Friday, July 6, 2012
Respecting talmidei chachomim
1:32 AM | 
Posted by
Rabbi Chaim Coffman |
By Rav Moshe Sternbuch
pride and humility
The medrash says
"What motivated Korach to make a dispute with Moshe Rabenu? He saw
the section dealing with para adumo”. The commentators have difficulties
understanding this medrash.
In the mitzvah of para adumo
we are commanded to use the cedar tree, which symbolizes pride, and, by
contrast, the hyssop, which symbolizes humility. The para adumo was metaher
teme’im and metame tehorim. (it made those who were impure pure and
made impure the ones that were pure) Pride is one of the most severe sins, but
sometimes it is essential to utilize it. If a person, when first embarking on
his avodas Hashem, tells himself that he is nothing, then that can
become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Instead, he must initially use the qualities
of the cedar tree and strive for greatness. For example, Rav Moshe Schneider zt”l
would point out to each of his students that they had great potential and inherent
greatness. Only once a person has managed to realize some of his potential,
should he start using the qualities of the hyssop, and remind himself of how
far he still has to go to completely fulfill his potential.
Korach learnt from parshas
para adumo that even someone
who has not yet attained the superior levels of holy people should endeavor to
attain them. Although the Rambam does say that everyone is obligated to strive
to attain the level of Moshe Rabbeinu, Korach in his great desire to emulate
Moshe and Aharon, thought that if he would only obtain a position similar to
theirs, he would also be able to reach their high levels. His mistake lay in
assuming that obtaining a high position is a prerequisite for greatness (see
more on this below), and in failing to accept Hashem’s decree regarding the
appointments of Moshe and Aharon.
Alternatively,
Korach was hinting at the fact that the para adumo came to atone for the
chet hoegel, (sin of the Golden Calf) and his argument was that since Aharon had
still not achieved complete atonement for that sin, there was no reason why he
should be more suitable for the kehuna than Korach.
Good intentions not enough
“And Doson and Avirom” (16:1). Rashi: He dressed them with cloaks made
entirely of blue wool. They came and stood before Moshe and asked him, “Does a
cloak made entirely of blue wool require tzizis, or is it exempt?” He replied,
“It does require tzizis.” They began laughing at him saying, "Is it
possible that by a cloak of another material, one string of blue wool exempts
it, and this one, which is made entirely of blue wool, should not exempt itself?”
The talis made entirely of
techeles was an allusion to the argument that since the entire congregation
was holy they did not need a leader. Although not every member of the nation
might be on the level of Moshe and Aharon, their intentions were good, and Moshe
and Aharon had no right to lord it over their coreligionists. Surely, they
concluded, Moshe Rabenu was only
interested in leadership for his own purposes. Moshe replied that even a tallis
is made only of techeiles it was still not exempt from the mitzvah of tzitzis. In other words, good
intentions are not enough, and the nation does need a leader.
The early Christians lehavdil
also argued that a good heart and a person's intentions were the main qualities
which Hashem is interested in, and therefore most of the divine commandments
could and should be dispensed with. Similarly, one still comes across some
not-yet observant Jews who defend their way of life by claiming that they have
a "Jewish heart” and that is the main thing. In reality, of course, the
Torah expects us to combine physical mitzvos with pure intentions, and
both are indispensable.
The art of forgiveness
“Moshe heard and fell on his face
(16:4). Rashi: because of the
rebellion, for this was already their fourth offense. When they sinned with the
calf, “Moshe pleaded”; in the episode of the complainers, “Moshe prayed”; with
the spies, “Moshe said to Hashem, ‘But the Egyptians will hear…” , but now, at
Korah’s rebellion, he became disheartened”.
The gemoro in Masseches
Yomo (87a) relates the
following episode. There was a butcher who offended Rav. On erev yom kippur that butcher did not come to Rav to ask his
forgiveness, and so Rav decided to go to him to give him the opportunity to
appease Rav. However, instead, the butcher told that him that he had nothing to
say to him. After that he suffered a work accident and was killed.
This gemoro teaches us a big chiddush: someone who has
offended another person must degrade himself and beg forgiveness from his
victim. Rav surely forgave the butcher in his heart, but that was not enough. For
that reason he went out of his way to give his "enemy" a chance to
obtain forgiveness, but he lost that chance.
Here too, Moshe made himself available and
waited for Korach to seek his forgiveness. When he saw that this was not happening,
he realized that this was a very problematic situation as far as Korach was
concerned. Although he could ask Hashem once again to forgive Korach’s
rebellion against Hashem, as he had done on three previous occasions, and he
could also forgive Korach in his heart for the offence against himself, he knew
that that would be not be enough until Korach himself would ask Moshe Rabbeinu
for forgiveness. That was why Moshe fell on his face, not knowing what to do.
“Careers" in the TORAH world
“Is it but a small thing for you
that Hashem has separated you from the congregation of Yisroel to draw you
close to Him…” (16:9)
Rav Yecheskel Abramsky zt”l used to apply this possuk
to a ben Torah who dedicates his
entire life to Torah. He said that someone who sits in the Beis Hamedrash and sanctifies himself
through Torah, should not think in terms of obtaining a position in the Torah
world. The best "position" a person can attain is to be a ben Torah and thereby cleave to
Hashem. Accordingly, the possuk is saying the following: “Is the “position”
of being a member of shevet levi, or a ben Torah, through which Hashem
draws you close to Him, such a small thing, that you now also seek the kehuno. Why are you looking for a more important position than to be a member of shevet levi, or to be a ben Torah? You
will not find any better position than that.”
Hashem separated shevet levi, and every ben torah, from the rest of the
congregation, and He has great expectations from them than from the rest of the nation. This position comes with responsibilities
attached to it. Hashem wants a
ben Torah to maintain sacrosanct learning schedules, get up on time, and
not whenever he feels like it etc. If he accepts the yoke of Torah, Hashem will
remove the yoke of making a living from him.
Disgracing talmidei
chachomim
“If one man sins, shall You be
angry with the whole congregation” (16:22)
If only Korach himself sinned,
why was Hashem in fact angry with the whole congregation?
Their sin consisted in not
protesting, or not protesting enough, the way Korach had publicly disgraced
Moshe Rabbeinu with his accusations. Someone who witnesses the disgrace
of a talmid
chachom, and
does not protest it, is considered an accomplice in the very severe sin of bisuy
talmid chachom, which Hashem is very particular about.
Spicing our wealth
“It is like an eternal covenant
of salt before the Lord” (18:19)
Just like salt spices food, so
too do the matnos kehuno and all types of charity spice our possessions.
When we give charity we prove that there is a purpose to our wealth. On the
other hand, the assets of wealthy people who spend all their time aimlessly accumulating
more and more possessions serve no purpose whatsoever. Only someone who observes
the mitzvah of tzedoko properly, and dedicates a tenth of his
assets to needy talmidei
chachomim
or other designations set out in the hilchos maaser kesofim, will be
blessed and can live secure with the knowledge that his assets are serving a
useful purpose.
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