Shabbat Shalom Weekly

Torah Portion:  Korach

Distortion of Jealousy
by Rabbi Ron Jawary

“And Korach took” (Numbers 16:1). Korach was an astute, wealthy and charismatic person. He had so many blessings yet he lost it all and became the paradigm of human tragedy. Rashi teaches us that what led him to make such a major mistake in life and challenge Moses was his jealousy. Jealousy has the ability to not only stop us from appreciating and enjoying what we have, but to lead us to make such ridiculous choices in life that we can lose all the blessings we have.

The Torah gives us the antidote to this by juxtaposing the tragedy of Korach with our responsibility to be generous with the blessings God gives us. A person who shares generously will learn to appreciate all that he has been given and to see that God has been generous with him.

That is why the Torah never tells us what Korach took: it didn’t matter what he took; the Torah wants us to focus on his attitude and not to be like him. He was a jealous person, never satisfied with what he had, wanting to take everything he could. King Solomon says it all when he tells us that “a person with a good eye is blessed.” If we look at others benevolently, rejoice in their successes, and share of our blessings, we will see that we have more than we really need, and we will be able to enjoy all that we have. That is one of the greatest blessings life has to offer.

Blossoms

“The staff of Aaron … blossomed and its almonds ripened” (Numbers 17:23). King David teaches us that a “good person will blossom like a palm tree”. One of the reasons a good person is compared specifically to a palm tree is that it is the only tree that will produce fruit in a desert. Its roots are so deep that it can draw water from deep under the ground. So too, a truly good person is able to do what is right, not because it’s the norm in the society in which he happens to live in, but because it is what the right, moral thing to do. In every circumstance and situation, he will draw from his deep roots. He will blossom by bringing spiritual beauty and physical blessing to the world.

This is really what the Jewish people are all about; our roots are so deep, reaching all the way back to Abraham and Sarah, that wherever we have gone in over 2000 years of exile, we have managed to bring both spiritual and physical blessings to every country we have lived in.

(Based on the teaching of Rabbi Aaron Soloveitchik.)

 

Keep Yourself In Check
by Rabbi Yehoshua Berman

One of the central events in the parsha is the attempted rebellion of Korach and his cohorts against Moshe and Aharon. Korach claimed that Moshe and Aharon were deliberately taking up all the positions of honor and glory for themselves and their closest family members, and he “indignantly” demanded that the “honor” of all the Jewish People be upheld by stopping this “violation.”[1]

Rashi explains that there was a certain position of honor that Korach coveted and someone else received it. His jealousy induced him to conduct his rebellion. As could be expected, Korach’s rebellion ended in him and all of his cohorts being terribly punished through special miracles that God performed[2] to prove that indeed Moshe was only doing precisely what he was commanded to do.[3]

Rashi explains that what emotionally fortified Korach in his attempt at what would otherwise be considered absolute lunacy, was a divinely inspired vision he saw that very great people were to descend from him. Korach thought, “Is it possible that I could be the forebear of such wondrous offspring and not be saved and emerge victorious?!” Rashi makes it clear that Korach was indeed a highly intelligent person, and that he nevertheless engaged in this lunacy because of this “reasoning”. Of course, as Rashi explains, what Korach failed to realize is that his sons ended up doing teshuvah and thus enabled the future, great offspring to eventually come into the world.

It would seem very reasonable that in order to have such great people descend from him – and to have succeeded in getting so many great people to follow him,[4] Korach himself must have indeed been inherently great – just that he ruined everything by losing himself in his drive for glory. This would be in line with the saying “the bigger they are the harder they fall.” Chazal indeed teach us, “Anyone who is greater than his fellow, so too is his yeitzer hara (evil inclination) greater.” The higher the spiritual level one attains, the greater his life-tests become, and thus the harder he can fall if he fails to persevere through those tests.

Later in Jewish history we find a very similar such occurrence. Yaravam ben Nevat split off from Rechavam (who was the son and successor of Shlomo Ha’Melech) and became the king of the ten Shevatim. In order to discourage his subjects from being oleh l’regel, he set up two places of worship in other areas and erected golden calves there,[5] thereby becoming the quintessential chotei u’machti for all time.[6]

This is so even though Yaravam was one of the absolute greatest talmidei chachamim of his time; or, perhaps, specifically because he was the greatest. His being the greatest may well have contributed to his ultimate downfall because his tests were that much greater and he did not keep the natural drive for honor in check.

Knowing all this, then, it becomes very understandable that the greatest figure of all human history, Moshe Rabbeinu, was the quintessential embodiment of humility, as the Torah says explicitly about him that he was the most humble person to ever walk the face of the earth. If one is to achieve greatness, then he absolutely must develop and cultivate the trait of humility, because if not, the very greatness that he attains may ultimately cause him to lose everything.

The Orchos Tzadikim says that one who has amassed great Torah knowledge but has the character flaw of arrogantly tooting his own horn and always emphasizing how he is so much greater than others is like a barrel that is filled with the finest vintage wine, just that it has a small hole in the bottom. Ultimately, he will be left with nothing.[7]

Korach was not some wild aberration. He was a completely normal person – actually an incredibly great individual – who fell prey to the completely normal lure of honor and glory. Even great, intelligent people – and perhaps particularly the great and intelligent people – are prone to stumbling into frightening pitfalls from folly. The drive for recognition and honor can cause one to violate the mandates of morality and justice and put one on a path of extremely destructive behavior, a path that one would otherwise consider totally nonsensical. Conversely, one who follows in the path of Moshe Rabbeinu by cultivating and maintaining a healthy sense of one’s standing and not falling into the trap of exaggerated self-importance – such an individual is demonstrating a true recognition of the fact that as much as we may do it is as nothing compared to the infinite goodness that Hashem bestows upon us.[8] Such a path brings one to flourish and progress along the straight, logical path of moral deeds and just undertakings.

NOTES

1. 16:1-3,19.   2. 16:32-35.

3. 16:29-30. Of course, we must understand that the “proof” was for the emotions of the People; for on the intellectual level it is utterly preposterous – after having witnessed the Eser Makos, Krias Yam Suf, and of course chiefly having experienced Maamad Har Sinai – to question the reliability of Moshe as the true and greatest Navi.

4. 16:2.      5. For more about this episode see the D’var Torah on parshas Ki Sisah.

6. Avos 5:18.         7. In the introduction.

8. Rashi (16:1) emphasizes that Korach was upset that he did not receive the appointment that his cousin Elitzafan ben Uziel received as Nasi over the Bnei K’has. In stark contrast, Moshe Rabbeinu tried so hard to get out of being appointed the redeemer of the Jewish People so that his brother Aharon could fill that role instead (Rashi in Shmos 4:10). This, then, is a good barometer of the issue at hand: if you find yourself feeling happy at others’ honorable appointments and the like, then you’re in good shape. If, on the other hand, you find yourself resenting or feeling threatened by others’ receiving honor, then it is time to take serious stock of yourself and work hard to try and root out that negative middah.

 

Follow Your Own Mind
by Nesanel Yoel Safran

From This Week’s Torah Portion

Without even knowing it, we can be swept along by other people’s opinions, and do, say, and think things we don’t even believe. In this week’s Torah portion, a lot of good people were swept away to join Korach in his unjust rebellion against Moses and had to pay a heavy price. The Torah wants us think independently and speak our own minds — not just follow the crowd.

In our story, a boy finds out how much better it feels to follow his own mind instead of the crowd.

One thing I really like about the zoo is when the displays — like this poisonous snake exhibit — are behind thick glass so you get to see the dangerous animals right up close and don’t have to keep your distance. And it’s a good thing, because who has time to keep my distance from pythons and boa constrictors when I’m so busy keeping my distance from Larry?

Now you’re probably wondering what’s so bad about Larry, right? Well, I’ll tell you the truth, there is really nothing so bad about him. Actually, if this class trip was just a few weeks ago instead of today, I would probably be spending most of my time right next to Larry, laughing and joking around because he and I are — or I should say were best friends.

Uh oh, wait a minute — here comes Larry now. Let me get out of here and move over to the next display then I’ll tell you more.

Yeah, so as I was saying, Larry and I were once best friends but something changed. What changed was me. I don’t know- – just a lot of the cool kids — the kids who everyone sort of follows and wants to be like — they started saying Larry wasn’t cool and was actually a nerd.

I guess I could hear it. He doesn’t really dress the style or keep up with the latest music or anything. None of those things really ever bothered me about him and besides, he’s just so fun to talk to and joke around with — really smart and nice too … but since the crowd thinks he’s a nerd and I sure don’t want them to think I’m a nerd too, I started keeping my distance from him.

Oh, here he comes — time to move on again. Rodent exhibit — why not?

Yeah, that’s what I did. At first, he seemed really confused. I can’t blame him. How would you feel if your best friend started avoiding you like the bubonic plague? Then I think he got the message a couple days later when he saw me hanging out with the cool crowd and heard some of the nasty names they threw his way. I didn’t call him any names, but I didn’t really act like it bothered me, either.

Hey, what are these funny little animals behind the glass? ‘Lemmings’ What in the world are those? Hang on a second, while I read the sign: “…LEMMINGS ARE KNOWN TO MAKE MASS MIGRATIONS, EACH UNWAVERINGLY FOLLOWING THOSE IN FRONT OF THEM TO THE POINT OF PLUNGING TO THEIR DEATHS OFF A HIGH CLIFF IN ORDER TO FOLLOW THE CROWD…”

Wow, talk about stupid animals! Who in his right mind would jump off a cliff just to follow the crowd? Who cares what the crowd does? Man, if Larry were here, he and I would be rolling on the floor laughing at these idiotic rodents. Of course, Larry’s not here, because like I told you, I stopped hanging out with him because the crowd … um, the crowd said…

Now wait a minute. I know what you’re probably thinking — I’m acting like one of those lemmings, just following the crowd, right? Well, I’m not! They follow the crowd to do something stupid — something they would never do if they used their own brains. But I … I just decided to drop Larry, because … well, because … um…

Hey, we’ll talk later. Here comes Larry now…

* * *

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I just had to do something first. I had to wait for Larry to come so I could tell him I’m sorry and ask him if he wanted to do the rest of the zoo together. He said ‘sure’ so I’ve gotta go.

Why should I give up a good friend like him just because of some dumb crowd? After all, I do have a little more brains in my head than a rodent!

Discussion Questions

Ages 3-5

Q. How did the kid in the story feel about dumping his best friend at first?
A. He felt it was the right choice, because all the kids said his friend was a nerd.

Q. How did he feel in the end?
A. He felt he was being dumb for giving up a friend he really liked just because of what the crowd said.

Ages 6-9

Q. What life lesson do you think someone could learn from this story?
A. A lot of times we pay too much attention to what other people think and don’t do what we really believe in. This kid got over that and made up with a friend he really liked and had only dropped because of the crowd.

Q. Do you think he made the right choice? Why or why not?
A. It’s not easy to put your reputation at stake by doing something unpopular. But a brave person – like the kid in the story – is willing to risk even that to be true to what he really feels inside.

Ages 10 and Up

Q. How can we know if we’re living the way we really want to inside or just following along with the crowd?
A. It’s not always easy to know. But one test is to ask ourselves if we would be doing this even if no one was around or if it wasn’t what the people around us were saying or doing? Sometimes it helps to explore this question in a journal, to talk it over with someone we trust-or even to spend some time alone and talk it over with God.

Q. In your opinion, is there anything potentially positive about giving in to peer-pressure or conforming to the crowd?
A. While often it’s a negative force that stops us from being real-it has one good use: If we know we want to behave a certain positive way or live up to a certain positive value, but find ourselves blowing it and giving in to negative drives, we can put ourselves in with a crowd who value and live up to what we want to achieve and let their pressure become a set of wings to lift us to where we want to be.

 

Quote of the Week

“A person should always be patient like Hillel: — Talmud Shabbat 30b