All is at Risk • Torah.org

 

 

Posted on June 14, 2018 (5778) By Rabbi Label Lam | Series: Dvar Torah | Level: Beginner

They assembled against  Moshe and Aaron, and said to them, “( RAV LACHEM) – You have too much for yourselves, for the entire congregation are all holy, and  HASHEM   is in their midst. So why do you raise yourselves above the HASHEM’s assembly?” (Bamidbar 16:3)

You have too much for yourselves: You took by far too much greatness for yourselves! – Rashi

(Moshe speaking to Korach and his followers) “Place fire into them and put incense upon them before HASHEM tomorrow, and the man whom HASHEM chooses he is the holy  one; (RAV LACHEM) you have too much for yourselves, sons of Levi.” (Bamidbar 16:7)

The Torah treats us to the actual statement of Moshe in his brief retort-rebuke to Korach and his rebellious troops, “(RAV LACHEM) you have much for yourselves, sons of Levi. These words no doubt are packed with multiple layers of meaning. What was Moshe saying?

 

On a simple level he was responding to their false accusation. The Talmud says, “Kol HaPosel, B’Mumo Posel”- Anyone who faults another, it is with his own fault!” They were accusing Moshe of being “politically” ambitious when in fact it was they who were trying to usurp power. Moshe was holding a mirror for them to see themselves.

It could also be that Moshe was referring to an exchange between Yaakov and Eisav. When Eisav at first tried to rebuff the gifts of his brother he stated, “Yeish Li Rav” – “I have  plenty!” Yaakov responded to Eisav with the words, “Yeish Li Kol”. “I have everything!” Implied in Eisav’s words is that he has plenty in quantitative terms and he is open to receiving even more! Yaakov’s claim is that he has everything qualitatively and needs no more! Eisav in contradistinction wanted more and more!

While Korach spoke in high platitudes about the whole nation being holy, Moshe detected that it was his familial claim to authority that was fueling the uprising. By referring to  “Bnei Levi”- “Sons of Levi” he was exposing Korach true selfish motive.

There is another obvious reason for Moshe to tell Korach and his followers that they have plenty. There is a simple test for jealousy. I have tried it on many children with surprising results. Offer a child the following theoretical scenario. What if…I give you a candy!? The child will be very happy about that proposition. What if…I offer you and your brother or sister one candy as well?! The child will be OK with that no doubt. Now ask, and what if I give you two candies… (the face will begin to blossom into a big smile before you finish)  but only on the condition that your brother gets three candies!?!?

In most cases, but not all, the smile collapses and the child will opt for deal number one where they get one and the sibling gets one. They are willing to forego a 100% raise so long as their brother or sister does not have more. Such is the nature of jealousy!

Even more! Rabbi Yonason Eibshitz pointed out a percentage point difference between two statements of the sages. One insight into human psychology states, “If someone has 100 he wants 200!” Another sagely statement says, “A person does not leave this world having   filled half of his desires!” That means he did not get to 50%! The first one says he got to   50%. It may seem like a joke but it’s not. What’s the answer?

The answer I found very useful when answering a request, a frequent request from one of my daughters. The refrain was, “Can I go to Marshalls and get another pair of shoes?” I realized that she has dozens and dozens of shoes in her closet and yet she still wants more, so I shared with her the seering insight of Rabbi Yonason Eibshitz.

He says that the half that the person does not have is more-dear to him than the half he does have. The shoes in the store are more-dear to you dear than the ones in your closet.

 

Therefore our sages (Avos 4:1) also remind us, “Who is truly wealthy? One who celebrates what they have!? Moshe was no doubt more than warning them that they have so very much and all is at risk!

 

 

 

 

Guilt by Association

 

 

Posted on June 25, 2020 (5780) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level: Beginner 

We read in this week’s parsha of Korach, the tragic episode of Korach’s rebellion against Moshe Rabeinu. Korach was punished in an unprecedented, shocking way, with the ground suddenly opening and swallowing him and his family alive. This is the first and only time such a phenomenon ever took place since the world’s creation, our sages tell us.

The commentaries are perplexed as to why Divine retribution for Korach’s rebellion had to take such an unprecedented form. True, the man was undeniably wicked but why was he  not punished in a manner more consistent with the natural order?

The dialogue between Moshe and Hashem regarding Korach’s rebellion is likewise puzzling. Hashem apparently felt that Korach’s insurrection was so serious that it implicated some degree of guilt in the entire Jewish people. “Remove yourself from their midst and I will destroy the whole nation in an instant,” Hashem said to Moshe, to which Moshe countered, “If one man sins, should the entire congregation suffer?”

Hashem relented and said, “In that case, remove everybody from around Korach and I will have the ground swallow him up.”

Why did Hashem initially want to punish the entire nation for the sin of one evildoer?

 

The following analogy may shed light. A man of poor means took a third class ticket on a boat and traveled in stowage. His little cabin had a porthole that was beneath the waterline and afforded him no view. A few days into the voyage, his fellow passengers saw water seeping from under the door to his room. They knocked on his door but there was no answer. When the water began spreading into the corridor, they called down the captain  who finally broke open the door. They discovered the hapless fellow with a drill in his hand boring a large hole in the side of the boat. The water was pouring in through the hole, flooding the room.

“Are you crazy?” screamed the captain, “Are you trying to sink the boat?” The man replied, “What do you want from me? I paid for my room, I have a right to do as I please here.

Leave me alone!”

 

One of the cornerstones of our existence as a nation is that, unlike the fool in the boat, we understand that we are all responsible for one another. Each one’s life and fortunes are inexorably linked to those of his fellow Jew. We are all networked, so to speak, and a bug in one part of the system infects the whole system. Therefore, regardless of whether righteous Jews are mixed with evil ones in a particular group, the whole “boat” can potentially sink. Good people can, in certain situations, suffer the fate of evil ones in their midst.

Hashem deemed it appropriate to destroy the whole Jewish people as a result of Korach’s sin. “Remove yourself from the nation and they will all die in an instant!” he instructed Moshe. Moshe responded with a vigorous challenge. “Ha’ish echad yechta?” Shouldn’t the one who sinned, thereby removing himself from the congregation, be isolated? His sin will therefore not affect the rest of the Jewish people.

Hashem acceded to his request by administering a revolutionary form of punishment, which clearly demonstrated that Korach was a complete outsider, that he had cut himself off from the fabric of the Jewish nation. He and his family were swallowed up alive, demonstrating that he had no portion in the nation’s destiny.

This tragic story offers a startling lesson in how interdependent Jews are, how responsible we are for one another’s spiritual and physical welfare. The message should be taken in a positive light. If one malignant individual can wreak havoc and bring retribution on an entire nation, it follows that the opposite is true: one righteous Jew can channel his  spiritual talent and tremendous love and concern for his fellow Jews to accomplish remarkable things for his people!

Let us pray that we merit to be among those in the latter group who are granted the opportunity to bring Divine blessing upon the Jewish people.

Wishing you a wonderful Shabbos

 

Rabbi Naftali Reich

Power Grab • Torah.org

 

 

Posted on June 24, 2020 (5780) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

 

There are always differences within a team regarding the role and efficacy of leadership  and leaders. All leaders are subject to criticism and second guessing. It comes with the job and there is no escaping it. Nevertheless, when the criticism descends to the level of personal abuse, and when it is obviously motivated by jealousy and other susceptible causes, then the criticism crosses the line of acceptability and becomes almost slander.

We see in the Torah reading of this week that Korach had criticism of Moses and Aaron regarding their leadership roles. This criticism, as the Torah indicates to us very clearly, stems from personal motives of jealousy, and because Korach was convinced that he and   his family were entitled to many more privileges of leadership than they were given. So, it became a personal vendetta. But no one likes to mount a personal vendetta without having some sort of ulterior super-cause by which to justify it. It was not possible for Korach to   say, “I want more power, therefore, give it to me.” Instead, he says that Moses and Aaron  are lording it over the Jewish people unnecessarily. They have no mandate to do so. All people are holy, and, therefore, everyone is entitled to their say and their share of the privileges of leadership.

 

This is a populist demand. It is common throughout all human history that the road to obtaining power is to cloak it in some great moral cause. In human history, there have     been instances when the moral cause was present. All  those  rebellions  and  revolutions were justified and necessary. However, I believe in many instances in human history, it     was simply a power grab. People felt they were entitled, and they resented that others had  the power. And, for them to gain that power, they would resort to any means possible. We can see that this plays out in our current world as well. During political election campaigns, especially on the national level, it is no longer simply a question of ideas or policies. It has deteriorated into being a question of personalities and the hunger – the insatiable hunger – for power.

Moses is taken aback by the ferocity of the attack against him. Moses, who is the most humble of all human beings, who shirked power and begged the Lord to allow someone    else to lead the Jewish people, this Moses is deeply wounded and aggrieved by the slanderous accusations against him. He feels that these accusations must be refuted. If Korach, so to speak, escapes unscathed from this incident of an open personal power grab, then he will set a precedent for others in the future. And then Jewish leaders will always be subjected to such vendettas and personal acrimony. So, Moses responds, not in order to justify himself, even though he’s upset as well. “I have not taken anything from anybody, Moses says, I have not lived at the public troughs, I am not guilty of any corruption, I have been as selfless as I can.”

But that is not the issue. The issue is whether an individual can mount an attack on the leadership of the nation based solely on personal desire and political arrogance. And that, Moses feels, must be rejected and refuted in a miraculous and painful way. He asks the Lord to create what had already been created in the six days of creation, the mouth of the earth that would swallow up Korach and his cohorts, and prove once and for all that a person has to be careful to separate noble causes from personal greed and avarice.

This is reinforced when the staff of Aaron blossoms in the tabernacle while the other staffs remain dead wood. Again, Aaron is the last person that can be accused of wanting power or privilege. He is the lover of peace, the gentle arbiter between families and communities. He  is the symbol of godly service and of concern for his fellow human beings. The attack on   him is doubly unjustified. It is abundantly clear that Korach is acting out of personal motives. This is a power grab, which has no place in Jewish life, and the Lord, so to speak, performs miracles that prevent it from happening. It should remain a lesson and paradigm for all future generations as well.

Shabbat Shalom, Rabbi Berel Wein

 

 

 

The Grasshopper Syndrome

 

 

Posted on June 26, 2019 (5779) By Rabbi Naftali Reich | Series: Legacy | Level:  Beginner 

So near and yet so far. The Jewish people were massed in the Desert, waiting for the signal to enter into the Promised Land. In a matter of days or weeks, they could have been in possession of the land that Hashem had promised to Abraham’s descendants centuries before. But fate intervened. They decided to send spies to scout the land and its defenses, and these spies returned with slanderous reports, causing an insurrection among the   people and their exclusion from the land for forty years.

Who were these spies who took it upon themselves to slander the Promised Land, to inflame the minds of the people with their distortions and exaggerations, to instill fear in the hearts of the innocent? Our Sages tell us that they were among the greatest and finest leaders of the respective tribes.

How then is it possible that these righteous men would do such a terrible thing? Hadn’t they themselves witnessed the wondrous miracles Hashem performed for the Jewish  people in Egypt, during the Exodus and at Mount Sinai? Did they think He was incapable  of leading the Jewish people to victory against the Canaanites entrenched in the Promised Land?

 

Let us look into this week’s Torah reading for the answer. When the spies returned from their mission, they made a very revealing comment, “We felt like grasshoppers next to them, and that is how we appeared in their eyes.”

The commentators explain that this comment illuminates the underlying reason for the downfall of the spies. These people did not believe in themselves. They lacked confidence and a sense of their own worth. They felt like grasshoppers in the presence of the  Canaanites, and therefore, the Canaanites viewed them as grasshoppers as well. This selfsame lack of confidence also led them to slander the land. They saw the major obstacles that had to be overcome, and they felt intimidated and overwhelmed. They shriveled    within, unable to believe that they were worthy of yet another display of spectacular miracles. And so they chose to slander the land in order to deflect the Jewish people from their plans of conquest and to persuade them to remain in the relative safety of the Desert.

A great sage told his disciples for a walk, “Today, we will do something different.”

 

Without another word, he led them to a deep ravine at the end of the town. A taut rope was stretched across the top of the ravine, and a huge crowd was gathered a short distance   away.

Presently, a tightrope walker holding a long balancing rod stepped off the rim of the ravine onto the rope and began to walk across the chasm. The crowd gasped in amazement as the tightrope walker made his way steadily along the quivering rope. When he finally reached  the opposite rim of the ravine safely, the crowd responded with an audible sigh of relief and an enthusiastic round of applause.

The sage nodded gravely, turned around and started to walk away. “Why did you bring us here today?” one of his disciples asked him. “What are we supposed to learn from the tightrope walker?”

“A very important lesson,” said the sage. “Walking a tightrope is a metaphor of life, because all of us are indeed walking a tightrope. Did you watch that tightrope walker? He was    totally focused on what he was doing, and he was confident in his ability to do it. If he had lost focus or confidence he would never have made it across.”

In our own lives, we are always faced with challenges and ordeals that may lead us to question our own capabilities and worth. Whenever we are inspired to do something good and worthwhile, the evil inclination immediately tries to make us second guess ourselves. Can we really do it? Is it too difficult? Are our motivations pure? And as our confidence erodes, the chances of success slowly fade away. But if we recognize that the source of our inspiration is the divine spark within us, if we find within ourselves the courage and the confidence to persevere, Hashem will surely bless our efforts with success.

Text Copyright &copy 2009 by Rabbi Naftali Reich and Torah.org.

Can We Go Back to Life Before Corona?

 

 

Posted on June 12, 2020 (5780) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level:

Beginner

In this week’s Torah reading we hear an oft repeated refrain uttered by many in the generation that found itself in the desert of Sinai. They said that we want to return to Egypt. The present is too difficult, and the future is too uncertain so let us go home to Egypt which we were familiar with and where we knew what to expect.

All human beings fear uncertainty. The future is always somewhat terrifying because of its unknown quality. We lack the self-confidence to know that we can somehow overcome all difficulties, even those which are currently not apparent. There is always that inner voice within that bids us to attempt to return to a known past rather than to advance to an uncertain future.

This psychological weakness permeates the entire series of events which are reflected in the Chumash of Bamidbar. There is security in the past, even in a past that was not pleasant or congenial. We see this in the Jewish world today when people want to return to the eastern European past that can never be renewed, instead of attempting to create a great future which will be relevant to its time.

This statement of let us return to Egypt is therefore representative not only of the generation of the desert but it is something that we hear repeated often throughout all Jewish history and in our time as well. It is a seductive statement but a dangerous one. Even if we wish to do so, there never was an ability to return to Egypt and to recast the world as it once was instead of what it is.

 

As we emerge from the scourge of the Corona epidemic, we again hear within us the refrain to return to what was – to the world that we knew just a few short months ago. However, that is a false hope and an unrealistic view of the matter. No matter how we will judge current events there can be no question that the world has changed and that certainties we had may no longer remain.  It is the uncertainty of the future that is now descending upon us that makes us anxious and somewhat frightened.

Human beings and especially the Jewish People are extremely adaptable and capable of facing the challenges of the unknown future. It is within our power to renew our self-confidence and to proclaim that we are willing and able to undertake building a newer and morally healthy and humanly beneficial society.  Because of this we will have an opportunity that has not been granted too many times, to mold and shape the Jewish   future in a productive and holy fashion. We should appreciate having such an opportunity and make certain that we do not squander it on nostalgia and, even worse, on repeating errors of the past. Going back to Egypt has never been a positive solution.

 

Shabbat Shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein

Basic Training • Torah.org

Posted on June 19, 2019 (5779) By Rabbi Pinchas Avruch | Series: Kol HaKollel | Level:

Beginner

 

“When the cloud lingered upon the Tabernacle many days, the Children of Israel would maintain the charge of G-d and would not journey.” (Bamidbar/Numbers 9:19) The  Children of Israel possessed a Divinely directed pillar of cloud that informed them when to pack up camp and move on to their next destination, a location that would become known only when the cloud stopped. Some destinations became home for as long as nineteen   years, others for as little as one night.

Ramban (1) explains that at times the cloud would tarry specifically in a location that was unpleasing to the nation, a place from which they desired to depart; nevertheless because  of their relationship with G-d and His indication that they should not travel, they did not. Similarly, if after a couple days’ rest they were tired and weary, they still followed the dictates of the cloud. There were times that after one night’s rest the cloud started moving on, a physically taxing charge; or worse, after two days at the location, when they had finally unloaded their packs with the confidence that this stop would be extended, they would get the signal to pack up and travel again.

 

Why was this strange routine necessary? Why did this have to be the forum for G-d’s Dominion to become manifest in the Jewish people?

Rabbi Eliyahu Dessler (2) responds that these exercises were actually the training program for Divine service, a lesson that spans the generations. Many have the faulty notion that when life becomes quiet and serene, then we are free to serve G-d. Rather, it is only when  we learn to acclimate, to serve G-d while carrying life’s heavy burdens through extreme conditions, that we are truly equipped to accept the Torah.

The Talmud (Eruvin 65b) teaches us that the content of man is measured by “koso, kiso, v’ka’aso” – his cup (his response when intoxicated), his wallet (financial pressures), and his anger. The G-d conscious Jew understands that his relationship with the Divine permeates all precincts of life, infusing all facets of life with holiness. Yet, the moments when he is   most taxed, most pressured and most burdened are the greatest opportunities to allow his own G-dliness to radiate. It is in these times of greatest challenge to the strength of his character that he fortifies his G-dly nature and propels himself to new spiritual heights.

Have a Good Shabbos!

Appreciate the Present

 

 

Posted on June 8, 2017 (5777) By Rabbi Berel Wein | Series: Rabbi Wein | Level: Beginner

The Torah reading of this week emphasizes to us the rule in life of seizing the moment of opportunity. Moshe tells the Jewish people that “we are traveling now to the place that the Lord has promised” to give to us as our national homeland. But this proposed victorious march somehow unravels. There is an incident with Yitro, the father-in-law of Moshe himself, who does not agree to accompany his adopted nation to its destination, the Land   of Israel. Moshe’s entreaties to him are of no avail. He has what to him are legitimate, if    not even holy reasons to return to his home and abandon Israel. His behavior makes an impression, albeit only subconsciously on the psyche of the Jewish people in the desert.

Their optimism and self-pride is weakened. They begin to complain about their present conditions in the desert. Having given up on their future, they can think only of their present.

One’s present is always frustrating and fraught with problems. Now, the manna that fell  from heaven daily is no longer an acceptable menu. When one is in a bad mood no food can taste good in one’s mouth. A wife may have prepared the tastiest gourmet meal for her husband’s supper, but if he arrives in a foul mood carrying his work’s problems home with him, then the meal will somehow be unsatisfying. The complaints regarding the manna will lead directly to the disaster of the spies that will appear in next week’s Torah reading. And the result of that debacle is that Moshe’s grand march to the Land of Israel will never take place for the generation that escaped Egyptian bondage and lived under miraculous conditions in a vast wasteland.

Every human being, and nations as well, have moments of opportunity that are present to be grasped. No opportunities in life are permanent except for the ever-present ability to repent and improve. Opportunities that we allow to pass us by will, in the main, never return. This is true in commerce, personal health, family relationships and all other areas of life as well.

 

The rabbis in Avot taught us that every person has “his hour” – his particular opportunity  for advancement and accomplishment. The wise and holy person recognizes such moments and opportunities and acts immediately upon them. The fool and the lazy let these opportunities escape them. Rabi Akiva said that one should never  procrastinate  or postpone Torah learning for the opportunity may not arise again. Judaism is about action, optimism, and enthusiasm.

The national tragedies that the Torah deals with in this week’s reading and in next week’s parsha as well all stem from weakness of self and demoralization. If we do not believe in ourselves then nothing can be good, even manna from heaven.  A generation of complainers and naysayers eventually becomes a generation of tragedy and doomed hopes. Our generation has been blessed with many great opportunities, not the least of which is    the ability to study Torah and to live in the Land of Israel. These opportunities should be grasped and treasured.

Shabat shalom.