Korach: Korach, Then and Now

 by Rav Dov Lior, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

What type of people did Korach gather around him for his rebellion against Moshe?

This week's Torah portion of Korach (Numbers 16-18) recounts one of the most painful episodes that ever took place in our national history.

Moshe Rabbeinu had been leading the people through all of its vicissitudes, ever since a year before the Exodus – including the difficult times in Egypt amid slavery and plagues, the rushed and miraculous departure across the Red Sea, the acceptance of the Torah, and the trek through the Sinai – when suddenly, a group of rebels arose and sought to undermine his authority! They even accused him of acting dishonestly with the nation, as if he had appointed people to high authority out of his own self-interest and not because G-d had commanded him to do so. This was a blatant and humiliating attempt to undermine the leader who had done so much to shape the national and spiritual essence of the nation.

In order for us to learn from this and make sure in the future we avoid dangerous discord such as this at all costs, the Torah goes into great detail about this incident. We learn that Korach's gang comprised three elements:

1. Korach himself, the main ideologue of the rebellion. He appeared on the scene as someone who was seeking the best welfare of the people, wishing merely to restore the Tabernacle holy service to the firstborns as before. (We must keep in mind that during that period, the holy sacrificial service stood at the center of national life – just as money and prestige stand at the center of many people's lives today; then, it was closeness to Divine worship that people sought.) Korach slyly tried to trick the people into thinking he simply wanted democracy and equality, and that the priesthood should not be given only to certain parts of the Levite tribe. To accomplish his goals, he needed the other two elements:
2. People who liked to fight and who were handy with their tongues in arousing dissent, spreading rumors, and influencing people with their rhetoric. For this purpose he enlisted Datan and Aviram, the first "journalists" in history.
3. And finally, the third element was the 250 men who were actually sincere in their desire to come close to G-d and His service. True, they knew that this wasn't the right way of doing this, but they could not overcome their spiritual cravings. For this reason their punishment was relatively honorable – as opposed to Datan and Aviram, who were swallowed up by the earth. 

The message for future generations is a profound one, and deserves our careful consideration. When national elections are held, for instance, every candidate declares that if he is elected, he will bring peace, economic prosperity, national welfare, and the like. Of course, those who are serious among the voting public know that they must check to see if the candidate who is so busy selling himself actually has the abilities and qualities necessary for the job. Or could it be that his main interest is not in actually succeeding at the very hard job of being Prime Minister, but merely in bumping out his predecessor – and all his promises were merely fig leaves for his campaign?

Only people who truly worked on behalf of our nation with dedication, loyalty, and self-sacrifice, and not for their own self-aggrandizement, can be trusted to have serious intentions for the public welfare. In such a case, they will also have Divine help – siyata dishmaya – in carrying out their promises and goals.

I hereby bless our nation that we should always merit to be blessed with leadership that speaks truthfully and has only the best motives for wanting to lead us – and in this merit, may we truly see G-d's salvation very soon for His nation and land.

Emuna: Irreversible - The Certainty of Redemption

 by Rav Sh. Yosef Veitzen yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Seven challenges and responses to the presentation of the State of Israel as the start of our redemption.

In our Sabbath prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel, we define the modern-day return of the People of Israel to the Land of Israel, and the establishment of a Jewish sovereignty here, as "the beginning of the sprouting of our redemption."

Is this a correct definition of today's Jewish State?

Many fine Jews who believe in G-d and follow the Torah do not think so, and therefore do not recite this prayer. They feel that the situation today is simply a continuation of our circumstances during the Exile. In their eyes, the Redemption will include the return of the Jewish People not only to the Land of Israel, but also to the Torah of Israel and to the service of G-d, all of which will be topped off with the construction of the Holy Temple. And since in practice they do not detect any signs of an "enhanced" dwelling of the Divine Presence in our midst, nor do they see open miracles transpiring for the "nation that dwells in Zion" – how can this situation be called Redemption, about which is written, "The land will be filled with the knowledge of God"? On the contrary: Most unfortunately, great parts of our people appear to be spiritually further from G-d than ever before.

Their claim is that it is not sufficient that the Jewish People physically reside in the Holy Land. Our presence here without the Torah is nothing special. In fact, they say, the great virtue of our dwelling in the Holy Land is that we are closer here to G-d than elsewhere in the world. As such, as long as there has been no spiritual revolution among the nation, our dwelling in the Land provides no advantage; the situation of Exile is simply continuing here in the Land.

On the other hand, many others do recite the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel, yet differ amongst themselves as to the true significance of today's Jewish State. The crux of the disagreement is whether or not to view the State as the fulfillment of the words of the Prophets. That is, does the establishment of the State mean that we are surely on the path of Redemption and that there is no way back, or does it merely provide an opportunity for Redemption?

Those who take the latter approach feel that while Israel might very well be a part of the Redemption process, the success of this process ultimately depends on our national and personal behavior. If we do not recognize that the State is a Divine gift and do not use it as such, we are liable to derail the entire procedure. As proof, the proponents of this approach cite the famous Sage R. Akiva, who was sure that Bar Kochba was the Messiah, yet was soon proven sadly mistaken. In fact, this failure led to a period of Exile that was even worse than its predecessor. Maimonides explains that this does not mean that R. Akiva was wrong, for he simply defined the situation as an "opportunity for Redemption" – which, because of the sins of the generation, did not pan out. The situation today might very well be the same, according to this approach.

However, there are those who recite the prayer specifically because they are confident that today's national return to Zion is the final, absolute, and no-way-back path to Redemption. "We have left the Exile forever!" they say. How exactly the events will evolve we do not and cannot know; but we are sure that these generations have been witness to, and continue to witness, the fulfillment of many of the Prophecies foreseen for Messianic times. G-d is leading us on a one-way path towards the long-awaited Redemption.

This does not mean that it will be easy or free of tribulations, ups and downs and difficulties and doubts – but we see the overall direction, and it leads straight ahead. The withdrawals from the Yamit-Sinai communities in 1982, and from Gush Katif in 2005, were painful setbacks, but we must keep in mind that the path to Redemption is, by definition, a gradual process that sometimes appears to take one step forward and two steps backwards. The Sages of the Jerusalem Talmud likened it to the moments before the rising of the sun, when it seems to disappear from view for a time even as we know that it is continually rising towards us.

[After presenting these various positions on the national-historic significance of the State of Israel at this point in history, the author has formulated seven challenges to the "certainty" approach, and provided answers as well. We hope to present these in the coming weeks.]

Schlach: Permission to be Proud

by Rav Yosef Naveh, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

This week's Torah portion of Sh'lach recounts the tragic sin of the Twelve Spies. It was their negative report that brought a temporary but calamitous halt to the glorious march of the Jewish People to the Land in which they were to become a Torah-learned people and a light unto the nations.

At the beginning of Parashat Sh'lach, the Torah lists the names of the spies – including the two who did not take part in the demoralizing report: Calev ben Yefuneh and Yehoshua bin Nun. We read that the latter's name was originally Hoshea, but that Moshe added the letter yod, standing for G-d, and called him Yehoshua, as if to say, "May G-d protect you from the counsel of the [other] spies." 

The Targum Yehonatan writes: "When Moshe saw his humbleness, he called him Yehoshua." What about Yehoshua's humbleness bothered Moshe?

The Chatam Sofer explains that Moshe was afraid that Yehoshua's humility might prevent him from standing up to the other spies and their negative inclinations. The Chatam Sofer continues to explain that sometimes, when one is very humble and lowly, his humility is liable to become a negative trait, in that he could feel so unworthy that he loses the motivation to take action and serve G-d with all his potential. In addition, he might feel so "modest" and lowly that he gives in to negative peer pressure and does not fulfill the mitzvot that he knows he should. 

One must therefore have a modicum of pride in himself, as in the verse, "His [King Yehoshafat's] heart was uplifted in the ways of G-d" (Chronicles II 17,6). This "holy arrogance," says the Chatam Sofer, is symbolized by the Divine name Ya-h, spelled with the two letters yod and heh. This is why Moshe blessed Yehoshua with this Divine name, so that his humility should not take the place of his "holy pride" and that he should be able to stand up for the true purpose of the Spies' holy mission.

The Arizal wrote that the gematriya (Hebrew numerology) value of the word gaavah (pride) is 15 – the same as yod-heh. This teaches, he says, that pride must be reserved only for matters of sanctity, and for raising one's heart only for the service of G-d. One must be strong and firm against those forces that would prevent him from fulfilling his holy mission.

One must not be ashamed to do the right thing, and must be wary of the trait of "false humility" that enables him to take the easy way out because of societal or other pressures. "His heart was uplifted in the ways of G-d."

When G-d commanded Moshe to choose the spies, He told him to take one representative from each tribe – specifically, the "prince" of each tribe. The literal translation of this poetic command is this: "One man, one man, to the tribe of his fathers you shall send, every prince among them."  The holy Rebbe Yechiel Yaakov of Koznitz explained as follows:

Two types of Jews are referred to here. There are those who are born to families of righteous people, who might think that their Divine service comes easily to them via heredity, and that they need not work hard to achieve high levels. And there are those whose upbringing was not in an environment of fear of G-d, and whose families and friends discouraged them, or worse, from fulfilling the mitzvot. This latter group might think to themselves that there is no point in trying to improve, for their very roots are bad.

This is why the verse repeats "one man" twice, to direct this message to both types: "to the tribe of his fathers you shall send" – Send away that which your fathers taught you! Pay no attention to your roots if they direct you to be lazy and not work hard on your spiritual development! Rather, "every prince among them!" – All your prince-like behavior in your spiritual service and character development is dependent only upon yourselves, and not others!

So writes Rav Natan, the prime student of Rav Nachman of Breslov:

"His heart was uplifted in the ways of G-d:" We must raise our hearts and thoughts in the ways of G-d and realize that it is not appropriate for us to act negatively, like animals - for our souls are very high, like princes, and we must act accordingly, as is written, "You [Israel] are sons to Hashem your G-d" (Deut. 14,1)…

"And every person can [work hard and] be like the truly righteous, for everyone has Free Will and the ability to attain [great heights]."

Every person, even the most "humble," has within him the essence and ability to reach the highest levels. The difference is only that the tzaddik is truly connected to this knowledge, while the simple people do not yet believe in themselves and in their strengths.

As Rabbe Nachman said: "This is what you are missing! You imagine that the achievements of the great tzaddikim belong only to them, when in fact, every person can attain [that] level!"

Beha'alotkha: Like the Levites, Teachers Must be Raised Up!

 by Rav Yosef Carmel, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

If the High Priest is the Minister of Education in the Jewish State, the Levites are the teachers.

This week's Torah portion of Behaalot'cha (Numbers, chapters 8-12) is laden with a fascinating array of topics. Let us look at the two opening passages, dealing with the lighting of the lamps in the Tabernacle and the lifting of the Levites – both of which use words meaning "raising up." 

G-d told Moses: Speak to Aaron and say to him: "When you raise up [light] the lamps, the seven lamps shall illuminate toward the face of the Menorah." … G-d told Moses: "Take the Levites from among the children of Israel and purify them... Bring the Levites before G-d… Then Aaron shall lift up the Levites as a waving before G-d on behalf  of the children of Israel, that they may serve in G-d's service…"

We see that the Torah, more than once in this passage, prefers to use the word "raise up" instead of "light" regarding the lighting of the lamps. The Levites, too, must be physically "raised up" in order to prepare them for the Temple service. What is the connection between them?

Rabbeinu Bahye (Bechaye) (1255-1340, Spain), a foremost Biblical commentator, wrote that the lifting up of the Levites by Aaron was effected in one or both of two ways: "Either Aaron would take each one of them and lift him slightly off the ground and wave him, thus showing that Aaron was tremendously strong in being able to do so with 22,000 Levites himself in one day, or it was done by way of miracle."

Let us discuss the significance of the lifting and waving, and how is connected with the "raising" of the lights.

When the Bible speaks of light, it is often in the context of Torah wisdom. For example: "For a commandment is a candle, and the Torah is light" (Proverbs 6,23), and, "The wisdom of a man will light up his face" (Eccl. 8,1). Light symbolizes the spirituality present also within the material world. As such, when we speak of "adding light," we mean "adding Torah and spirituality." When the Torah tells us that lighting the Menorah in the Tabernacle and Temple is "raising up the lamps," it refers to the addition of spirituality and empowering the dwelling of the Divine Presence there, and from there throughout the world. To the extent that the Presence dwells in our midst, so the power of the light increases in the world – up to the final rectification, as the Prophet Isaiah foresaw:"Nations will walk by your light, and kings by the brightness of your shining" (60,3). As made famous by the singer Avraham Fried, the Medrash explains: "[This verse teaches that] Jerusalem is the light of the world - and who is the light of Jerusalem? It is G-d, as is written,"G-d will be for you an eternal light" (60,19) (B'reshit Rabba 59,5). 

The Tabernacle and Temple are not simply places for the worship of G-d via sacrificial offerings. They are also designed to serve as the spiritual center that disseminates light to the nation of Israel and the entire world – one that intensifies the presence of the Shekhinah upon the children of G-d, the people of Israel, and thereby on all of humanity.

Alongside of the Levites' job to assist the Priests, they are also assigned the task of spreading Torah throughout the nation. If the High Priest is the Minister of Education in the Jewish State, the Levites are those who work and teach in the educational system. For instance, the High Priest R. Yehoshua ben Gamla instituted many important educational regulations for the Jewish People, chief among them the entire idea of schools as opposed to learning only at home.

In order for the educational system to function effectively, we see that the Torah requires that the teachers be "raised up," in order that they be able to raise up their students and thus, the entire public.

The light that we discussed above is disseminated by the raising of the value of the teaching profession and by honoring those who engage in it. Our goal is that those who choose to be part of this "elite unit," and lead the way by carrying out this important mission, will be able to do so not only because they were unable to be accepted to more seemingly prestigious career options. An honorable pay scale for teachers is one of the means by which to encourage quality people to enter this profession. Their salaries must enable them to dedicate the best of their abilities to their students and to the goals they wish them to achieve. Teachers must be accorded the status of "lighters of the torch," those who raise up the light in the national Menorah. We must view them as those who disseminate the light, in every way.

Let us pray that we will merit to raise up the light of the lamps and ignite the souls of the pupils of Israel, and the light will then naturally find its way to every corner, raising up and waving all of us ever upwards. 

Emuna: The Giving of the Torah Keeps on Going and Going!

 by Chief Rabbi Avraham Shapira ZT"l, yeshiva.org.il, translated by Hillel Fendel.

Last week's Shavuot holiday is relevant today, as it marks the perpetual renewal of the giving of the Torah to Israel – every generation, all the time.

The holiday of the Giving of the Torah to Israel at Mt. Sinai is, paradoxically, the holiday of the Oral Law. This is because it belongs to the Torah Sages of each and every generation. Every generation, the Torah is given to us anew; the day of Shavuot is the day that symbolizes and manifests this most quintessentially. Every year on this day we reenact that great event of the year 2448 (counting from the creation of the world).

Just like the festival of Pesach is the time of freedom each year, so too Shavuot is the time of receiving the Torah anew each year, each generation. When we celebrate Shavuot, we are not merely commemorating something that happened once long ago, but rather the very essence of the day – and it is renewed every year.

The Jerusalem Talmud (Rosh HaShanah 4,8) teaches as follows: "All the sacrifices mention sin, except for Shavuot." The Talmud here is actually asking a question: Why is it that all the festival sacrifices include a sin-offering – except for Shavuot? (See Bamidbar 28,22; 29,5; 29,11; etc., and compare with Bamidbar 28,30.) 

The Talmud answers: "G-d said: Because you accepted upon yourselves the yoke of Torah, I consider it as if you never sinned at all." The Korban HaEdah commentary explains: "Shavuot every year is like the day on which we stood at Mt. Sinai, and on it we receive the Torah anew. As [the Talmudic Sage] Rav Yosef said: 'If it weren't for this very day that made the difference, I would be just like any other Yosef in the market' – and so, there is no sin-offering on that day."

That is, Rav Yosef was saying that the very day of Shavuot made the whole difference in his life: If not for the Torah that was given on Shavuot and that he spent his life studying, his entire essence would have been different. The reality that renews our acceptance of the Torah each and every year is that which leads to the atonement of our sins every year anew.

We know that Israel's acceptance of the Torah is encapsulated in their response when they first heard words of the Torah: "Everything that G-d said, we will do and we will listen" (Sh'mot 24,7). Every year when we hear these words read aloud from the Torah on Shavuot, we accept the Torah yet again. And every individual Jew also has his own individual acceptance of the Torah. 

In this light, let us understand the afore-mentioned teaching of Rav Yosef in the Talmud about the "very day" of Shavuot and its imprint on him. Why does he say that it made him who he was? After all, the entire world would have been lacking if not for the Torah, not just Rav Yosef!

Answer: What Rav Yosef is teaching is that not only was the Torah given to the world and the Jewish People on that day, but also individually to each person! And therefore, just as Israel's acceptance of the Torah is renewed each year on Shavuot, the same is true for each individual. 

[Translator's note: The end of this article is not available, and so we conclude with the words of Rav Chaim Ben-Shushan, a Ra"m (rabbi and teacher) in Yeshivat Beit El:]

Although Shavuot is only one day a year [it is celebrated for two days outside Israel], but it is something that we must remember every day of the year; we must live it every day. Just like the Torah does not say straight out that Rosh HaShanah is the Day of Judgement, because this feeling is something that must be with us all year, every day - so too the Torah does not tell us that Shavuot is the day of the Giving of the Torah – because the Torah must be with us every single day.