oso makom uv'oso zman.\" Earlier, all the other episodes of poor judgment, of mistakes, were failures of the יצר הרע yetzer hara, of תאוה ta'avah. They were distracted, they were tempted, they were seduced. The मन man tastes no good, we're worried about this, that's not right. The יצר הרע yetzer hara distracted them. ובאמת יכולים לעשות תשובה Uv'emes yecholim la'asos teshuva. So the יצר הרע yetzer hara when they panicked because Moshe didn't come back, you could do תשובה teshuva for. When the מרגלים meraglim gave into their fear, you could do יצר הרע yetzer hara for, you could do תשובה teshuva for. When they complained, the מתאוננים רע mis'onenim ra, you could do תשובה teshuva for. However, כאן שבאו לחלוק על נבואת משה רבנו, בזה זעזעו את היסודות של עולם kan sheba'u lachlok al nevuas Moshe Rabbeinu, b'zeh za'az'u es yesodos shel olam. They were going to undermine everything. If Moshe doesn't have authority, if Moshe is not reliable and credible and trustworthy, then the whole Torah that Moshe transmitted is undermined. Why do you have to keep Shabbos and kosher? Why do you have to give the kohen the first aliyah? Why do you have to be bound by the Torah's rules and regulations? If in fact Moshe has no authority, credibility, trustworthiness, if Moshe was not to be relied on for the transmission of Torah, then you undermine and you compromise, you corrupt the entire Torah, the whole Torah. הם מחישים בזה על האמונה שמשה אמת ותורתו אמת ומפילים כל דבריו, חס ושלום, אומרים בנגיעות לטובת עצמו Heim machishim b'zeh al ha'emunah she'Moshe emes v'soraso emes u'mapilim kol d'varav, chas v'shalom, omrim b'negius l'tovas atzmo. And they're suggesting that Moshe Rabbeinu, he's in it for the wrong reasons. He's all about honor, he's all about power, you can't trust what he's told, if you can't trust what he said, then you have nothing. You have no foundation of Yiddishkeit, you have no foundation, no foundation of Torah.And that's why, says Rav Shmuel Berenbaum, when it came to the other rebelliousness, you could accept their teshuva, you could advocate on their behalf for forgiveness because they indulged the yetzer hara, everyone's human. But this, if you indulge it, if you tolerate it, it would undermine everything. It would lead to such a rebellion, the Jewish people, their very future, the very way they were constituted, were threatened and could be altogether denied.Rabbi Sacks, in his Chumash, has a similar idea. Rabbi Sacks writes, \"The Korach rebellion is not just the worst of many in the wilderness years, it is also of a different kind. It is not about a problem the Jewish people have encountered, a lack of food or water, or a way through the sea, or the prospect of having to fight a battle against giants. It is an ad hominem attack on Moshe and Aharon. Korach and his fellow rebels accused Moshe of nepotism, of failure, and above all, of being a fraud, of attributing to God decisions and laws that Moshe has devised himself for his own ends. In contemporary terms, the Korach rebellion is a populist movement. Populism is the politics of anger. It appears when there's widespread discontent with political leaders, when people feel that heads of institutions are working in their own interest rather than that of the general public. People come to feel that the distribution of rewards is unfair. A few gain disproportionately, and the many stay static or lose. Discontent takes the form of the rejection of current political and cultural elites. Populist politicians claim that they, and they alone, are the true voice of the people. Populists stir up resentment against the establishment. They are deliberately divisive and confrontational. They promise strong leadership that will give the people back what has been taken from them. The Ramban is undoubtedly correct when he says, \"Such a challenge to Moshe's leadership would have been impossible at an earlier point.\"The Ramban was dealing with a question. What was the Ramban's question? When did Aharon get appointed the kohen? Way back when. We read all of Sefer Vayikra. Aharon is anointed, Aharon is elevated, Aharon is preparing and lighting the menorah. Aharon and his sons. Why does it take until now for Korach to begin his rebellion? Right after Har Sinai. Right after Aharon is appointed. That's what bothered the Ramban. You know what the Ramban answers? Korach was smart. Korach knew, if he tried to incite a rebellion then, he never could, he never would win. I read a headline this morning that Bibi's thinking about calling elections immediately. Why? After what he just pulled off? A military defeat against Iran, beyond anyone's expectations. There was the six-day war and the 12-day war. The 12-day war is more miraculous than the six-day war. What was accomplished and achieved, please God, בזרת השם ישברח b'ezras Hashem yisbarach. I don't know if he will or he won't, and I'm not weighing in on the politics of Israel, that's for sure. But meaning, he senses right now is the time nobody could defeat me. Korach knew, coming off of Har Sinai, the beginning of their journey through the midbar, nobody is going to take his side if he takes on Moshe. Only in the aftermath of the episode of the spies, when the people realized that they would not see the promised land in their lifetime, could discontent be stirred by Korach and his assorted... fellow travelers. They felt they had nothing to lose. Easy to tap into their disappointment, resentment and fear. What happened after חטא העגל Cheit ha'Eigel? This generation was told, you're not making it into the promised land. You're not getting in. And now that they weren't getting in and they had nothing to lose, now that they had a general discontent, now Korach says, this misery and melancholy, this pessimism and negativity, this hopelessness and despair, now is the time to incite a populist rebellion. Mosha wins the argument against Korach but only at the cost of invoking a miracle in which the earth opens up and swallows his opponents. Yet this does not end the argument. The next day the people gather against Mosha, you've killed the Lord's people. In this kind of confrontation, there is no benign outcome. You can only aim at minimizing the tragedy. There's a warning here to stay far from people, movements and parties that demonize their opponents.Listen to Rabbi Sacks, I will read that again. There is a warning here. Stay far from people, movements and parties that demonize their opponents. A healthy culture welcomes argument and respects dissenting views. Resist with all your heart and soul any attempt to substitute power for truth. What a powerful insight. And it really combines all that we've seen until now. Says Rabbi Sacks, ויקח לצד אחד Vayikach l'tzad echad. Any movement that's trying to divide, that's trying to demonize, that's making their opponent the other, stay away from. We're all on the same side, we're trying to figure it out. We're trying to figure it out. We're on the same side, we care, we could have healthy debates and disagreements, but we have to be on the same side. Korach went wrong because he took them to the other side. And why now? Because he never would have succeeded earlier. It had to and could only be, it had to and could only be now, at this time, at this point, at this moment.פרק פסוק ד Perek pasuk daled. וישמע משה ויפל על פניו Vayishma Moshe vayipol al panav. Moshe heard and he fell on his face. Says the אור החיים הקדוש Ohr HaChaim HaKadosh. Why did he fall on his face? Korach gets up, 250 men, he's got a movement, it's gaining speed, and he says who are you and why you? And by the way, Korach has a very compelling argument. We've spoken about this in the past, so we won't get into it now in depth. But Korach has a very persuasive, very compelling argument. The democratization of ייִדישקייט Yiddishkeit, of Judaism. We're all equally holy. We're all on the same, who put you in charge? Who put you in control? Who made you special or different? Who gave you all the power? We were all at הר סיני Har Sinai. We all equally heard the voice of Hashem. We're all equally holy. Unlike in other religions, where leaders have to live different lifestyles. The rabbi, the ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, the men and women in leadership positions in ייִדישקייט Yiddishkeit. We have no other מצוות mitzvos that apply to it. We're all bound by the same מצוות mitzvos, by the same expectations, by the same lives and lifestyles. So Korach's argument is pretty compelling. It's pretty compelling. So Mosha hears it and he reacts, ויפל על פניו vayipol al panav. He falls on his face. Why? Says the אור החיים Ohr HaChaim, נגד מה שהיו משיאים את כלל דברי משה ואהרן כנגד מה שנוגע למשה, נפל על פניו. הראה את עצמו כעץ אחרון, ושב נפשו כאפר הארץ כאבן המשתטח לפני הצרורה neged mah shehayu mesim et klal divrei Moshe v'Aharon keneged mah shenogea l'Moshe, nafal al panav. Har'ah etzmo ke'etz acharon, v'shav nafsho ke'afar ha'aretz ke'even hamishtate'ach lifnei hatzerurah. What was Korach accusing him of? You're so arrogant, such an ego. You need to take everything for yourself, מלכות וכהונה malchus u'kehuna? So Mosha tries to respond, I have an inflated ego, I'm arrogant? He falls on his face. He falls on his face.עונג ליום טוב ... שואל את דברי שמואל: היאך הגיע ענוותנותו של משה רבינו? שהרי אף על פי שמשה רבינו היה בורח מן הכבוד בתכלית, הרי אמר שלח נא ביד תשלח, התורה העידה עליו והאיש משה עניו מאוד מכל האדם, אף על פי כן, כשבאו טוענים קרח ועדתו כנגדו, מדוע התנשאו על קהל ה'? לא ראינו שמשה רבינו כעס עליהם. אדרבה, מתוך ענוותנותו הגדולה נפל על פניו Oneg L'Yom Tov... shoel et divrei Shmuel: Heichan higiah anvetanuto shel Moshe Rabbeinu? Sheharei af al pi sheMoshe Rabbeinu haya boreach min hakavod b'tachlis, harei amar shlach na b'yad tishlach, haTorah he'idah alav v'ha'ish Moshe anav me'od mikol ha'adam, af al pi chein, k'sheba'u toanim Korach v'adato kenegdo, madua tisnasu al kehal Hashem? Lo ra'inu she'Moshe Rabbeinu ka'as aleihem. Adraba, mitoch anvetanuto hagdolah nafal al panav. Mosha's immediate reaction, even though the Torah has already testified, he's the most humble man of all time, Mosha doesn't say how dare you, who are you, how could you? Mosha says, he falls on his face and he says, for a moment, maybe they're right. Maybe I've taken too much for myself, maybe I'm too arrogant, maybe my ego is out of control and needs to be in check. ויפל על פניו Vayipol al panav, he falls on his face. He gathers himself and Hashem tells us, you've done nothing wrong. And at that point Moshe realizes, if they undermine my authority, the whole Torah is at risk. And that's why he says, give him a death nobody's ever experienced before. But you see beforehand, when a leader gets criticism, their first reaction should be, is there any merit or truth? Is there anything I can learn?I always try for myself. Every now and then I get some criticism, email, text, or in person. And I divide into three. There's the messenger, the messaging, and the message. Who's saying it, how are they saying it, and what are they saying. And often, the who's saying it and how they're saying it makes us not want to listen to what they're saying. It's obnoxious, it's חצפה'דיק chutzpadik, it's disrespectful, it's unappreciative, it's hypocritical and duplicitous, who are they? So often, because of who's giving the message and how they're delivering the message, we shut down and don't want to hear the message. And it's hard, I try to practice, the most important thing is to say, is there merit to the message? Even if I don't like the messenger, and even if I don't like the messaging, is there merit to the message? To the message. That's Moshe's reaction. ויפל על פניו Vayipol al panav. זוהי דרכם הגדולים, המנהיגים של כל דור ודור. שהיו בורחים מן הכבוד וסימן של גדולת ישראל היה ענוותנותם Zohi darkam hagdolim, hamahigim shel kol dor vador. Shehayu borchim min hakavod v'siman shel gdulat Yisrael haya anivusam. You see that the symbol, the sign of great leaders is the humility to say, did I make a mistake? Was I wrong? Did I come up short? Is there merit to this message? Is there something to learn from it? Is there something to learn from it? And that's how Mosha reacts, that is indeed exactly what Mosha takes, what Mosha takes from it.פרק טז פסוק ה ... trying to decide what to do next, so much here. בוקר Boker. פרק טז פסוק ה. וידבר אל קרח ואל כל עדתו לאמר, בוקר וידע ה' את אשר לו ואת הקדוש והקריב אליו ואת אשר יבחר בו יקריב אליו Perek Tes-Zayin Pasuk Hei. Vayedaber el Korach v'el kol adaso leimor, boker v'yoda Hashem et asher lo v'et hakadosh v'hikriv eilav v'et asher yivchar bo yakriv eilav. I'll tell you what, let's wait till the morning. And in the morning, Hashem will make known who is the one who is his own and holy one and I'll draw him close to him, whoever he chooses, he'll draw close. Maybe you've got a good point, maybe you're making a fair argument. So I'll tell you what, let's wait till the morning. And in the morning we'll see who Hashem... This is easy. We don't have to guess, we don't have to do a lottery. Hashem through revelation will determine who in fact should be the appointed, the leader. בוקר Boker. Says Rashi, why בוקר boker? Why wait till the morning? אמר להם משה, גבולים חלק הקדוש ברוך הוא בעולמו Amar lahem Moshe, gvulim cheilek Hakadosh Baruch Hu b'olamo. Mosha, Rashi quotes the Medrash that Mosha tells them, Hashem made boundaries in the world. יכולים אתם להפוך בוקר לערב? כך תוכלו לבטל את זו. שנאמר ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר ויבדל, כך הבדיל אהרן להקדישו Yecholim atem la'afoch boker l'erev? Kach tuchlu l'vatel et zu. She'ne'emar vayehi erev vayehi voker vayavdel, kach hivdil Aharon l'hakdisho. Moshe was giving Korach a שטיקל מוסר shtickel musar. And he said, let's wait till the morning. What do you mean morning? What is morning? ויהי ערב ויהי בוקר Vayehi erev vayehi voker, there's night and there's day. Why isn't it all the same? Because Hashem made boundaries. Hashem said there are two different units, periods of time. There's night and there's day. Can you turn night into day or day into night? No. Moshe was telling him, no more can you turn yourself into the כהן kohen than you can take and turn night into day or day into night. בוקר Boker. Just like time has boundaries, and there's different parts of time, there's day and there's night, so too people have positions, and there are boundaries that Hashem gave to them, and you can't impact them. It is equally impossible to revoke Aaron's appointment as the כהן גדול kohen gadol, no more can you change בוקר boker and ערב erev, than you can change you and Aaron. Now how is this distinction between night and day relevant to Aaron as כהן גדול kohen gadol? What is this בוקר boker?So Rav Hershel Weiss, the מנחת אשר Minchas Asher suggests the following. The גמרא Gemara in שבת Shabbos דף פח daf pey chet says, תנו רבנן tanu rabbanan, העלובים ואינם עולבים, שומעים חרפתם ואינם משיבים Ha'eluvim v'einam olvim, shom'im cherpasam v'einam meshivim. If a person is insulted, if a person is offended and they absorb the insult without lashing out, without fighting back, they hear their disgrace but they don't respond, עושים מאהבה ושמחים בייסורים, עליהם הכתוב אומר ואוהביו כצאת השמש בגבורתו osim me'ahava u'smeichim b'yisurim, aleihem hakatuv omer, v'ohavav k'tzeis hashemesh bigvuraso. Those who love him will be like the sun which goes forth in its might. That's what the Gemara says. If you're capable of being insulted and absorbing that insult and not responded, it's brought down by the way, get a ברכה bracha from such a person. If you see somebody who's insulted, who's humiliated, who's shamed publicly, and they don't fight back, they don't lash out back, they don't call a name back, they just absorb the insult and they move on. Get a ברכה bracha from such a person who shows such a capacity. The פסוק pasuk compares such a person like the sun which goes forth in its might. The עין יעקב Ein Yaakov, his commentary on the עין יעקב Ein Yaakov offers a beautiful explanation. You know when the world was first created, the sun and the moon were of equal size. Hashem made the sun and the moon the same size. But the moon complained to Hashem and said, two kings can't rule with the same crown. Two kings can't wear the same crown. You can't make us the same size. I want to be greater than the sun, shrink the sun, make me bigger. The sun heard its disgrace, and what did the sun do? גורנישט Gornisht. Nothing. The sun didn't respond. So Hashem said, you know moon, you're right. It's not going to work well to have you be the same size. I'll tell you what. He shrinks the moon and keeps the sun the same size. In every generation, this is Hashem's method of resolving disputes between those who ridicule and those who are ridiculed, those who disgrace and those who are disgraced but don't respond. He knocks down the ridiculer and the disgracer, and he uplifts the ridiculed and the disgraced. He comforts the disgraced as he comforted the sun. And that's what the פסוק pasuk means when it compares, those who love him like will be like the sun that goes forth in its might. With this suggestion of Rav Hershel Weiss, with this insight of the עין יעקב Ein Yaakov, the עין יעקב Ein Yaakov, now we can understand Rashi's explanation. Can you turn morning into night? Moshe asked Korach? It's equally impossible to revoke Aaron's appointment as kohen gadol. Anyone who attempts to do so, disgracing Aaron, will suffer the same fate as the moon which was thrown down from its grandeur. Yet Aaron and Mosha who were ridiculed and disgraced, they emerge victorious like the sun. Like the sun.What is the greatest demonstration of strength? It's not to scream louder, it's not to punch harder, it's not to call a bigger name. The greatest display or demonstration of strength is to absorb an insult, stay silent and not respond. The גמרא Gemara says in גיטין Gittin, when טיטוס הרשע Titus HaRasha entered the קדש הקדשים Kodesh HaKodashim and did the unthinkable and unfathomable, he unrolled the Sefer Torah and he did an explicit act with the harlot he brought in there and all kinds of other horrible things. You know what Hashem did? He was quiet. The Gemara says, מי כמוך באלים ה' Mi kamocha ba'elim Hashem? Don't read it מי כמוך באלים mi kamocha ba'elim, who is as strong as you? Read it מי כמוך באלמים mi kamocha ba'ilmim, Hashem. Who is as strong as you that's capable of being an אילם ilem? When you stay silent, when you're quiet, when you don't answer, when you don't respond back, that is the true and the greater demonstration of strength. The Bobover Rebbe, זכותו יגן עלינו zechuso yagen aleinu, Rav Shlomo Halberstam, he was known for his pursuit of שלום shalom and avoiding מחלוקת machlokes at all costs. He was a man of peace, he stayed away from מחלוקת machlokes, he got along with everyone, he was beloved to everyone. One time, someone published פשקווילים pashkevilin. פשקווילים Pashkevilin are those posters, and they hung around Brooklyn. They hung these posters against the Bobover Rebbe on the son. So the Bobover Rebbe, of course, always. The Rebbe was afraid that it was going to lead to מחלוקת machlokes. So at a ראש חודש Rosh Chodesh טיש tish, listen to what the Bobover Rebbe said. He said, I've been מוחל moichel whoever put up the פשקווילים pashkevilin. Whoever hung these signs against me, I forgive them. But if anyone decides on my behalf they're going to start a fight because of them, I'm not מוחל moichel you, not in this world and not in the next world. Whoever hung up the signs, I already forgave them. I'm good. But if you think in defending me, you're going to start a מחלוקת machlokes, I don't forgive you in this world or the other. And of course after the שמועס shmuess, nobody, nobody said a word, and it disappeared as quickly as it came, it died down. The capacity to absorb the insult, the disgrace, and to carry on. The Zohar says that Hashem's chariot has four legs. And the first three are אברהם, יצחק ויעקב Avraham, Yitzchak v'Yaakov. And the fourth is דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech. We understand that the אבות הקדושים Avos HaKedoshim are the first three legs. Why is דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech the fourth leg? The חפץ חיים Chofetz Chaim writes in שמירת הלשון Shmiras HaLashon that דוד המלך Dovid HaMelech became the fourth leg of the chariot, because when שמעי בן גרא Shimi ben Geira hurled insults at him in public, and David's followers said let's kill him, he's מורד במלכות mored b'malchus. He's challenging the authority of the king. David said no, let's keep going. He absorbed it. He said he couldn't be saying this to me if Hashem didn't want me to hear it, there's no need to respond, let's keep going. Happens to be later he had him killed, but at that moment, he said let's just keep going. Rav Pam says there are times we're meant to experience יסורים yissurim. And the יסורים yissurim that we get can come in many forms: illness, financial collapse, a relationship crisis. And if the יסורים yissurim comes in the form of someone insulting you, dance the Kazatzka. Someone hung a poster about you, someone sent an email about you, someone said something not nice about you, and that's the way you're going to get your יסורים yissurim, your suffering, not a diagnosis, not a financial collapse, not a relationship that dissolves, because somebody hung something, said something about you? You know how excited and happy you should be? What a ברכה bracha that is to get it out of the way in that way. ברוך השם, ברוך השם Baruch Hashem, Baruch Hashem. So מי כמוך באלמים, מי כמוך באלמים Mi kamocha ba'ilmim, mi kamocha ba'ilmim. You have the ability to follow in the footsteps of Mosha, and maybe that's בוקר boker. Be like the moon. בוקר Boker, be like the moon.In the past when we studied this pasuk we saw the inside of Rav Soloveitchik and others. You know what boker meant? Let's wait till we have clarity. When someone first comes at you and fights with you, it feels like night, darkness. Wait till בוקר boker. Sleep on it. If you get a strongly worded email, do not respond before you sleep on it. You could write a draft, put it in your draft folder, don't press send until בוקר boker. You learn a critical lesson from our פסוק pasuk. Until, until בוקר boker, till you sleep on it, till you have some clarity, till you've thought about it, till you came to your senses, wait until בוקר boker until you press send. פרק טז פסוק כ Perek Tes-Zayin Pasuk Chaf. we're turning the page.ויאמר משה אל קרח שמעו נא בני לוי המעט מכם כי הבדיל אלוקי ישראל אתכם מעדת ישראל להקריב אתכם אליו לעבוד את עבודת משכן ה' ולעמוד לפני העדה לשרתם Vayomer Moshe el Korach shimu na bnei Levi ha'me'at mikem ki hivdil Elokei Yisrael etchem me'adat Yisrael l'hakriv etchem eilav la'avod et avodas mishkan Hashem v'la'amod lifnei ha'eidah l'sharsam. Moshe turns to Korach and he says, המעט מכם ha'me'at mikem? Listen carefully, is it not enough for you that Hashem made you, separated you, to draw closer to him that you have a role in the Mishkan? What did Mosha mean? What was Korach's role? What was his role? לוי Levi. You're the tribe of Levi. I understand if you were rebelling because you're some lowly Yisrael. עם ישראל Am Yisrael. No offense to Dad, made me a Yisrael. I would understand if you're some lowly Yisrael, you're rebelling, you want more. But you're a Levi, it's not enough, המעט מכם ha'me'at mikem, it's not enough that you're a Levi? What's going on? What's going on? So the words המעט מכם ha'me'at mikem literally translate is, המעט מכם ha'me'at mikem. How does Artscroll translate it? פסוק ט Pasuk Tes. Is it not enough for you? המעט מכם Ha'me'at mikem. Is it minor... What is the word מכם mikem? From you. מכם Mikem means from you. Simple understanding would translate it as is it minor to you? So the שפת אמת Sfas Emes asks, the הייליגע heilige שפת אמת Sfas Emes, the Gerer Rebbe, why doesn't the pasuk say, המעט לכם ha'me'at lachem? If that's Mosha Rabbeinu's point, is it not enough for you to be a Levi, what should it say? המעט לכם Ha'me'at lachem? Is it so small for you? What do you mean המעט מכם ha'me'at mikem? You hear the Sfas Emes's question? Yeah? Anybody? Good, thank you. שפת אמת Sfas Emes answers with a theme that the Sfas Emes has throughout his ספרים sforim. And this is quoted by the Gerer ראש ישיבה Rosh Yeshiva, Rav Shaul Alter, שליט\"א shlita. And he says the following. In a person's life, our actions, our talents, our successes, our achievements are not accredited to the way Hashem created us at one point. It's not that Hashem created us and then everything that we do with it is us. But rather, Hashem orchestrates everything in our lives. All that happens, every mitzvah that we do, every success that we have, the outcome of all of our efforts, all our material success, it all comes through him. Hashem didn't press go at the beginning and now we're on our own. He is with us, his providence, his involvement, and his dictating the outcome in everything we do. Someone who constantly lives with the knowledge never feels that he's giving something to Hashem. On the contrary, whatever we have the זכות zechus to do in the service of Hashem is not due to us, it's Hashem who powered it. That's a פסוק pasuk in דברי הימים Divrei HaYamim, כי ממך הכל ומידך נתנו לך Ki mimcha hakol umiyadcha nasanu lach. Everything is from you, and from your hand we have given you. So I did well in the stock market? Yes, I chose the right stocks, I should be proud. Who enabled me? Who gave me the insight? Who made me read the right thing? Who made me make the right decision? הקדוש ברוך הוא, ריבונו של עולם Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Ribbono shel Olam. Everything we do in life, spiritual and material, it's him. He gave us the tools, the success, the wisdom, the talent. There's no existence but for the express will of Hashem. Even enthusiasm, inspiration, good intention, the like, are gifts from Hashem. A person himself cannot recognize what is his own, what's from Hashem. So someone who truly lives with this awareness will constantly seek to serve Hashem with whatever opportunity we have. Whatever gifts, whatever talents, whatever skills, we use it in the service of Hashem. There is no difference to him whether you're a כהן kohen or a לוי Levi, ישראל Yisrael. This is my mission, this is my purpose, this is my מקום makom, this is my place. This is what I meant to do. We're learning this in Tanya. We learned yesterday. Every generation, a קומה שלמה koma shleima, every generation, if you add up all the Jews of that generation, they make up one body. Some are the head, and some are the toenails, some are the lungs and the liver, some are the arms and the legs. But a person doesn't look at it as a hierarchy with bitterness or resentment or jealousy or envy, they say what's my role, what's my mission, what's my purpose, why am I here? There is no hierarchy. It's why am I here? What's my role? Mosha Rabbeinu said, המעט ha'me'at. That which you consider the status of Levi to be minor, you know why? Is מכם mikem. It comes from a feeling and perspective that your עבודת ה' avodas Hashem comes from you, your power, and your merit. המעט Ha'me'at, listen to the שפת אמת Sfas Emes. המעט Ha'me'at, that which you feel less than, is מכם mikem, is because you're not doing it for the right reason. If you're driven לשמה lishma, if you're driven for the right reason in the service of Hashem, nothing is too small or too big. And you're not jealous or envious of anyone else. That's your role, that's your place, that's your purpose, that's your mission. So your sense, your feeling of המעט ha'me'at, you know why you have a problem of המעט ha'me'at? Because מכם mikem, because it's coming from a sense of מכם mikem. That's where it's coming from and that is your problem. Rav Shaul Alter goes on, but we'll stop that here. פרק יז פסוק ב' Perek Yud Zayin Pasuk Beis. Turning to the next perek.And we have the, the ground opens, it swallows them up, the response, and so on. פרק יז פסוק ב Perek Yud Zayin Pasuk Beis. Hashem speaks to Mosha, אמור אל אלעזר בן אהרן הכהן וירם את המחתות מבין השרפה ואת האש זרה הלאה כי קדשו Emor el Elazar ben Aharon hakohen v'yarem et hamachtos mibein hasreifah v'et ha'esh zarah hala'ah ki kadeishu. Say to Elazar the son of Aaron, let him pick up the fire pans from the fire, throw away the flame, they have become holy. And the fire pans of the sinners, they'll make them hammered out sheets and so on and so forth. So we have the ground opens up and swallows Korach and his עדה eidah, and then we have further tests of Mosha Rabbeinu intervenes again and so on. Says the, says Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz.Says Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, אמור emor. So the מאירי Meiri on this פסוק pasuk, the מאירי Meiri writes, לא רצה הקדוש ברוך הוא לומר כן לאהרן עצמו כדי ללמד דרך ארץ בכך lo ratza Hakadosh Baruch Hu lomar kein l'Aharon atzmo kedei l'lamed derech eretz b'kach. אמור אל אלעזר בן אהרן וירם את המחתות Emor el Elazar ben Aharon v'yarem et hamachtos. What does this mean? What's going on in this פסוק pasuk? Hashem speaks to Mosha, speak to אלעזר בן אהרן Elazar ben Aharon to lift them up, to lift the pans. He didn't want to speak to Aaron himself to teach דרך ארץ derech eretz. What's the דרך ארץ derech eretz? So Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz in his שיחות מוסר Sichos Musar, דברים מפליאים dvarim mafli'im, מה מקום יש לכבודם של 250 איש מקריבי הקטורת Ma makom yesh l'chvodam shel matayim v'chamishim ish makrivei haktoret? The Meiri somehow indicates Hashem wanted to preserve the dignity of the 250 rebellious people. עליהם אמר למשה לכן אתה וכל עדתך נועדי ה' Aleihem amar l'Moshe lachen ata v'chol adascha noadei Hashem. Why are you preserving their dignity? Says Rav Chaim Shmuelevitz, you see something very powerful from here. That even when someone's wrong and they've made a wrong choice and they're coming out on the wrong side, nevertheless, nevertheless for your sake, not theirs, still act with דרך ארץ derech eretz. Still care about their dignity. Even, you're tempted to say these are rebellious people. They're sowing rebellion. Who cares about their dignity? They forfeited their honor. That's not the Jewish way. The Torah is teaching us that a person doesn't forfeit their honor. They still deserve it. Even if they've made the wrong choice, we have a responsibility and obligation to treat them still the right, still the right way. We have to treat them the right way.Says the מגיד יוסף Magid Yosef. פרק יז פסוק ה Perek Yud Zayin Pasuk Hei. זכרון לבני ישראל למען אשר לא יקרב איש זר אשר לא מזרע אהרן הוא להקטיר קטורת לפני ה' ולא יהיה כקרח וכעדתו כאשר דיבר ה' ביד משה לו Zikaron livnei Yisrael l'ma'an asher lo yikrav ish zar asher lo mizera Aharon hu l'haktir ketores lifnei Hashem v'lo yihyeh k'Korach v'cha'adaso ka'asher diber Hashem b'yad Moshe lo. The Torah goes on to tell us that this will be a remembrance, this is a reminder that no one should ever draw close, don't be like Korach and his assembly as Hashem spoke about him through Mosha. The גמרא Gemara in סנהדרין Sanhedrin דף ק\"י daf kuf yud, אמר רב, כל המחזיק במחלוקת עובר בלאו amar Rav, kol hamachzik b'machlokes over b'lav. If you hold on to מחלוקת machlokes, if you enter מחלוקת machlokes, if you, you become in the מחלוקת machlokes, you violate a biblical prohibition. שנאמר She'ne'emar, the pasuk says, ולא יהיה כקרח וכעדתו v'lo yihyeh k'Korach v'cha'adaso. Don't be like Korach and his followers. רב אשי אמר ראוי להצטרע על כך Rav Ashi amar, ra'ui l'hitz'tara al kach. A person should be anxious over it. מאי שינויא דלשון ראוי להצטרע Mai shinuy d'lashon ra'ui l'hitz'tara? What does that mean? אם נכשל בלשון הרע, אז ודאי יצטרע Im nichshal b'lashon hara, az vadai yitz'tara. If you violate לשון הרע lashon hara, so you're going to be punished, you're going to suffer. אם לאו, למה הוא ראוי להצטרע Im lav, lama hu ra'ui l'hitz'tara? And if not, why should you be worried? Why would you be punished? נראה שכן מדובר... זה מגיד יוסף... יוסף סורוצקין. שכן מדובר שאדם נכשל בלשון הרע, רק מחזיק במחלוקת Nir'eh she'kan medubar... zeh Magid Yosef... Yosef Sorotzkin. She'kan medubar she'adam nichshal b'lashon hara, rak machzik b'machlokes. Before you speak לשון הרע lashon hara, you just get involved in the מחלוקת machlokes. You take a side, you get caught up, you want to be on the inside, you want to hear everything going on. You know what that's going to lead to? דבר זה ברור שמי שמחזיק במחלוקת במוקדם ובמאוחר יכשל בלשון הרע Davar zeh barur she'mi she'machzik b'machlokes b'mukdam u'v'me'uchar yikashel b'lashon hara. If you're willing to get drawn into the מחלוקת machlokes, both sides are pulling you aside, let me tell you, and the one they're wrong, and you got to get involved and listen to this, and you won't believe what happened. If you're מחזיק במחלוקת machzik b'machlokes, if you allow yourself to get involved, it will inevitably lead to לשון הרע lashon hara. And that's why, what did the Gemara say? Not anyone who's in a מחלוקת machlokes, כל המחזיק במחלוקת kol hamachzik b'machlokes. זה מי שפגע במחלוקת ואינו נמנע ממנו zeh mi she'paga b'machlokes v'eino nimna mimenu. מחלוקת Machlokes tries to get you. Both sides, at shul, WhatsApp groups, they're going to try to draw you in. They're going to try to draw you in. Did you hear this group, they broke away, they're doing this, that happened. Can you believe it? Aren't you going to do something about it? They're trying to draw you in. You have the ability to repel it. You have the ability to push it away, to avoid it. But if you're מחזיק machzik, if you hold on to it, if you grab onto it, if you're excited by it, it's going to lead to the לשון הרע lashon hara.זכיתי להכיר לפני שנים רבות אדם שהיה נזהר מלדבר לשון הרע בתכלית מפליג Zachisi l'hakir lifnei shanim rabos adam she'haya nizhar mil'daber lashon hara b'tachlis maflig. Says Rav Yosef Sorotzkin, he said many years ago I knew a Jew who avoided speaking לשון הרע lashon hara like nothing you ever saw. עין טובה להכל Ayin tova la'kol. He had a positive eye on everyone, all he could see is the good in people. Unfortunately, his daughter got divorced, and she moved back in with her father. אש מחלוקת אכסה והוא מעיין לו נחם Eish machlokes achsa v'hu ma'ayan lo nacham. And the divorce was ugly, and it was messy, and it led to tremendous מחלוקת machlokes. כל היום הוא דיבר סרה על הצד השני Kol hayom hu diber sarah al hatzad hasheni. And this man, says Rav Sorotzkin, who I knew never said a word of לשון הרע lashon hara, who only saw the good in other people, through that divorce, when it led to מחלוקת machlokes, he couldn't stop talking about the other side. A man who was incapable of speaking לשון הרע lashon hara become incapable of speaking anything other than לשון הרע lashon hara about the other side. That was what happened. That is how pernicious מחלוקת machlokes is. So damaging, so penetrating, so dangerous that even a person who is so against לשון הרע lashon hara, if you're מחזיק במחלוקת machzik b'machlokes, if you allow yourself, you grab onto מחלוקת machlokes, if it impacts you, it's all over from there. You're in trouble from there, it's all over. It's all over.We'll end with the Rabbi Sacks. We know that not only did the ground swallow up, and not only did they have the test of the fire pans, then they have an additional test of the rods, the staffs. That the one who's truly the leader, Aaron, will blossom. Will blossom with what? שקדים Shkeidim. Writes Rabbi Sacks. The use of force never ends a conflict. It merely adds grievance to injury. What ends the conflict is not the miracle of the ground opening up and swallowing Moshe's opponents, but something else altogether. The visible symbol that Aaron is the chosen vehicle of the God of life. The gentle miracle of the dead wood that comes to life again, flowering and bearing fruit, anticipates the famous words of the book of משלי Mishlei, עץ חיים היא למחזיקים בה etz chaim hi lamachazikim ba. It is a tree of life for those who grasp it and those who hold fast to it are fortunate. Mosha and Aaron stand accused of failing in their mission. They brought the people out of Egypt to bring them to the land of Israel. After the debacle of the spies, hope has died. The stick that comes to life again symbolizes that hope is not dead, merely deferred. The next generation will live and reach the destination. Hashem is the God of life, what he touches does not die. The episode of Korach teaches us there are two ways of resolving conflict, by force and by persuasion. The first negates your opponent. The second enlists your opponent taking his or her challenge seriously and addressing it. Force never ends conflict, not even in the case of Mosha, not even when the force is miraculous. There never was a more decisive intervention in the miracle that swallowed up Korach and his fellow rebels. Yet, it doesn't end the conflict, it deepens it. What ends it is the quiet, gentle miracle that shows that Aaron is the true emissary of the God of life. Not by accident is the verse that calls the Torah a tree of life preceded by the words דרכיה דרכי נועם dracheha darchei noam. Its ways are ways of pleasantness, וכל נתיבותיה שלום v'chol netivoseha shalom, and all its paths are peaceful. This is the preferred form of conflict resolution in Judaism, not by force, but by pleasantness and peace. And we'll end with that with our hope that Israel showed force, and militarily defeated and obliterated Iran and its other enemies. But the real peace… is not the military force, it's when the שקדים shkeidim blossom. And so hopefully there'll be a blossoming of the Abraham Accords. Maybe now with Iran neutralized, Saudi Arabia and others will join the Abraham Accords. One is to militarily obliterate, but the real miracle is the sprouting and blossoming of peace in a meaningful and a permanent, hopeful way. Wishing everyone a good week and a day. We should hear בשורות טובות besorot tovot, ישועות yeshuot, ונחמות v'nechamot. יישר כח Yasher koach.
