Hypocrisy

Parshas Korach

Posted on June 8, 2010 (5770) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

Tragedy follows tragedy in the book of Bamidbar. The unwarranted complaints of the people regarding the food in the desert and the false report regarding the Land of Israel that was discussed in last week’s parsha end in plague, punishment and disaster. This week’s parsha describes the rebellion of Korach and his cohorts against Moshe and the supremacy of Torah within Jewish society.

It seems that there is a latent death wish that lurks within Jewish society that does not allow it to free itself from repeating terrible mistakes over and over again. The generation of the desert saw miracles, even G-d’s presence, so to speak, on a regular basis and nevertheless constantly escalates its defiance and rebellion against its special role in human civilization.

It really is a form of regret on the part of many Jews in the desert to having accepted the Torah carte blanche at Sinai. This group did not intend to be a chosen people. The plaintive cry of “let us just return to Egypt” is really a cry that “we wish to be just like all other peoples!” And it is a situation that repeats itself in almost every generation of Jewish life.

The struggle within Jews and Jewish society in all ages is whether to accept its G-d-given role as a “treasure amongst all nations” or to somehow renounce all pretense of being a special people. The choices are not really portrayed as being that stark. Rather, it reflects itself in a continuum of Jewish observance, adherence to Jewish values and the willingness to remain proudly Jewish in a world that is hostile to Jews, a Jewish state and Judaism itself.

Korach wraps his personal animosity towards Moshe and his frustration of not achieving the recognition that he feels is due him within a cloak of holiness and altruism. Hypocrisy always abounds, especially amongst those that judge others. The self-righteous give righteousness itself a bad name.

The claims of Korach which he speaks in the name of democracy, that all the people are holy and worthy of leadership, resound in classical correctness. They are hard to argue against and certainly have great public resonance and appeal. The problem with Korach’s appeal and words is that they are basically fraudulent.

Moshe’s stature is determined by G-d and has been vindicated throughout the ages of Jewish history. There are no truly unbiased people in the world. But there are those that, at the very least, recognize their bias and attempt to deal with it honestly and intelligently. Hypocrisy is the attempt to cover up the bias with false nobility of purpose and affected altruism.

Hypocrisy is a reprehensible character trait, far greater in potential destructiveness than is open hate itself. This is what made Korach so dangerous and why Moshe’s determination to publicly expose and punish him so strident and insistent. The tragedy of Korach lies not only his own personal downfall but rather in the havoc and confusion that it created in the Jewish society. It is a situation that repeats itself today as well.

Shabat shalom,
Rabbi Berel Wein

The Easy Way In

Parshas Korach

Posted on June 8, 2010 (5770) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner

How do you put down an insurrection? Sometimes, all it takes is calling their bluff. Moses had to face just such an insurrection in the Desert. Korach and his followers challenged the royal authority of Moses as the divinely ordained leader of the Jewish people and the right of Aaron to serve as the High Priest.

“All the people are holy,” Korach and his followers declared. “Why do you place yourselves above them?” Surely, they contended, Hashem would want the power and the privilege spread about more equitably.

How did Moses respond? By challenging them to a test. On the morrow, Korach and each of his followers were to take a pan of incense and approach the Mishkan to perform the daily burning of the incense ritual. If Hashem accepted their offering, they would be vindicated. But if their claims were unjustified, they could expect to die. Sure enough, when the rebels brought the incense the next day, they were incinerated.

Why did Moses choose this particular ritual as a test of divine favor? The Midrash explains that the burning of the incense is the most exalted and important part of the divine service, and therefore, it is also the most devastating if its integrity is violated.

The commentators also discern another dimension in the choice of the burning of the incense as the test of divine favor. The rebels wanted to usurp the hereditary priesthood of Aaron because they felt they were equally qualified. And what were their qualifications? That they considered themselves as knowledgeable as Aaron about the intricacies of the temple service.

Therefore, Moses directed their attention to the burning of the incense. Although the production of the incense was an intricate and arcane process, the actual burning of the incense was very simple and straightforward, far simpler than the service of the animal sacrifices or the meal offerings. Clearly, Aaron’s qualifications for this service were not any specialized knowledge or training. Rather, it was his many years of selfless dedication to Hashem, his transcendent spirit and his all-embracing love for the people that earned him the privilege of wearing the priestly vestments.

The service itself may have been easy, but getting to the required level of worthiness was not. It required a lifetime of effort. Unfortunately, the rebels had to learn the hard way that there is no easy way in.

A famous sage was traveling by wagon from town to town. In each place he stopped, crowds greeted him with great honor. Some people asked for his blessing, while others asked for his advice. The sage responded to each person kindly and quickly.

“I want to ask a favor,” said the wagon driver once they were back on the road. “Never in all my life have I received honors such as you receive in each town we visit. Before the next town, could you change clothing and places with me? The people will think I am the sage, and they’ll shower me with honors. I will give them blessings, and I will give them advice. For once in my life, I would like to experience that feeling.”

“As you wish,” said the sage.

They changed clothing and places, and sure enough, the people in the next town greeted the disguised wagon driver with adulation.

One man pushed through the crowd. “I need your advice desperately,” he said to the sage, and he went on to describe his problem.

The wagon driver tried to think of an answer, but every solution only seemed to create more problems.

Suddenly, he had a flash of inspiration.

“This is really a very simple question,” he said. “In fact, it is so simple even my wagon driver knows the answer. Why don’t you ask him?”

In our own lives, we are often ready to criticize those in positions of leadership and authority, whether it be the rabbi, the school principal or anyone else in a similar position. From a distance, what they do may seem easy and uncomplicated, and we, of course, see with perfect clarity where they could use improvement. But appearances are deceiving. They spent many years preparing for those positions, and we are not qualified to second-guess everything they do. Better that we should turn that powerful lamp of scrutiny on ourselves and become the very best that we can possibly be.

Text Copyright © 2010 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

Rabbi Reich is on the faculty of the Ohr Somayach Tanenbaum Education Center.

To Balance the Ego

Parshas Korach

Posted on June 19, 2014 (5774) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

In the entire biblical narrative of the sojourn of the Jewish people in the desert of Sinai, the tribe of Levi is not mentioned as being a participant in any of the rebellions and mutinies of the Jewish people against G-d and Moshe. The tribe of Levi stood firm in its faith and loyalty during the disaster of the Golden Calf and rallied to the side of Moshe to stem that tide of idolatry.

In the complaints mounted against Moshe and G-d about water and food, the tribe of Levi is not to be found. The tribe of Levi did not participate in the mission of the spies and explorers of the Land of Israel and there is opinion that it was not included in the decree that that generation would die in the desert and never see the Land of Israel. Yet this seemingly impeccable record is tarnished by the events described in this week’s parsha.

Here, apparently, the tribe of Levi, through Korach and his supporters, are the leaders of a very serious rebellion against the authority of Moshe. Moshe himself is a Levite and when he criticizes the behavior of the tribe of Levi – “is it not enough for you to be the chosen servants of the Lord in your Levite status that you must insist that you will also be the priestly class of Israel?!” he certainly does so with heavy heart and great bitterness. In effect he is demanding to know what happened to turn the holy tribe of Levi into a rebellious group whose punishment would be their being swallowed up by the earth.

One of my favorite truisms in life is that one is never to underestimate the power of ego. The Great War of 1914-18 was in a great measure caused and driven by the egotistical whims of some of the main monarchs of Europe who were then in power. The Talmud records for us that the evil but potentially great King of Israel, Yeravam ben Nvat, was offered by G-d, so to speak, to stroll in Paradise alongside King David and G-d Himself, again, so to speak.

The Talmud tells us that Yeravam refused the offer because King David would have preference of place over him on that walk in Heaven. The message and moral that the Talmud means to convey with this story is how dangerous and tragic an inflated ego can be to one’s self and, if one is in a position of leadership and authority it, may affect others as well.

Korach and the tribe of Levi fall victim to their inflated egos. Their sense of self is now far from reality and responsibility. One cannot be without ego and self-pride. Yet these attributes must be tempered by perspective, logic and a sense of loyalty and obedience to the word of G-d. That,  in my opinion. is the basic lesson of this week’s parsha.

Moshe’s overriding sense of modesty diminishes the drive of his own ego and he is able to say “would that all of G-d’s congregation could join me as prophets.” Korach, consumed by his unjustly inflated ego, destroys himself and many others in his quest for positions that do not belong to him nor is he worthy of having.

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein