Dedicated to the brave chayalim who are protecting our
homeland.
Over the last several months, we have all been following the
somewhat befuddling events taking place on major university campuses, and
spreading beyond. People are lining up to follow the anti-Israel contingent
because they think that they are doing the right thing, but in so doing, they
have reverted to plain old anti-Semitism – vandalising synagogues and taunting
Jewish students.
Many of the people participating in these protests are not clear
on the specifics; they don’t know what river or what sea and they ignore the non-stop
history of violence against Israel that rarely lets up. But they believe, they truly believe, that
they are fighting for justice, for what is right.
While the context is vastly different, it is interesting to
consider how mob mentality effected Bnei Yisrael when one well-spoken man spoke
out strongly for what he perceived as justice even as it flew against that
which was Divinely ordained. Korach stood up to speak against Moshe and Aaron
monopolizing the leadership because perceiving this as truth allowed him to
rationalize his jealousy. Datan and Aviram grabbed onto the spirit of Korach’s
ire and fanned the flames of his sense of righteous indignation – Had Korach
stopped to see who it was who was rallying to his side, had he remembered their
history of rabble-rousing, well perhaps things would have ended differently.
What of the members of the nation who followed Korach, who
stood against Moshe and Aaron? Sincerity is a lovely motivation, but one can
sincerely believe in the wrong thing. Over the last decades, how often has the
society we lived in revised its moral compass. What once was wrong is now
right, because that is what happens when what is right and fair and just are
determined by how we feel. Korach felt that Aaron as Moshe’s brother having the
kahuna was unjust, that one family should not share the leadership, and he
truly believed that. But his righteous indignation also blinded him to the
simple fact that Moshe and Aaron had both been given their roles by Hashem.
The followers of Korach who were consumed by heavenly flame
are not considered wicked or evil people. They were misled by their hubris and
by the ever-human desire to create that which is “fair.” When people start
clamoring for “fair” or “right,” however, they often forget that the universe has
rules because the universe has a Ruler. Hashem appointed Moshe and Aaron to
their respective leadership roles, and after that, nothing else mattered.
Hashem declared a specific role for Bnei Yisrael, and a special homeland, and
whether others think that is fair or just, doesn’t actually matter. What
matters is whether we are following the right path as set out in the Torah,
that we are doing the will of Hashem. When we don’t follow the will of Hashem,
the blueprint of existence that Hashem gave us, then there are consequences.
The path of history is long and those who are shouting their
righteous indignation and anti-Semitic poison now sincerely, it is sad to say,
believe that they are fighting for justice. They ignore the non-stop rockets
that have been sent into Israel for years, they minimize the barbarity of the
attack on civilians, and they fail to acknowledge the hostages that are still
being held. Over the last century society has chosen to believe that all people
can come together and determine a rightness of being in the world, but this too
is hubris – because politics and pride and jealousy color every decision made.
Organizations like the UN and the International Court claim objectiveness when
this is an impossible feat for the human psyche.
After Korach’s Levites perished, Hashem commanded Eleazar
the son of Aaron HaKohein to gather the fire pans and beat them into a covering
for the alter. They weren’t buried or hidden or destroyed. They were transformed
and elevated so that ever after people could be reminded of that which had occurred
and remember that Hashem has a plan, whether you like it or not.
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