13 June, 2007

Parshas Korach

The Mishna in Avos says "Any argument that's leshaim shemaim- with a noble purpose will result in abiding value, but any controversy that has no noble purpose shall not have abiding value. Which controversy was one of noble purpose? The controversy between Hillel and Shammai. And which had no noble purpose? The controversy of Korach and his company." The Ohr Gedalyauh comments that the problem with Korach wasn't in his arguments it was merely that they weren't not leshaim shomaim. If he would of meant what he said it would of been an everlasting argument just like Hillel and Shammai. What is it that Korach said? What is it that got him off track? And is there any significance of the placement of this Parsha?
Reb Tzodok Hachoen from Lublin in a classic piece says, that in Eretz Yisroel everyone in Klal Yisroel will have the capability to learn and strive in there yiddishkiet on their own. In a perfect world there is no need for leaders of Klal Yisroel to lead ,all of us will have his own channel to Hashem. The Medrash says that when Moshiach comes he's going to want to teach Klal Yisroel Torah, but we're going to tell him go teach the goyim - we want to learn straight from Hashem. Korach felt that Klal Yisroel was ready for this level and that is what he meant when he said "Ki kol haaida kulam kidoshim" For the whole community, everyone of them, is holy. His argument was that there was no need for Moshe to lead the Jews anymore - that everyone was ready to forge his own connection to Hashem. His theory was a correct one but he didn't realize that Klal Yisroel wasn't ready for such a intense connection with Hashem. Like the meraglim before him and Miriam before that he didn't accept that Moshe was their connection to Hashem. They still needed Moshe and Ahron to forge that connection and lead the way into Eretz Yisroel and then they would be able to be on their own. If Korach would've waited until Klal Yisroel was ready, his argument would've been accepted, but he was blinded with jealousy that steered him in the wrong direction, that was his "Shelo leshaim shmaim", that he wasn't up to par with his argument. Had he been at the point where he was ready to lead himself, then this machlokes would've gone down in history as a holy one, just like Hillel and Shammai.
We are at the end of the month of Kabolas Hatorah and in the middle of Seder Bamidbar. What is the connection? How does it all tie together?
Bamidbar started with the counting of Klal Yisroel, that every one of us has his own uniqueness and goals. We continued to Nassoh and Bahloscha where Hashem asks certain Jews for more then others, but everyone has a place in the grand scheme, each one a letter in the Torah. Yet there are dangers with this. You start to feel that you're greater than you really are, and you don't realize that we have leaders that connect us to Hashem - that how unique and great we are we must realize that we are far from the source. We have to learn from Miriam, the meraglim and Korach that Moshe is the leader. Without him we wouldn't be what we are. So to in every generation we have the Gedolim that not just lead the way, but are our connection to Hashem and not listening and learning from them we all are lost. Until that one day when Hashem will elevate us and we all will be able to learn straight from Hashem.

1 comment:

Mr. S said...

Reb Shimshon Pinchus ZT"L has a powerful shmuz on sefer Bamidbar. The main idea is that Hashem gave Klal Yisroel all the tools it needed to live directly with Hashem, the man, be'er, the mishkan, degalim, etc... but Klal Yisroel wanted to live b'derech ha'teva and after "vai'hi bin'soya ha'aron" they asked for the slove. With this we could understand why Klal Yisroel wasn't ready for "kulam kidoshim"