Transcript
Good morning, בוקר טוב Boker Tov. It's so wonderful to be back together in person, live from the Boca Raton Synagogue, פרשה Parsha Perspectives for today. I want to begin by thanking our generous sponsors, Becky and Ari Katz and family, who've dedicated the entire series in memory of Becky's father David Grossman, לילוי נשמת דוד בן מנחם מנדל l'iluy nishmas Dovid ben Menachem Mendel. This morning's שיעור shiur is also sponsored by David Meyerfeld in commemoration of his father's יארצייט yahrzeit, Manfred Meyerfeld. לילוי נשמת מנחם בן אורי שרגא l'iluy nishmas Menachem ben Uri Shraga. By Rona Cohn in commemoration of her mother's יארצייט yahrzeit, דורה בת יפה זכרונה לברכה Dora bas Yafei zichrona livracha. And this morning's שיעור shiur is also in memory of my grandfather's יארצייט yahrzeit, which is today, Sam Aboff, for whom my son is named, my beloved זײדע Zayde. May his נשמה neshama should have an עליה aliyah. We think about him, continue to be influenced and inspired by him often. Lastly I want to remind everyone if you've not yet signed up for our one on one campaign in the merit of our beloved Esti Moskowitz, אסתר טילה בת אריה צפורה Esther Tila bas Aryeh Tzipora. A dollar a day of giving, a minute a day of תורה Torah study, you can go to brsonline.org/oneandone, please join.We are learning 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. Our פרשה parsha continues the adolescent journey of the Jewish people towards self-discovery, the maturation, the growing pains, some of the difficulty for משה רבינו Moshe Rabbeinu and of God as the Jewish people are growing into their own. They went from a family to the birth of a nation, an incorrigible, difficult nation, and emerge hopefully to grow to be a holy and model nation, but it takes time. And here we have not only the underpinnings of the source of rebellion, the סוגיא sugya of what it means rebellion, rebelliousness, but of מחלוקת machlokes, the danger of the insidiousness of מחלוקת machlokes, of conflict, of unnecessary tension, of how that destroys and tears apart families and communities and a people. And we will get into that in a moment, but let's begin with the name קרח Korach itself. I picked up while I was in New York, a new ספר sefer, אוצר פלוס התורה Otzar Plos HaTorah. It's a thick, big new ספר sefer. This is just במדבר Bamidbar, and basically somebody did some hard work to dig up unusual, interesting... dig up some fascinating interesting things on each פרשה parsha. So he begins with the following, quotes the ספר אור משה Sefer Or Moshe, who says something, a דבר נפלא davar nifla. Says something wondrous, says something incredible. He says, דע תריס לגאון רב חיים פלאג'י, לפי מה שידוע לי לא מצאתי לו חבר לפי שעה, da d'ris l'gaon Rav Chaim Palagi, l'fi ma sh'yadua li lo matzasi lo chaver l'fi sha'ah, find anyone who says this, שאין קורא ומשתמש בשם קרח she'ein korei u'mishtamesh b'shem Korach. There's a tradition from רב חיים פלאג'י Rav Chaim Palagi, כף החיים Kaf HaChaim, not to refer to our פרשה parsha by the name קרח Korach. Not to employ, not to use, not to engage with the name קרח Korach. וכשהוא צריך להשתמש בשם זה מחליף דבר ואומר בן לוי u'ksh'hu tzarich l'hishtamesh b'shem zeh machlif davar v'omer Ben Levi. What's the name of the פרשה parsha? בן לוי Ben Levi. Who's the one who rebelled and challenged משה Moshe? בן לוי Ben Levi. Don't use his name. Don't refer to him or articulate by name. Why? And for example, he quotes the נפש החיים Nefesh HaChaim. The נפש החיים Nefesh HaChaim writes, דיבר לפרש פשט המדרש רבה פרשת בן לוי diber l'faresh pshat haMedrash Rabbah Parshas Ben Levi as an example. and כף החיים Kaf HaChaim and other ספרים sfarim who reference, ילקוט ראובני Yalkut Reuveni, בן קהת Ben Kehas. They call the name of our פרשה parsha not קרח Korach. They call it בן לוי Ben Levi, בן קהת Ben Kehas, they use another association, another name, another reference to identify the name of the פרשה parsha, but they refuse to reference, to call it, to call it קרח Korach, to use his name itself. Where does this come from? I am the פרי חדש על התורה, פרשת פינחס Peri Chadash al haTorah, Parshas Pinchas. He says if you look at the טור Tur in פרשת פינחס Parshas Pinchas on the פסוק pasuk, משפחת הקרחי Mishpachas HaKarchi, the family of קרח Korach, who brings in the name of the רמב\"ן Ramban? The בני יצהר Bnei Yitzhar, the sons of Yitzhar are called קרחי Karchi, בכבודם של בני קרח שעשו תשובה b'kvodam shel Bnei Korach she'asu teshuva. Why? We have a tradition that the children of קרח Korach in fact repented. They did תשובה teshuva. We invoke their name in the ספר תהלים Sefer Tehillim. Because unlike their father, their patriarch, קרח Korach, they did not join the rebellion, they did תשובה teshuva. They re-created and re-established themselves. They were צדיקים tzaddikim. However, the טור Tur writes on this, listen to what he says. איני מבין הטעם שכתב, שקורא למשפחת יצהר על שם קרח, אדרבה, שם רשעים ירקב Eini meivin ha'ta'am she'katav, she'korei l'mishpachas Yitzhar al shem Korach, adraba, shem reshaim yirkav. The פסוק pasuk in משלי Mishlei and the חז\"ל Chazal tell us that שם רשעים ירקב shem reshaim yirkav, the name of the, of the rotten people should rot, should be spoiled, the name of the wicked should be eliminated, should not be used. ואין ראוי לקרות בשמם v'ein ra'ui likros b'shmam, we should not use their name. So the טור Tur therefore says, it's wrong, don't invoke, don't use the name קרח Korach because קרח Korach itself, קרח Korach himself was wicked. He not only led for his time an incredible rebellion, he created the precedent. He planted the seeds. He sowed the seeds of rebelliousness that we continue to suffer from until, until today. So the טור Tur says don't use the name קרח Korach. Don't call the פרשה parsha קרח Korach. בן לוי Ben Levi. Call it בן קהת Ben Kehas. Call it another name. However, however, many, most are not careful with this. Most מפרשי התורה mefarshei haTorah call it by its name, פרשת קרח Parshas Korach. Among them, greatest perhaps among them, none other than רש\"י Rashi. רש\"י Rashi writes פרשת קרח Parshas Korach. In מסכת זבחים Maseches Zvachim he refers to it as פרשת קרח Parshas Korach. The רמב\"ם Rambam in פרשת זאת הברכה Parshas Zos HaBracha calls it סדר ויקח קרח Seder Vayikach Korach, the פרשה parsha of קרח Korach. and the רמב\"ם Rambam writes it here as well. and we have many who do call it, who do call it. Now you'll say, well, who cares about the name of the פרשה parsha? Where do the names of the פרשיות parshios come from? This is not for now, for another time. Where do the names of the פרשיות parshios come from? חז\"ל Chazal? Are they from our rabbis? Are they referenced in the גמרא Gemara? In the מדרש Midrash? No. Where do they come from? We don't know. We're not exactly sure. We don't have a strong tradition of who exactly named the פרשיות parshios. However, רבי צדוק הכהן מלובלין Rav Tzadok HaKohen of Lublin in his ספר פרי צדיק לילה Sefer Pri Tzadik Layla writes, שם של כל סדרה שבתורה כפי מה שנהגו ישראל לקרוא, הוא מכוון של כל סדרה shem shel kol sidra sheb'Torah k'fi ma sh'nahagu Yisrael likrosa, hu mechaven shel kol sidra. על דרך שאמרו בשם בן אדם al derech she'amru b'shem ben adam. Just like when parents have a level of prophecy when they give a name to a child, which we'll talk about in a moment, so too, whoever established the names of the פרשיות parshios encapsulated, they were able to describe the essence, they got to the core of each פרשה parsha when they gave it its name. Every name is בלשון קודש b'lashon kodesh. שורש החיות של אותו דבר shoresh ha'chiyus shel oso davar. Says רב צדוק הכהן Rav Tzadok HaKohen, it is the root of the חיות chiyus of that thing. משום גם כן שמות סדרי קודש כולם כשמות פרשיות התורה mishum gam kein shmos sidrei kodesh kulam k'shmos Parshios haTorah. The names of our פרשיות parshios reveal the essence of that פרשה parsha, whoever gave those names was endowed with a certain level of, of, prophecy, had some deeper insight or understanding, and therefore we don't dismiss the names of those פרשיות parshios. The only other thing I'll say on this, he says a couple sections later, he quotes the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer on our פרשה parsha. טעם על הצדיקים בני לוי שקראו שמו בן נורא קרח Ta'am al ha'tzadikim Bnei Levi she'kar'u shmo ben nora Korach. Why did they name him קרח Korach to begin with? There was an earlier קרח Korach in the Torah. Who else is named קרח Korach in the Torah? Who's קרח Korach? For whom is קרח Korach named? One of the children of עשו Esav. One of the children of עשו Esav is named קרח Korach. ועליבמה ילדה את יעיש ואת יעלם ואת קרח אלה בני עשו אשר יולדו לו בארץ כנען V'Alivamah yalda es Ye'ush v'es Ya'alam v'es Korach eileh bnei Esav asher yuldu lo b'eretz Kena'an. The end of בראשית Bereishis it tells us the names of עשו Esav and one of them was קרח Korach. And the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer says, when they named after a wicked person, they already predetermined that this would be a wicked person. When parents name a child, there is an awesome responsibility. It's an awesome responsibility in the name that we give. Names are not random labels. They're not something that we all agree upon to be a description. A chair is a chair, that's an arbitrary English word. We all have agreed, there's a social contract to use the word chair to describe a chair so we all know what we're talking about. But that's not true when it comes to our children. It's not a label or tag, it's not an arbitrary word or name we use so we're on the same page about whom we're referring to. It's a description. It's a description. It's a trajectory. We are putting a child on a path in life with the name that we give. and that's why it's an awesome responsibility when we name after people. I'm proud my son, שי שמואל ישראל נתן Shai Shmuel Yisrael Nosson, is named after my grandfather whose יארצייט yahrzeit is today and יחב'ס Yecheved's grandfather, both of whom were incredible people. We, we give a, a child, we endow a child with a future, with at least potential through the name that we give. The חתם סופר Chasam Sofer says it was a terrible mistake of בני לוי Bnei Levi when they named after one of the children, the offspring of עשו Esav. שם רשעים ירקב shem reshaim yirkav. We're supposed to rot away, we're supposed to distance ourselves from names of wicked, not even to use them let alone name our children after them. And the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer says, שכל מי ששמו קרח שיצא לחלוק על משה רבנו אב הנביאים היה תולדה מזה שהיה שמו קרח, שהוא שם אדם רשע she'kol mi sh'shemo Korach, she'yatza lachlok al Moshe Rabbeinu, av ha'nevi'im, hayah tolda mizeh she'hayah shmo Korach, she'hu shem adam rasha. It was all the result of naming after a wicked person. He goes on and on. Fascinating new ספר sefer. Look forward to sharing some of the insights from it, some of the unusual things that it digs up in there from it.But let's go back with an introduction to our פרשה parsha, to our פרשה parsha. And this introduction is critical. Because when you read our פרשה parsha, and we study the ראשונים rishonim, the חז\"ל Chazal on it, we are understandably always led to see קרח Korach as this heinous villain, as this horrific person, as the epitome of evil. As we just saw the חתם סופר Chasam Sofer have that attitude towards him. But it's not so simple. It's not so פשוט pashut. It's not so פשוט pashut. The משנה in אבות פרק ה משנה יז Mishnah in Avos Perek Hei, Mishnah Yud Zayin tells us, איזו היא מחלוקת שאינה לשם שמים Eizehi machlokes she'eina l'shem Shamayim. What's an example of a מחלוקת machlokes driven by impure motive? What is a מחלוקת machlokes which has a personal agenda attached to it? מחלוקת קרח וכל עדתו machlokes Korach v'chol adaso. ובמוסקא ראשון בבור במשה שקרח וכל עדתו היו אנשי מדון וריב ומחלוקת uv'muska rishon bevur b'Mishnah she'Korach v'chol adaso hayu anshei madon v'riv u'machlokes. So when the משנה Mishnah, when our rabbis, when they capture and communicate קרח Korach in that context, you can't help but feel, הילל ושמאי Hillel v'Shammai, their מחלוקת *machlokes* לשם שמים l'shem Shamayim. קרח וכל עדתו Korach v'chol adaso, we'll speak about in a moment the lack of parallel. הילל ושמאי Hillel v'Shammai were adversaries, intellectual adversaries. קרח Korach was an adversary to משה Moshe, not וכל עדתו v'chol adaso. So what is it set up as? קרח וכל עדתו Korach v'chol adaso? It should say מחלוקת לשם שמים machlokes l'shem Shamayim, הילל ושמאי Hillel v'Shammai. שאינה לשם שמים she'eina l'shem Shamayim is קרח עם משה Korach im Moshe? Why does it say קרח וכל עדתו Korach v'chol adaso? If you listen to today's one minute in the one on one campaign, רבי מאיר זאב Rav Meir Zev quoted a beautiful insight, the שמש ומגן Shemesh u'Magen, because קרח וכל עדתו Korach v'chol adaso, he didn't even get along within his own party and his own people, there was strife and there was מחלוקת machlokes. Even though they joined forces to take on משה Moshe, within his own party he couldn't get along and that's why it's קרח וכל עדתו Korach v'chol adaso. There are other answers which we've given, which we'll see in a moment. But the משנה Mishnah, our rabbis, set it up that קרח Korach is a villain. קרח Korach is a wicked person. But it's not so simple. חז\"ל Chazal see, in fact, greatness to קרח Korach. The מדרש Midrash says, אשר יחדיו נמתיק סוד asher yachdav namtik sod. On the פסוק pasuk אשר יחדיו נמתיק סוד asher yachdav namtik sod, זה אהרן וקרח שהיו שניהם שווים בפני אלוקים zeh Aharon v'Korach she'hayu shneihem shavim lifnei Elokim. The מדרש Midrash says קרח Korach was equal to אהרן Aharon. Their righteousness, their brilliance, their greatness, their צדקות tzidkus. He was great. אהרן הכהן Aharon HaKohen. Moreover, the מדרש Midrash there further says, קרח חכם גדול היה, מטעוני הארון Korach chacham gadol hayah, mi'to'anei ha'aron. קרח Korach had a greatness, he carried, he lifted the ארון Aron. קרח Korach was not some simple person. קרח Korach was not driven by simply impure, egotistical motive.חז\"ל Chazal write about קרח Korach, חכם גדול chacham gadol. He was incredibly wise, he was a great חכם chacham. He was incredibly, had great achievement. Moreover, קרח פיקח היה Korach pike'ach hayah, רש\"י Rashi quotes. He was a פיקח pike'ach, he was smart, he was insightful, he was wise. So how could he have fallen? And how can we see him and paint him as a villain? The ארי הקדוש Ari HaKadosh, the great Kabbalist writes that סופי תיבות sofei teivos, the end of the word קרח Korach are צדיק כתמר יפרח tzaddik ka'tamar yifrach. The last letters of צדיק כתמר יפרח tzaddik ka'tamar yifrach are קרח Korach. A righteous sprouts like a date tree. צדיק כתמר יפרח Tzaddik ka'tamar yifrach. קרח Korach was not some pedestrian, simple, civilian, בעל הבית baal habos, rebellion, ego-driven. קרח Korach was great, great like אהרן Aharon. He was a חכם chacham, he was a גדול gadol, he was a צדיק כתמר יפרח tzaddik ka'tamar yifrach. רב צדוק הכהן Rav Tzadok HaKohen, the second one of the day, in פרי צדיק Pri Tzadik writes: טעותו הייתה שנשאר בדעת בנפשו שצדיק גמור הוא, ואפילו ליבו חלל בקרבו, ויצר הרע מתפוצץ מליבו, וכיוון שראש ליבו מייעצו לחלוק על משה, ידע בנפשו שליבו שלם לפני בוראו, והיה סומך על זה שזהו רצון השם יתברך שנצרך לכך Ta'uso hayesa sh'nishar b'daas b'nafsho she'tzaddik gamur hu, v'afilu libo chalal b'kirbo, v'yeitzer hara mispotzetz m'libo, v'keivan sh'rosh libo meya'atzo lachlok al Moshe, yada b'nafsho sh'libo shalem lifnei boro, v'hayah somech al zeh she'zehu retzon Hashem Yisborach she'nitzrach l'chach. He was so right and so righteous, קרח Korach knew how purely he was driven that when he had this instinct and intuition to confront משה Moshe, he felt that הקדוש ברוך הוא HaKadosh Baruch Hu planted it within him. He felt he had arrived. He was such a צדיק tzaddik and such a חכם chacham that if he felt that and was drawn to that, it must be the will of השם Hashem. So רב צדוק Rav Tzadok attributes to קרח Korach a pure motive, even though of course he went horrifilly wrong.So, the altar of Navardok says that that's why it's such a pernicious מידה middah. Jealousy and envy, comparing and competing with others, it'll be our downfall. It's our kryptonite. You could have all the potential in the world. You could be on track and trajectory to be an אהרן הכהן Aharon HaKohen. You could be a חכם chacham and a צדיק כתמר יפרח tzaddik ka'tamar yifrach. And when you're driven by jealousy and envy, when you're looking at and competing with others, it's your end. So the altar of Navardok says in the משנה Mishnah, הקנאה והתאווה והכבוד מוציאין את האדם מן העולם hakina v'hata'ava v'hakavod motzi'in es ha'adam min ha'olam. that envy and jealousy and תאווה ta'ava, desire, כבוד kavod, the desire for honor, they remove a person from the world. So the Alter writes, שלושה כוחות אלו הם כשלושה סוסים גדולים ועצומים, אשר בכוחם להוציא אדם מן העולם. Shlosha kochos eilu hem k'shlosha susim gedolim v'atzumim, asher b'kocham l'hotzi adam min ha'olam. These three qualities are like horsepower. They're like the horsepower in a car. They can drive you right out of this world, right off a cliff. אך תלוי להיכן מכוונים אותם ach talui l'heichan mechavnim osam. But the horsepower of the car can drive you off a cliff or into a tree, but it could also drive you straight to do a מצוה mitzvah, to arrive at some destination that you're meant to be. The horsepower itself is not intrinsically good or bad. The steering wheel is what makes the difference. It's how we drive and the direction that we turn, it's how we steer all that horsepower. So קנאה, תאווה, וכבוד kinah, ta'avah, v'kavod are not inherently or intrinsically bad qualities. We know that we have only two inherently, intrinsically bad qualities. What are they? The רמב\"ן Ramban, the רמב\"ם Rambam, they both agree. The רמב\"ם Rambam in his משנה תורה Mishnah Torah, the רמב\"ן Ramban in his איגרת iggeres. What are they? גאווה Ga'avah, arrogance. Arrogance, which we'll talk about this morning, arrogance. You have to be extremely humble. מאוד מאוד הוי שפל רוח me'od me'od hevei shfal ruach. And what's the other? Anger. There's no room for anger. Every other quality is called a מידה middah. They're called מידות midos. We work on מידות midos because the word מידה middah means a measure. They belong in some measure. I always give the example of the אורחות צדיקים Orchos Tzaddikim. You're making a chicken soup, you put no pepper in, it's going to be bland and miserable. If you pour the entire bottle of pepper in, it's going to be miserable, you're going to spoil and ruin it. You need to put it in the right מידה middah, the right measure of pepper belongs. That's why they're called מידות midos. So every quality belongs in our recipe, in our repertoire, but it has to be the right מידה middah. There are two exceptions: anger and arrogance. So the altar of Navardok says, קנאה, תאווה, וכבוד kinah, ta'avah, v'kavod, those are מידות midos that could drive you to greatness. כבוד Kavod, not honor that's driven by ego, but honor of השם Hashem. and תאווה ta'ava. אוהב כסף לא ישבע כסף, אוהב תורה לא ישבע תורה ohev kesef lo yisba kesef, ohev Torah lo yisba Torah. If you tap into that drive and that hunger and that appetite, you can direct the יצר הרע yeitzer hara to great things. and קנאה kinah, envy and jealousy. You see the way someone else דאווענ'ט davens, the way they learn, you see their instinct for חסד chesed, and you say I want that, I want to be like that, I want to become that. Then it's a great thing. It's not the horsepower, it's the steering wheel. It's which way we direct. קרח Korach, he steered the wrong way. He was in the wrong direction, he drove off a cliff, quite literally, into the ground. Because even though he had the potential for greatness, he blew it. He blew it.Said about רבי אליהו לפיאן Rav Eliyahu Lopian in the name of the Alter of Kelm, הדבר האחרון ששמענו מרבי ישראל גורביץ' ישראל סלנט hadavar ha'acharon she'shamanu m'Rav Yisrael Gurevitch, Yisrael Salant, what was the last thing רבי ישראל סלנט Rav Yisrael Salant said before he died? He said הקנאה והתאווה והכבוד מוציאין את האדם hakina v'hata'ava v'hakavod motzi'in es ha'adam. רבי ישראל דייק שלא לומר כסו האדם Rav Yisrael dayek shelo lomar k'siv ha'adam. The last teaching of רבי ישראל סלנט Rav Yisrael Salant said to his תלמידים talmidim, the last message of מוסר mussar before he left this world, it says that these three things, קנאה, תאווה, וכבוד kinah, ta'ava, v'kavod מוציאין את *motzi'in es* doesn't say אדם adam. It doesn't say these three qualities remove a person from the world, it says removes האדם ha'adam. ה\"א הידיעה hei hayedia, the person. שאפילו אדם גדול מאוד אם לא יהיה נזהר מתרו, יוציאו אותו מדות רעות מן העולם. she'afilu adam gadol me'od im lo yiheyeh nizhar mi'terav, yotzi'u oso midos ra'os min ha'olam. It means האדם ha'adam means the great person. No matter how great you are, no matter how great the potential you have to be, if you don't steer the קנאה, תאווה, וכבוד kinah, ta'ava, v'kavod wrong, how many great people have we seen, accomplished, famous, distinguished people who קנאה, תאווה, או כבוד kinah, ta'ava, o kavod, one of those things, misguided, misdirected, led them off a cliff, led them to end their reputation and their lives. So it's not just אדם adam, not every simple person needs to be careful. האדם בה\"א הידיעה ha'adam b'hei hayedia, the greatest of people, the יצר הרע yeitzer hara. So the greater people, the greater the importance of steering correctly, of steering in the right, of steering in the right direction. Okay.מגיד ישרים Megid Yesharim. My name is father, Rav Yossel. I love the ספר he gave me, רבי יוסף סטרוצקין Rav Yosef Strotskin. מגיד ישרים Megid Yesharim, listen to this insight. וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח Vayikach Korach. So we said the משנה Mishnah and אבות Avos sets it up, it's not parallel. It should be הילל ושמאי Hillel v'Shammai are intellectual adversaries and קרח עם משה Korach im Moshe? What do you mean קרח וכל עדתו Korach v'chol adaso? We've given answers to this year's past. and one of the challenges of the פרשה parsha class is as you look at the פרשה parsha, you remember all the fantastic דברי תורה divrei Torah that we shared before, and I'm tempted to remind myself and you of them again. But you could listen to old years over and over again. You could review. There are seven days in a week, one of them שבת Shabbos, but six days leading up to each שבת Shabbos, we have at least six of previous years' פרשה parsha. I say that not to promote myself because I say nothing novel in my פרשה parsha class. I just repackage and recycle and redistribute everyone else's incredible תורה Torah. So it's worth re-listening again. So וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח Vayikach Korach. So מדרש שמואל Midrash Shmuel here quotes, מה טעם לא נאמר זה מחלוקת קרח ומשה mah ta'am lo ne'emar zeh machlokes Korach u'Moshe as we said שמאי והלל Shammai v'Hillel? Why does it say קרח וכל עדתו Korach v'chol adaso? ובישב דבר נר uv'yishav davar ner, says the מגיד ישרים Megid Yesharim רבי יוסף סטרוצקין Rav Yosef Strotskin: שמאי והלל לא היו בעלי מחלוקת מטיבעם ומצד עצמותם Shammai v'Hillel lo hayu ba'alei machlokes m'tivam u'mitzad atzmosam. שמאי והלל Shammai v'Hillel in their personalities, they were peacemakers, they were peace lovers. They were very happy people, socially well-adjusted people. They got along with people, they loved and they treasured and they pursued peace. It just happened to be, שמאי סבר אסור והלל סבר מותר Shammai savar assur v'Hillel savar mutar. ונמצאו חולקים זה על זה v'nimtze'u cholkim zeh al zeh. On a certain topic, they had a disagreement, so they appeared as adversaries, because on a certain topic they came to separate conclusions, but that was about their intellectual position, their הלכ'דיק halachic position, it wasn't about their מהות mahut, their character, who they were. Who they were. אבל שמאי ללא הלל וכן הלל ללא שמאי, אין בו שם אבק מחלוקת aval Shammai l'lo Hillel v'chein Hillel l'lo Shammai, ein bo shem avak machlokes. If there was no הילל Hillel to be disagreeing with שמאי Shammai, and שמאי Shammai simply had his opinion. If there was no שמאי Shammai to disagree with הילל Hillel, and הילל Hillel simply had his opinion, there is no מחלוקת machlokes. They weren't in their nature, in their character, people of tension and conflict. They just held opinions. And when their opinion was in conflict with another, it appears as a מחלוקת machlokes, and that is a מחלוקת לשם שמים machlokes l'shem Shamayim. ומשום כך לשון התנא מחלוקת לשם שמים, מחלוקת שמאי והלל u'mishum kach lashon haTanna, machlokes l'shem Shamayim, machlokes Shammai v'Hillel. שכל אחד חולק על שיטה של השני she'kol echad cholek al shita shel ha'sheini. They're disagreeing about a position, they're disagreeing about a conclusion, but they're not people of disagreement. אבל קרח וכל עדתו ביסודם של דברים לא היו חולקים על שיטה של משה, אלא היו בעלי מחלוקת מטיבעם, אשר חיפשו את הבעל פלוגתא. Aval Korach v'chol adaso b'yesodam shel dvarim lo hayu cholkim al shita shel Moshe, ella hayu ba'alei machlokes m'tivam, asher chipsu es ha'baal plugta. קרח Korach and his עדה eidah, קרח Korach and his group, they were people of conflict. They got a thrill, they had some endorphin release, they had some pleasure out of the fight, out of the fight. ולולי משה היו מוצאים קורבן אחר ליצור מחלוקת שלהם. V'lulei Moshe hayu motz'im korban acher litzor machlokes shelahem. You know, we know people like this. They're בעלי מחלוקת ba'alei machlokes, they love to fight. They love a fight. They're not happy unless they're in a fight with someone. They get a thrill out of the fight. They have some distorted joy out of the fight. They love a fight. Now, as community leaders, our job is to say fantastic. Let me give you a few causes to fight for. Last night someone distributed antisemitic packages and driveways all over Montoyo Circle. The terrible, the גוים goyim defense league. The moron defense league, if you remember the van that passed us by. They distributed little antisemitic in our own backyard. We have to fight antisemitism. We have to fight for עגונות *agunos* to get their גט *get*. We have to fight for כלל ישראל *Klal Yisrael*, ארץ ישראל *Eretz Yisrael*. There are so many worthy causes to fight for. So you take the person predisposed who loves the thrill of a fight and you unleash them on a worthy fight. That's what our job and our responsibility. But as רב סטרוצקין *Rav Strotskin*, the מגיד ישרים *Megid Yesharim* points out, that's why the משנה *Mishnah* doesn't have a parallel. שמאי והלל'ס מחלוקת *Shammai v'Hillel's machlokes*, it's לשם שמים *l'shem Shamayim* because they're not בעלי מחלוקת *ba'alei machlokes*. They're not people of conflict. They're not people of tension. You know those people that are around every table or in any conversation, they want to, you know, drop something that's going to create, escalate. They love it, there's a thrill. People fighting, yelling, screaming, not talking to each other. They love to whisper, did you hear? The fight, we're not talking, what's happening, the controversy. That's קרח *Korach*. So they were looking for a fight, they happened to find it with משה *Moshe*. If they couldn't find it with משה *Moshe*, they would have found it with someone else. So משה *Moshe* is not the other side of their equation. It's not קרח עם משה *Korach im Moshe* the way it's הילל ושמאי *Hillel v'Shammai*, because when you're a בעל מחלוקת *baal machlokes*, the subject, the object, the target is not someone with whom you have a different opinion or position. You're not intellectually sparring or in disagreement. You're simply a person of מחלוקת *machlokes* and you chose to pick it with that person. But it's not really about them or their position, it could have been about with anybody. So it's קרח וכל עדתו *Korach v'chol adaso*. ולולי משה מוצאים קורבן אחר ululei Moshe motz'im korban acher. ונמצא שמשה לא היה שורש ואפילו שותף למחלוקת, אלא רק אמצעי. v'nimtza she'Moshe lo hayah shoresh v'afilu shutaf la'machlokes, ella rak emtza'i. משה *Moshe* was not part of that מחלוקת *machlokes*. He was the means. He was the target of the choice. ומשום ובהמומנט ובמקום כך ראשון התנא מחלוקת שאינה לשם שמים קרח וכל עדתו כי כל גורמי הצדיים למחלוקת הם תמונים בקרח וכל עדתו. u'mishum u'ba'moment u'b'makom kach rashon ha'Tanna, machlokes she'eina l'shem Shamayim, Korach v'chol adaso, ki kol gormei ha'tzdadim la'machlokes hem tmunim b'Korach v'chol adaso. So that is the מגיד ישרים'ס *Megid Yesharim's* beautiful insight on this, on this פסוק *pasuk*, on the opening, really on our, on our introduction. Okay. Let's go, let's go weiter.Let's go weiter.פסוק ג' *Pasuk Gimmel*.ויקראו על משה ועל אהרן ויאמרו אלהם רב לכם כי כל העדה כולם קדושים ובתוכם השם Vayikalu al Moshe v'al Aharon vayomru aleihem rav lachem ki kol ha'eida kulam kedoshim u'v'socham Hashem. So they gather, they gather, because that's the way it is, by the way. That's the way it is. And this has been escalated thanks to technology enormously. When you're sincere, you approach someone directly and you have a conversation. You say, I'm trying to understand your position, or here's why I disagree, or here's my concern, hear me out. But when you're looking for the מחלוקת machlokes, when you're looking to escalate conflict, when you're doing it not to resolve, but you're doing it in order to become a fan favorite among a group, then it's ויקהלו vayikahalu. You gather, you come as a group. You see this all the time, where somebody uses social media to attack somebody. Why don't you just reach out to them? I'm not talking about personally, your flight was canceled, so you use social media to call out the airline, who could you, how dare you, someone get back to me. I'm talking about somebody you know, a neighbor, someone you live near, talking about a rabbi, a principal, a head of school, where people will use social media when they have a relationship, rather than reaching out, rather than having a direct conversation. ויקהלו Vayikahalu. It's nothing new. Nothing new. That methodology of מחלוקת machlokes goes all the way back to the birth of our people to the desert. ויקהלו על משה ועל אהרן Vayikahalu al Moshe v'al Aharon. So they gather on משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon. קרח Korach was as much playing to his audience as he was speaking to משה Moshe and אהרן Aharon. ויאמרו אלהם Vayomru aleihem they say, רב לכם rav lachem. רב לכם Rav lachem, it's too much for you. It's too much for you. You have too much power. You've consolidated all your power. כי כל העדה כולם קדושים kol ha'eidah kulam kedoshim. Everybody's holy. ובתוכם השם u'v'socham Hashem, and inside of them, all of us is God. ומדוע תתנשאו על קהל השם u'madua tisnasu al kehal Hashem? Why are you elevating yourself over? Why are you expressing authority over? Who are you? Who are you? In years past, we've discussed that in fact there is some truth, a kernel of truth. It's a compelling argument. That's why it persuaded so many to follow. It's empowering. Many dick, many, many charismatic leaders through history have said exactly this. They've said, why are we listening to a dictator? Why are we listening to a centralized authority? We need to spread the power. Power should be among the people. Let's lead a rebellion. And it worked. And it worked. רב לכם Rav lachem. רב לכם Rav lachem.רש\"י Rashi says on these words, בן יצהר בן קהת בן לוי ben Yitzhar ben Kehas ben Levi. Sorry, I skipped this. Let's go back to the opening פסוק *pasuk*. Going back to the genealogy of קרח Korach. From whom did he descend? בן יצהר בן קהת בן לוי ben Yitzhar ben Kehas ben Levi. לא הזכיר בן יעקב lo hizkir ben Yaakov, says רש\"י Rashi. Whom did we omit? We left out somebody in his יחוס *yichus*. When קרח *Korach* was dating, on his resume, why didn't it say יעקב *Yaakov*? בן יצהר בן קהת בן לוי Ben Yitzhar ben Kehas ben Levi, you think the זײדע *Zayde*, the אלטע זײדע *alter Zayde*, the גדול *gadol*, the בחיר שבאבות *bechir sheb'avos*, יעקב *Yaakov*, the most, who's going to even make a phone call after you put on the resume, יעקב *Yaakov*? Everybody.What medicine was יעקב *Yaakov* on? Okay, we'll leave that out. וכן לא יזכר שמו בפרשת לבני v'chein lo yizkar shmo b'parshas l'vnei, I don't understand. So רש\"י Rashi says it doesn't say יעקב *Yaakov*, why? Back to רש\"י *Rashi*. Doesn't say יעקב *Yaakov*, why? שביקש רחמים על עצמו שלא יזכר שמו על מחלוקתם she'bikesh rachamim al atzmo she'lo yizkar shmo al machlukasam. Because יעקב *Yaakov* anticipated, he knew that there would be מחלוקת *machlokes*. He said keep me out. Don't attach my name. Don't identify or associate me with it at all. I want to be as far away as I possibly can from מחלוקת machlokes. from מחלוקת machlokes. So I don't understand. So he davened leave me out. So if he's not mentioned in the פרשה *parsha*, he's no longer קרח'ס אלטע זײדע *Korach's alter Zayde*? He's still the זײדע *Zayde*. It's still his great grandchild. It's still on his record. There's still the association, because the name's not on the resume? Because his name is omitted from the פרשה *parsha*, none of us know? בן יצהר בן קהת בן לוי *Ben Yitzhar ben Kehas ben Levi*. Oh, who is Levi's father again? We don't know? What did it help to be left out? Why did he daven for that? So, the בעלי מוסר *ba'alei mussar* explained that יעקב *Yaakov* knew, ברוח הקודש *b'ruach hakodesh*, that there would be מחלוקת *machlokes*. So, הרי רואה את עצמו מחסדיו של גדול הדור שהגיע עד לפיקורסות גמורה, וביקש את עצמו להיות נקי לגמרי מהשייכות למידה זו, he wanted to be as far away as possible. כידוע מה שהיה סבא מסלבודקה אומר, אם נראה בן טובים שנכשל בגניבת ממון, אין זה אלא משום שאביו היה בעל מדרגה גבוהה ממנו. היה מסדר בחידושי תורה שלא, שלא בסופו שהיה מדרגה גבוהה יותר. וגונב דעת הבריות בעבודת השם יתברך שלו. טבע זו של גניבה בכוחוס נפשו, עברה אצלו בירושה מהסבא שלא עבד להשלים את עצמו, שלא לגנוב דעת הבריות. אצלו זה בתיה לדברים רוחניים יותר, אצל הנכד הסתדר למדרגה נמוכה כזו k'yadu'a ma she'hayah Saba miSlabodka omer, im nir'eh ben tovim she'nichshal b'gneivas mamon, ein zeh ella mishum she'aviv hayah ba'al madrega gvoha mimenu. Hayah mesader b'chidushei Torah shelo, shelo b'sofo she'hayah madrega gvoha yoser. V'gonev daas habriyos b'avodas Hashem Yisborach shelo. Teva zu shel gneivah b'kochos nafsho, avra etzlo b'yerusha me'ha'Saba she'lo avad l'hashlim es atzmo, she'lo lignov daas habriyos. Etzlo zeh b'tei l'dvarim ruchniyim yoser, etzel ha'neched histader l'madrega nemucha k'zu. If you see somebody's a thief, it means their father, the grandfather, the great-father was also a thief. Maybe they didn't steal possessions, material things. They were גונב דעת *gonev daas*. They stole people's impression. So יעקב *Yaakov* davened, שלא יהיה בבנאו שם שייכות לגונה של מחלוקת *she'lo yiheyeh b'vanav shem shayachus l'gunah shel machlokes*. He wasn't davening that he wouldn't be identified with the great-grandchild. He was davening that if the great-grandchild would have a נטייה *netiya* towards מחלוקת *machlokes*, that it didn't come from him. This תפילה *tefilla* made no sense to be about his progeny, just because he wouldn't be named in the list wouldn't make him not related. So why did he have to daven? So says the Alter of Slabodka, the תפילה *tefilla* was not for the great-grandchild. The תפילה *tefilla* was, whatever quality is expressing or manifesting itself in the great-grandchild, let it not be because it's coming from me. Let it not be found in me. Let it not be some form of what originated within me. As I said that is the Alter of Alter of Slabodka. Okay, now back to our פסוק *pasuk*, פסוק ג' *pasuk gimmel*. קרח *Korach* makes this argument. כלם קדושים *Kulam kedoshim*, we're all from השם *Hashem*. רב לכם בני לוי *Rav lachem Bnei Levi*. It's enough, genug, too much for you. Too much for you. The גמרא סוטה *Gemara Sotah* learns: ברב חטא וברב לקח. ברב חטא, דכתיב רב לכם בני לוי, וברב לקח, דכתיב רב לך, אל תוסף דבר *b'rav chata u'v'rav lakach. b'rav chata, d'chsiv rav lachem Bnei Levi, u'v'rav lakach, d'chsiv rav lach, al tosef davar*. The גמרא סוטה *Gemara Sotah* says that that same language, that same clause, רב לכם *rav lachem*, it's too much for you that קרח *Korach* used, he later paid for when he was told רב לך אל תוסף דבר *rav lach, al tosef davar*. What does this mean? רבי ישראל סלנטר *Rav Yisrael Salanter* says the following. יסוד מחלוקותם של קרח וכל עדתו שהתפיסו על הכהונה *Yesod machlukasam shel Korach v'chol adaso she'hitpisu al ha'kehuna*. Where did it come from? What was the motive? He said why are you the כהנים *kohanim*? Why do you have the position of distinction? Why are you serving in an elevated fashion ostensibly above everybody else? We want it. רב לכם בני לוי *Rav lachem Bnei Levi*. faster pace than anyone before. It's the information age. We have access to gazillions of terabytes of information at our fingertips. It makes sense that we swell with arrogance, that we think that we're so accomplished. But there's an enormous danger. When a generation thinks it's arrogant, you know what happens? They forget God. There was just a poll last week. Who does all the polls? Pew. The belief in God in America is at an all-time low. Belief in God among Americans is at an all-time low. I don't think it's a coincidence that the belief in God is at such a low and the rise of immorality, promiscuity, licentiousness, and all the challenges and dissolving of boundaries. There used to be such a thing called boundaries. זכר ונקבה בראם Zachar u'nekevah baram. Shem created a world of men and women. We knew the difference. Created a world of relationships, of monogamy, of loyalty, of marriage, of contract, of obligation, of faithfulness. A world of modesty. A person dressed, a person reserved. Modesty physically, that you shared certain things only for a certain setting and certain people, instead of with the world. Modesty emotionally, there were feelings or thoughts you had that you kept inside yourself or shared with your closest confidants. You didn't post for the whole world to read and see. We had boundaries. We had boundaries, and they're gone, and they're disappearing. Every boundary. Every boundary. Boundaries to our thoughts and feelings, boundaries to our body, boundaries to our definitions. And I don't think it's a coincidence that belief in God is plummeting and these challenges are rising. וישמע משה Vayishma Moshe. Moshe understood. He heard the murmurings. They accused him why? Because they were guilty of it themselves. כל הפוסל במומו פוסל Kol haposel b'mumo posel. You accuse the other what you're guilty of, what you're capable of. And when you're arrogant, and you think you're above the law and you're above God, then your boundaries dissolve and disappear, and you're capable of unfaithfulness. That was something they struggled with and therefore they accused Moshe of. וישמע משה Vayishma Moshe. He heard it, and he understood it, and he accused them of it. We didn't even get past the first page tonight. This is an all-time low for our שיעור shiur. I'm humiliated and I'm embarrassed. Goodness gracious. Korach's eye tricked him, or was it his eye that tricked him. He saw who would descend from him. Also part of his arrogance. Okay, we'll end with this because it's one last thought along the same lines. פרק טז פסוק ז Perek tet zayin pasuk zayin, also it enables us to turn to the second page.Moshe hears and he says, תנו בהן אש ושימו עליהן קטורת לפני השם מחר והיה האיש אשר יבחר השם הוא הקדוש רב לכם בני לוי T'nu vahen eish v'simu aleihen ketoret lifnei Hashem machar, v'hayah ha'ish asher yivchar Hashem hu hakadosh, rav lachem bnei Levi. Put a fire in and place this incense on them before Hashem. Incense is the answer by the way. קטרת Ketoret is what's מכפר mechaper, מסכן mesaken, every plague. Was מכפר mechaper, מסכן mesaken, Korach. In the time of Dovid Hamelech, there was a pandemic and it was ketoret. We have a tradition about ketoret, its role. We spoke about it in the past. We've spoken about מחר machar, tomorrow, the idea and the ideal of tomorrow. בקר Boker, why boker, you gotta listen to the previous shiurim. Again, because of the people I quote, nothing to do with me. והיה האיש אשר יבחר השם הוא הקדוש V'hayah ha'ish asher yivchar Hashem hu hakadosh. The one who Hashem chooses is the holy one. רב לכם בני לוי Rav lachem bnei Levi. It's too much for you children. Moshe flips it, right, the same thing that was said to him, he says to them, and God later says it to him. רב לכם Rav lachem, you could spend hours just on those words. רב לכם Rav lachem. רב לכם Rav lachem. So the Rashi quotes Korach שפקח היה she'pikeach haya. Korach was brilliant, he was a פקח pikeach. מה ראה לשטות זה Ma ra'ah l'shtus zeh? How did he come to such misguided foolishness? How did it happen Korach came to such misguided foolishness? שטות Shtus. We know that anytime a person sins, נכנס בו רוח שטות nichnas bo ruach shtus. We're overcome by insanity. Because if we stop and think, is this what Hashem wants from me right now? Is this going to be good for me or will it sabotage me? If we actually maintain our clarity, our consciousness, our mindfulness, our judgment, then we can never do that thing. So when we do that thing, it's only because נכנס בנו רוח שטות nichnas banu ruach shtus. So what was the רוח שטות ruach shtus that entered Korach? He was a פקח pikeach. He was a smart person. What are you doing? He knew how it was going to end. So Rashi quotes חז\"ל Chazal, עינו הטעתו eino hit'ato. His eye tricked him, his eye fooled him. What does that mean his eye fooled him? Again we've discussed in the past, not for now, we have two eyes. גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam, שפלות האדם shiflus ha'adam. With one eye we see the greatness, with the other eye we see, we need the balance in order to have good vision, peripheral vision. You need to have a balance between the eye that sees גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam and the eye of שפלות האדם shiflus ha'adam. When you're blind in one eye, as Bilam was, as Korach was, all you see is גדלות האדם gadlus ha'adam, you have no sense of שפלות האדם shiflus ha'adam, then your eye has fooled you. Then you don't see clearly. So what did he see? שלשלת גדולה יוצאה הימנו Shalsheles gedolah yotzah himenu. Korach's offspring, his progeny. שמואל Shmuel, who was equal to משה ואהרן Moshe v'Aharon, כ\"ד משמרות שכולן מתנבאים ברוח הקודש kaf-daled mishmaros shekulan misnabim b'ruach hakodesh. The twenty-four משמרות mishmaros of the בית המקדש Beis Hamikdash that he saw ברוח הקודש b'ruach hakodesh. He said, all this is going to descend from me? These greatness, שמואל בדורו כמשה ואהרן בדורם Shmuel b'doro k'Moshe v'Aharon b'doram. All is going to descend from me, this greatness? So he said, I must be great. If it's all descending from me and I am the source, I am the origin, it originates with me, I must be great. And I deserve great distinction and great power. So the Steipler zatzal, בזה גופא ראה לעצמו שמגיע לו כבוד גדול שיצאו ממנו שמואל וכ\"ד משמרות, יכול הוא להשתמש כדי לרומם להרחיק עצמו מהמחלוקת B'zeh gufa ra'ah l'atzmo she'magia lo kavod gadol she'yotzu mimenu Shmuel v'chaf-daled mishmaros, yachol hu l'hishtamesh kedei l'romem l'harchik atzmo me'hamachlokes. He should have seen that and come to the opposite conclusion. If this is who will descend from me, I need to ingrain, I need to bequeath to them pure genetics, spiritual genetics. I have to stay as far away as possible from מחלוקת machlokes. I have to be the best version of myself so I could pass it on to them. Instead he came to the opposite conclusion. If I stand to produce such greatness... מחלוקת machlokes, I must be great. I deserve more. He should have come to the opposite conclusion. So the Steipler concludes and with this so do we. על פי רוב כל הכועס וטוען טענות ויוצא במחלוקת שמגיע לו כבוד או שלפי דעתו קיפחו במסרות, זהו עצמו התירוץ לכך שלא מגיע לו אותו כבוד שהוא דורש Al pi rov kol hako'eis v'to'ein ta'anos v'yotzei b'machlokes she'magia lo kavod o sh'lfi da'ato kipchu b'misaros, zehu atzmo hateirutz l'kach shelo magia lo oso kavod she'hu doresh. When a person wants more honor, why didn't I get the עליה aliyah? Why didn't they honor me at the dinner? Why am I not the chairman or the president? Why am I not in a better seat? When a person ever advances that they deserve more honor or why does someone else get it, that's the answer themselves. Their very advancement of that argument is the תירוץ teirutz. They're giving the answer to their own question. The very fact that they articulate that, that they pursue that, that they feel that, is the exact answer or explanation of why they don't have it and why they don't get it. We're supposed to run away from כבוד kavod and not chase it. When you run away from כבוד kavod, כבוד kavod runs after you. When you run towards כבוד kavod, the כבוד kavod runs away from you. So much more to say, but for now, have a great day. Stay happy, stay healthy, stay holy. Tomorrow morning, living with אמונה emunah. Tomorrow night, Dovi Safier and Yudi Geberer, a great behind the bima.
