Parshas Eikev: Don’t Keep It One Sided

This week’s parsha, Parshas Eikev, like much of Devarim, presents Moshe telling Bnei Yisrael about the connection of their actions and their settlement in the Promised Land. Indeed, it opens: “If you will heed these ordinances and safeguard and perform them, Hashem, your God, will keep the covenant for you, as well as the kindness that He swore to your forefathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless the fruit of your womb; the fruit of your soil: your grain, your wine, and your oil; the offspring of your cattle and the choice of your flocks—in the land that He swore to your forefathers to give you” (Devarim 7:12-13).

Among the numerous places in the parsha where Moshe emphasizes this dynamic, there is an interesting word - chashak. In Devarim 10:15, Moshe says: “Only(yet) to your forefathers chashak Hashem, to love for them, and He chose their descendants after them; and he chose their seed – you(pl) – from all of the people, like this day.”  If you notice that the translation of chashak was skipped that is because it appears to be a word that does not truly translate. One source has it as “Hashem was drawn out,” while another source says that Hashem “desired.” A third source translates chashak as “had a delight.” The Rav Hirsh translation (1966) is “find pleasure,” although that is the translation of the German translation.

None of these translations truly change the tone of the pasuk, and yet it makes one wonder what might be significant about this word. To explore that question, one must see in what other contexts the word is used.

Moshe used chashak in a similar context in Devarim 7:7, when he told Bnei Yisrael: “It is not because you are the most numerous of peoples that Hashem grew attached to you and chose you—indeed, you are the smallest of peoples.” Then, as in this week’s pasuk, he goes on to tell them that Hashem was drawn to them, “because He would keep the oath which He swore unto your fathers” (7:8). … There is an implication of Hashem loving Bnei Yisrael in a way that is not completely of His own volition. (Don’t stress, that is meant in a completely anthropomorphic way!) There is a sense that Hashem has resigned Himself to His love for us for the sake of our forefathers.

 

In fact, that sub-text is oddly supported by other places where this word is used:

Devarim 21:11 – “and you see among the captives a beautiful woman and - v’chashaktah - you desire her, you may take [her] for yourself as a wife.”

Bereishis 34:8 – “And Hamor spoke with them, saying, ‘My son Shechem his soul – chashaka - has a liking for your daughter. Please give her to him for a wife.’”

 

Strange, is it not? But let us think about it a little deeper. In both the story of Dina and the case of the aishes yafat to’ar, there is an implication that the love, the desire, is one directional. That it is almost out of their control. That’s important. That’s what Moshe needs Bnei Yisrael to understand - not the lack of control but the one-directionality of it.

When Moshe tells Bnei Yisrael in both places in Devarim that Hashem loves them, us, because of our forefathers, he is not just telling us that we have not earned Hashem’s love. That message comes out pretty loud and clear. He is telling us that the love of Hashem for us, and even for our forefathers, is something as yet unreciprocated.

In us, as in our forefathers, Hashem does see something special, something unique. When Avraham Avinu recognized Hashem’s oneness, he ignited the existing spark of Divinity that rests in all who are Btzelem Elokim, and Bnei Yisrael will forever radiate that light ignited by Avraham… That light, that power to see the Divine in the world and bring it out, is our beauty. Our charm is our ability to have a relationship with Hashem – but it is nothing more than charm and beauty if we do not do the work. A relationship cannot be formed if it is one sided.

The Torah is the path to meeting Hashem’s desire for us. It isn’t enough to just say “I love Hashem.” That is a superficial declaration. Rather, Hashem provided us with the mitzvos so we could come close to Him, so we could see and reflect His beauty.

Having looked at the word chashak from Devarim 10:15, we have, perhaps, another layer of understanding of the next pasuk: “You must therefore circumcise the foreskin of your heart and cease being stiff-necked” (10:16). Let go of the idea that you have somehow already merited Hashem’s love. You haven’t, but you can. And that is the message we can take from Devarim 10:15 - know that what Hashem wants most of all is for us to reciprocate His chashak.

Wishing you all a beautiful Shabbas.

 

 

 

Parsha Va’Eschanan: It’s What You Don’t See

Parsha Va’Eschanan: It’s What You Don’t See

 Dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Yehudis bas Leah, Yona Yaakova bas Mina, Chana Zelda bat Gittel Yita, Chaya Sarah bas Esther Leah, Moshe Aaron ben Necha Itta, Binyamin ben Simcha, and Yaakov ben Esther Malka.

Parshas Va’Eschanan is always read on Shabbas Nachamu, the Shabbas after Tisha B’Av. It is the parsha that extols the connection of Hashem and Bnei Yisrael, which should reflect the deeper experience of Tisha B’Av. This is the time when we see Hashem in our pain, when we recognize that our tragedies are a reflection of our distance from Him, and that it is up to us to work on bringing ourselves closer so that Hashem can remove the cloud of hester panim, of His hiding Himself away.

If we are honest with ourselves, we understand that the distance we experience today – the distance from Hashem and the distance from our own inner spirituality – is our own fault. Humanity has such a great desire to assert its independence and to challenge the status quote that we often break away from our spiritual core in our attempt to grasp it. We want proof of God and proof of our neshama because that is, many wrongfully believe, the only way we can understand the Divine. Somewhere deep within us, we have this notion that if we could just “see” the Divine then all of our problems would be solved, but, really, the solution lies in NOT seeing Hashem.

Parshas Vaeschanan contains one of the core prayers of Jewish life: Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokeinu Hashem Echad. HEAR o’ Israel Hashem is our God, Hashem is One. Not See – Hear. The act of seeing is rooted in the physical. If I can see it, I don’t have to have faith since I have evidence. I don’t have to do any internal work to accept and understand.  Hearing, on the other hand, is an internal process. Sound enters our ears, so to speak, and reverberates throughout our being. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul, but you don’t enter through a window. The entry doors, then, are the ears – for they are responsible for hearing, for listening.

Moshe understood the human desire for something physical. Afterall, he remembered the first generation’s reaction to his delayed return from Har Sinai, how they demanded that Aaron create the Golden Calf because they feared that they had lost Moshe, their physically visible connection to Hashem. And so Moshe says to the people gathered at the border of the Promised Land: “For your souls’ sakes, therefore, be most careful—since you saw no shape when Hashem spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire—” (Devarim 4:15) and reminds them of all the prohibitions of creating forms of avodah zarah. This is Moshe warning the people that they will never be able to make Hashem concrete because, as they experienced, He is so much vaster than the visible world.

Rabbeinu Bahya explains this pasuk as a statement of truth: “Seeing that you know clearly that you did not see any phenomenon, image, at the time when Hashem revealed Himself, you must take care in the future never to make such a likeness…”  (Translation from Sefaria). You must take care in the future not to believe that there can ever be such a likeness. A physical likeness of Hashem would be limiting, and Hashem is limitless.

There is an interesting thing about the idea of hester panim, about the hidden face of Hashem. Panim is a plural word, always. Why? There are many responses to this question, but one such answer might be that a face is a reflection. People see in one another’s face mirrors of themselves. When we smile at someone, they most often smile back. When we like someone, they become beautiful. Our neshamos are reflections of Hashem. When Hashem hid His face from us, it also meant we lost something of ourselves, and that something, perhaps, is an understanding of our strength as spiritual creations.

Noting how Devarim 4:15 refers to guarding nefshoseichem, your souls, Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsh draws attention back to the interconnectedness of the soul to the Divine. The emuna that we inherited from Avraham Avinu is not something one can assess in one’s physical DNA. There’s no chromosome. It’s a “mutation” so to speak, in one’s spiritual DNA. It’s a link through that which cannot be seen or touched. This, according to Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsh, can be learned from this pasuk:

“…Besides God, there is only one other being of whose individual reality and personal existence, although invisible and unable to be realised by any of our physical senses, each one of us bears within himself the direct certainty of conviction, and that is our soul, our נפש. It is that, therefore, which reflecting back on oneself makes one comprehend the real existence of something which is invisible and intangible, and by the certainty of the conviction of one’s own self comprehend the conviction of the existence of God. As sure as we are of the existence of our own self so are we of the existence of God.” (translation from Sefaria)

The self of spirituality exists on a plane that we cannot see and we cannot touch. The questioning of God leaves us with the question of how we each are who we are because “nature vs nurture” and gene predictions still can’t explain the whole. But if you are very quiet and you listen, you can start to understand that the very nature of humankind, the very nature of the world itself, is all one and that one is Hashem. This is the truth that we will see – yes, see – in the time of Beis Hamikdash, bmheira biyameinu.

I wish you all a beautiful Shabbas.

 

Parshas Devarim: Fire and Cloud

 Sefer Devarim begins with Moshe’s recounting of the journey of Bnei Yisrael after they received the Torah. It is interesting, however, that in the first perek of his recounting Moshe deliberates on two points: the creation of the system of judges and the reaction of the people during the reports of the scouts. The question, of course, is why these two items are so specifically detailed, and the answer might very well be because they demonstrate the contentious nature of Bnei Yisrael.

 Sefer Devarim is understood to be both a review of the people’s history and a prophecy of all that will come to Israel. Integral to that future would be both our structured community order and, unfortunately, our penchant for questioning Hashem and getting ourselves in trouble. This latter trait, alas, has seen us, time and again, in the cross-hairs of Hashem’s ire, at a point where Hashem finds it necessary to bring forth all of the dire warnings we have been given in order to remind us of the role we accepted at Sinai.

 When you look at Devarim as prophecy, the following pasukim stand out as having an interesting opportunity for interpretation:

 “Yet for all that, you have no faith in the Hashem your God, who goes before you on your journeys—to scout the place where you are to encamp—in fire by night and in cloud by day, in order to guide you on the route you are to follow. Upon hearing your loud complaint, Hashem became angry and vowed: Not one of those involved, this evil generation, shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers—" (Devarim 1:32-35).

 Moshe is speaking of a very specific incident and yet perhaps it could be understood as more. The place we are to encamp is our ultimate destination, the time when we achieve the status of a goy Kadosh and a mamleches kohanim. To reach that role, we must be able to truly recognize our dynamic relationship with Hashem. Sadly, however, like our ancestors, we often lack faith in Hashem and the future because we fail to recognize the fire by night or the cloud in the day; we fail to understand Hashem’s constant guidance as referenced by the fire and the cloud.

 The fire in the night represents – perhaps - those times that might be labeled difficult - in truth, tragic. Fire is hot and dangerous. Fire burns away the fringes. But think of a forest fire, a necessary act of nature so that the forest can grow back stronger and fresher. When we “have no faith in Hashem,” we fail to see that these challenges serve a purpose. It allows us to grow stronger.

 The cloud by day represents the good times, the times of success – the times when the Jewish people flourish and thrive – the day. Why then, you might ask, “a cloud”? In the good times, Hashem is also obscured. He hides behind a cloud so that we do not see Him directly; and He does so with good purpose. Hashem needs Bnei Yisrael to follow His path with absolute bechira, free will, and so He hides Himself away. But we, in our stubborn, human existence, fail to see beyond the cloud.

 Thus it is that Moshe’s words in Devarim 1:32-33 describe the future – our present – in which the Jewish people (and yes this means both frum people and not frum people) lack in emuna. That lack, that inability to hold on to our faith in God (although, thank God, there are many exceptions) leads to the delay in the ultimate redemption, and thus reflecting Devarim 1:35: “Not one of those involved, this evil generation, shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers—”

 It’s hard, if you pay attention to what is going on in the world, not to find correlations. Hashem gave us the opportunity to return to the Promised Land, but now, as our enemies grow bolder – as lies permeate the news with the conviction of fact – there are Jews themselves that are digging a hole for our people. We have, Baruch Hashem, many Kalevs and Yehoshuas, many people who understand the incredible nature of Eretz Yisrael and the relationship of Bnei Yisrael with Hashem. But there are far too many around the world who believe the lies about themselves – and it is both terrifying and depressing to watch because all of our history is already laid out for us if we look in the Torah.

 Right now, we seem to be approaching “night” and the fire seems to be getting hotter for Jews around the world. if there is one way to turn back the tidal wave of anti-Semitism, it is right here: Emuna. Belief – beyond belief. Not only must we embrace and strengthen our emunah, but we must use our emuna to fulfill the Torah.

 (Please note, it is clear in the Torah that the pillar of fire and the cloud were matters of Divine protection. This Dar Torah is just looking at them metaphorically in light of the world today.)

 MAZAL TOV! Parshas Devarim is the anniversary of these Divrei Torah, the first of which “Eleh Devarim”, was published in 5778 (2018).  Here is the link – https://cthedawn.blogspot.com/2018/07/these-are-words.html - and it is terribly sad how similar the message is – and to think how far that date was from October 7^th and the world we live in now!

 May Hashem Moshiach bmherya biyamenu. Have a beautiful Shabbas, which is a taste of the world to come.

Parshas Matos -Masai: Defiantly in Plain View

In this week’s Parsha, Parshas Matos Masai, the thirty-third chapter of Sefer Vayikra provides a repetitively phrased detailing of the travelling of Bnei Yisrael. They traveled here. They travelled there. They travelled here. They travelled there, and so forth and so on.

Not surprisingly, the great list of journeying begins in Mitzrayim: “They set out from Ramses in the first month…” However, rather than just recording the journey, as is done for most of the rest of the perek, the Torah includes some extra details: “It was on the morrow of the Pesach offering that Bnei Yisrael started out defiantly, in plain view of all the Egyptians. And the Egyptians were burstory. We all known the joke about Jewish hoying the dead that Hashem had struck down among them – every first born – whereby Hashem executed judgement on their gods” (Vayikra 33:3-4).

These details are fascinating because, if you think about it, these two brief, dare I say poetic, verses stated a truth about Jewish history. The Mitzrim are the protype of our oppressors throughout hilidays– they came to kill us, we won, let’s eat… well, except for the eating part. Remember, almost all of our great enemies are gone from the world, but we are still here.

One of the hardest truths for we as people to understand is that every great oppression that we as a nation faced was purposeful. Let’s take a biblical step back to Bereishis. The oppression of Bnei Yisrael in Mitzrayim was not a twist of fate; it was divinely orchestrated. The Mitzrim, on a celestial level, were given a Divine role to help shape the descendants of Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov by pressuring them – as promised to Avraham at the Bris Bein Habaturim. And the common question is: If Hashem told Avraham that the people would be oppressed, why were the Mitzrim punished in such a devastating way. The answer: they took it too far. And, really, it’s all there in the Torah.

If you think back to Shemos, the enslavement of the Israelites began with what could be seen as a logical concern. They were worried about a minority population taking power. Slavery seems like a terrible and drastic measure to us, but not 100% impossible to understand. This logical concern was the permitted oppression – the oppression that Hashem foretold to Avraham during the bris bein habaturim. However, Pharoah and his Egyptians found more and more reasons to be paranoid of the Jews. When Pharoah started ordering babies killed, this no longer had anything to do with the oppression Hashem needed Bnei Yisrael to go through. This was when they took the power Hashem had given them and abused it, and this is the reason that the Mitzrim eventually suffered so drastically that they could barely acknowledge Bnei Yisrael were leaving (as noted in our quoted pasukim, Vayikra 33:3-4).

In an era like the one that appears to be unfolding before us now, the world keeps trying to point to a legitimate reason for their hatred. They point to Israel but attack all Jews because, really, anti-Semitism is the super-natural vehicle pushing Bnei Yisrael in the direction of redemption. And in such an era, we cannot lose sight of these verses: “…Bnei Yisrael started out defiantly, in plain view of all the Egyptians. And the Egyptians were burying the dead that Hashem had struck down among them…” It is an incredible reminder. This too shall pass, and we shall remove ourselves from our enemies in their clear view, but they will be too busy picking up the pieces to be able to witness the Divine hand.

Those who have chosen to go beyond reason and logic in their hatred of the Jewish people will be struck down, and we, who have held fast to our faith, will walk out defiantly and in plain view.

Am Yisrael Chai and Shabbat Shalom.

 

Parshas Pinchas: Do You Stand Out

 Dedicated to a refuah shelaima for Yona Yaakova bas Mina, Chana Zelda bat Gittel Yita, Chaya Sarah bas Esther Leah, Moshe Aaron ben Necha Itta, Binyamin ben Simcha, and Yaakov ben Esther Malka.

 

The immediate thought when one sees a title like “Do You Stand Out” for Parshas Pinchas is that it is an obvious grab at a Dvar Torah. The parsha opens with Hashem publicly commending Pinchas for standing up for His honor. Pinchas’ actions, as the commentaries relay, could, with just a slight variance of moment, with a slight shift in intent, have been a crime. However, because his intentions were correct and his actions were done in just the right way, because his only thought was for Hashem, Pinchas became a Cohen with his brothers and Klal Yisrael learned what purposeful zealotry was.

 

Pinchas, however, is not the only one who stands out in this parsha. One could almost call it a motif. For instance, here too is where five women -  Machlah, No’ah, Choglah, Milkah, and Tirtzah – distinguish themselves in the Torah.  It is often mentioned how rare women are named in the Torah (although the genealogical recounting in Parshas Pinchas pauses, so to speak, to callout both Serach and Yocheved), and that reflects the true greatness of these 5 women because being named in the Torah with details – outside of a genealogical listing – represents significant action.

 

 Again, like Pinchas’ zealotry, this is a popular topic for divrei Torah. These women didn’t let convention stop them from approaching Moshe and asking for the right to inherit. And, again, like Pinchas, one can imagine that their actions when they first approached Moshe raised some eyebrows.

 

It is not just the fact that these were five women who approached Moshe – although that is not without its significance – it is the fact that they requested a change to Torah that had been delivered to them. It is interesting to note that there are only two examples (although I could be wrong) of Moshe being approached to change the law after it has been given. One is the request that led to Pesach Sheni, and the other is the request of the tribe Reuven and Gad to stay on the far side of Yarden. Having the courage to make a case for themselves is significant – all the more so, as with Tzelaphchad’s daughters and the men who asked for Pesach Sheni, when it is done l’shem shemayim.

 

Their actions could, perhaps, be interpreted as acts of quiet zealotry.  While Pinchas had only moments to act, Tzelaphchad’s daughters received the law, processed it, and refused to accept that their family branch would be cut off from their inheritance in the Land of Israel. That last bit is the important part. The daughters’ concern was for a portion of the Promised Land, not gold or jewels or wealth. Their concern was to have their father’s household be equal in its elevation.

 

This parsha contains the public acknowledgement of greatness of one other person: Yehoshua. Like Pinchas, Yehoshua’s significant actions are not recounted in this parsha. However, when Hashem tells Moshe that he will not enter the Promised Land and Moshe requests that Hashem appoint a leader, Hashem tells Moshe to take Yehoshua bin Nun, “asher ruach bo” – who has a spirit in him.

 

What does the spirit mean? One idea is that it refers to the midrash of the yud added to his name before he entered the land of Canaan with the other scouts, how Moshe subtly changed his name to give him extra spiritual strength in the journey to come. This extra experience changes him and leads him to grow into the person best able to succeed Moshe.

 

The fact is that the congregation did turn against them during the reporting of the spies, but they held their ground. And afterwards, they could have been looked at with aspersion for having brought havoc upon the people by contesting the majority. But that didn’t stop them.  In a piece on Parshas Shelach, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacs notes that having the ability to stand apart was not difficult for Calev as he had the natural spiritual courage inherited through his descendance from Yehuda. Yehoshua, however, had no such support. He had to work for it. In fact, Moshe even recognized that when he changed his name from Hoshua to Yehoshua. The name change, according to Rabbi Sacs, tells us something important. “Anyone who has experienced a name change has been inducted into a growth mindset.” That stayed with him, and Hashem here recognizes his significance.

 

Pinchas, Tzelaphchad’s daughters, and Yehoshua were all honored in the Torah because their actions, which could have been misconstrued or caused them to be derided by Klal Yisrael, were of pure intent. They are praised because they stood up for Hashem.

 

It should, however, be noted, that the parsha also expands itself when it lists the names of Dasan and Aviram as the sons of Nemuel of the tribe of Reuven  (as well as Kozbi, the seductive Midianitess – not to leave out a wicked woman). Dasan and Aviram stood up for the wrong thing. They, the commentaries say, were the actual instigators more-so than Korach, and their deeds are repeated here. They stood up for the wrong thing and are so castigated.

 

Most people will not have the opportunity in their lives to stand out the way Pinchas, Tzelaphchad’s daughters, and Yehoshua did. Nevertheless, they are people we can – and must – use as role models. We must look to Pinchas to remember that it is important to call out what is wrong, but to do so in the proper way. We must look to Machlah, No’ah, Choglah, Milkah, and Tirtzah to know that it is important to ask questions within the law because the Torah is a living law. We must look to Yehoshua to not stop at one great act but to ride forward on our spiritual strengths. Most of us may never rise to such true greatness, but we still need to find our own ways to stand out.

 

Wishing you all a beautiful Shabbas

Parshas Chukat Balak: Unseen But Very Present

Let me start this week’s parasha piece of with a question: Do you feel puzzled, on some level, by the current surge in anti-semitism? Does it leave you, as it does me, with a desire to ask what exactly is going on in the universe? If you have any access to social media, you are too well versed in the irrational avalanche that is cascading against us.

 

Here’s the thing about the world that is so fascinatingly brought out by this week’s parasha. What you think you know is going on in the world is only a particle of truth of what is going on in the world. Let me explain with a detour… Are you familiar with the not so trivial trivia question of which parsha does not contain the name of Moshe? The correct answer is Tetzaveh, but Parshas Balak comes awfully close. Moshe is mentioned in this Parsha (when not paired with Chukas) only 4 times, and those in Perek 25, which recounts the events after Balaam tried to curse Bnei Yisrael.

 

Perhaps you think I did not explain my declaration concerning our complete ignorance of what is going on in the world. Well, in the entire three perakim that describe Bilaam’s hiring and his attempts to curse Bnei Yisrael, the term Israel is only mentioned 12 times – out of 81 verses (in 3 chapters). And each of those times is explaining either the view point of Bilaam or are part of his cursed blessings.

 

What is missing in this entire section of the Torah is any indication of what Bnei Yisrael was experiencing at the time. Imagine, our forefathers were just pleasantly encamped, and, somewhere high above them, there is a powerful man shouting that which was meant to be a curse upon them. Imagine, our forefathers were going about their daily lives collecting manna, and, on a not-so-distant mountain, brachos – blessings – are being rained down upon them. And all the while they have no clue – zip, zero, nadda. There is no line in the Torah such as: “And Bnei Yisrael looked up from their tents and heard the words of Balaam,” Or …”saw their enemy above them.” Or even, in anyway knew who Balak or Balaam actually were at that point. There is no pasuk that speaks of Moshe trying to stop Balaam or asking Bnei Yisrael to daven that his words be reversed.

 

Parshas Balak reflects a truth of the world. There is SO much more happening around us that we don’t see, so what we do see must always be understood as limited.

Interestingly, one question that has been asked is why Balak was panicking. From a geopolitical standpoint, one could argue that he was panicking because Bnei Yisrael had just defeated the Emorites and the Bashonites, which is true - but the entire fighting came about as defensive action after the Israelites asked for permission to cross through their lands. Balak, however, is Moav, and Hashem had no intention of Moav being displaced. But all these events take place before Bnei Yisrael even get there. Balak’s narrative starts off with him and his people being in a panic over the Israelites – who haven’t done anything to them.

 

Propaganda. False rumors. Fear mongering…. Panick and attack…and beyond all that are the orchestrations of Hashem. Sometimes, such as in Parshas Balak, our people come away unscathed (although real damage occurs in the aftermath), Other times, we face tremendous challenges, and we go through a terrible and difficult period of suffering and then growth. At all times, however, there is far more going on then we see. Above us, beyond us, away from us… curses are turned into blessings.

 

So may we see it soon.

 

I wish you all a good Shabbas

Parshas Korach: Overcoming and Elevating, a Lesson for Humans

 

Parshas Korach: Overcoming and Elevating, a Lesson for Humans

Here is a question on Parshas Korach…

The story of Korach begins like this: “Korach son of Yitzhar son of Kehat son of Levi took himself aside, together with Dathan and Aviram sons of Eli’av, and On son of Pelet, descendants of Reuben. They confronted Moshe together with 250 men from the Israelites, including the princes of the community, summoned for the meeting, and other men of repute. They assembled against Moshe and Aaron. They said to them, ‘You take too much upon yourselves, for the entire community—all of them—are holy, and God is in their midst. Why do you raise yourselves above God’s assembly?’” (Bamidbar 16:1-3)

 

Two hundred and fifty men…That’s not Korach and a few neighbors on the block. That’s not a spontaneous reaction. That’s planning. That’s setting about and shmoozing to encourage and enflame. So why doesn’t the Torah relay Korach’s actions of creating this small mob? Then again, one could also ask: Why doesn’t the Torah straight out say what the Midrash tells us, that Korach was jealous, that he wanted to be elevated the way his cousins (Moshe and Aaron) were?

 

Obviously, these are rhetorical questions because the Torah is full of narratives whose motivations are obscure. Just look at how ambiguously Yaakov’s interactions with Esav are described. But let’s explore one idea… We know from the end actions that Korach was full of negative feelings about the choice of leaders. We know, from the Midrash, that his discontent was stirred and enhanced by his wife. We know, from the first pasuk, that he joined himself with Dasan and Aviram, who were already marked as malcontents. He didn’t, one can assume, speak only to the 250 people who agreed with him; we can assume that there were people he talked to who disagreed … He was probably walking around fuming from within for several days before he steps forth into the parsha.

 

So what? Well, one thing about the Torah is that, in so many ways, it affirms being human. It recognizes that we have negative feelings and it gives room for them. He’s not punished for the before. The question is what do we do with those feelings. Do we find a way to understand the situation from a new angle, find a way to fix a problem, find away to take on a new role and perspective, or do we, ya know, lead a rebellion.

 

The very suddenness of Korach’s rebellion has allusion to its insipient nature. We know Korach was sneaking around because there is no statement of a grumbling started among the people of Israel. There is just Korach and Dasan and Aviram bringing 250 men to confront Moshe and Aaron. All his work was kept in the dark recesses so as not to draw attention. If it feels secretive, it probably isn’t wholesome.

 

Now, you may ask an obvious question. How is one to know if their complaint is legitimate? We see in history that sometimes change is necessary, and that undercurrent gatherings like Korach’s are powerful forces of change. … the fact is that Korach’s choice of bringing a group with complaint to Moshe could be seen as him making a legitimate move.

 

The turnkey phrase is the last line of the third verse  “Why do you raise yourselves above God’s assembly?” Korach wasn’t asking why Moshe and Aaron merited their positions; he is asking why they raised themselves above. He is revealing a lack of bitachon that Hashem runs the world even in minutia, that Hashem structured Klal Yisrael this way. He is making it personal – raise yourselves up, indeed!

 

And perhaps we should address the other side of that coin of humanity, which is Moshe’s initial reaction because, really, if you think about it, it is an incredibly strange reaction. He fell on his face before them and called on Hashem to judge the truth.

 

The most normal reaction would anger… despair… both normal. And really, probably most normal… incredulity. Moshe had every reason to turn around and laugh at what they said, or to sarcastically question their sanity. Moshe would have every right to have gone off on a mad tirade about taking too much upon himself when he faced down Pharoah or led the nation through the sea or was the one who went up to Har Sinai when all the rest of Bnei Yisrael were too afraid. Instead, Moshe took everything that they said to heart, and he took them seriously.

 

Perhaps you are right now thinking that Moshe DID get mad. You’re right.. but only later, only after Dasan and Aviram blatantly and rudely refuse to meet with him and, instead, accused him of bad leadership and even verbally spit at him in Pasuk 16:14 by saying “Even if you gouge out the eyes of those men, we will not go up.” Only then does he get angry.

 

But after the group first comes to him, Moshe really stops and worries and asks Hashem to make a judgement, because unlike their accusations, Moshe assumes that there is a possibility of truth to their accusation.

 

This piece is going to wind down ineloquently… there are lots of lessons one can take from the Parsha of Korach, but perhaps one of the most important one is that in ourselves and in others, we must recognize (as Hashem does throughout the Torah) how utterly human each of us is. You may have feelings of jealousy; you’re human. You may have moments of insecurity; you’re human. When those feelings and moments come, accept your humanity but look to Hashem for guidance, cling to the Torah for a way to overcome and elevate.