The Lubavitcher Rebbe's yahrtzeit is on Shabbos:
1. In this week’s Torah portion the Torah tells us about how Korach incited the people against Moshe Rabbeinu and his brother Aharon Hakohen. This comes after last week’s story of the Miraglim who had their own agenda and reported to the Jewish assembly that the Land of Canaan was not for them, even though Hashem (G-d) had promised to take the Jewish people into the Land of Canaan.
The basic thrust of Korach’s argument was that if every single Jew is a part of one, “Holy Nation”, as Hashem calls us, why is there only one Kohen Gadol (Aharon)? Korach said, “Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?”
What finally pushed Korach to fight publicly with Moshe Rabbeinu was when Moshe appointed his younger cousin Elizaphan to be the Prince (Nassi) of the tribe of Levi and not Korach.
Let’s look at the lineage so that we can understand this:
Levi was one of the Twelve Tribes (one of the twelve sons of Jacob our forefather).
Levi had three sons.
The holiest son was named Kehos.
Kehos had four children; 1) Amram, 2) Izhar, 3) Hebron, and 4) Uzziel.
Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon Hakohen were the sons of Amram who was the eldest son of Kehos.
Korach was the son of Izhar who was the second son of Kehos.
Elizaphan was the son of Uzziel who was the youngest son of Kehos.
Therefore, when Amram’s two sons (Moshe and Aharon) assumed greatness, Korach was able to “stomach it” because they were from the eldest son of Kehos. However when Moshe Rabbeinu appointed Elizaphan to be the Prince of the tribe of Levi, Korach could not handle this because Elizaphan was the son of the youngest son of Kehos- Uzziel, while he was the son of Izhar who was older than Uzziel.
2.If Korach’s actual attack was on Aharon Hakohen for being the (only) Kohen Gadol, he should have launched his attack right when Aharon was appointed to his position. However, we see that he waited for a year and five months (approximately) after Aharon was appointed to be the Kohen Gadol to launch his attack! Why did Korach wait so long?
(Also, even if we would try to answer that Korach’s real issue was with Moshe appointing Elizaphan as the prince of the tribe of Levi, and not against Aharon Hakohen, this would still be a problem because Elizaphan was appointed four months before Korach voiced his issues).
3. Since Korach waited so long and only immediately after the story of the Miraglim did he voice his uneasiness, we must say that these two stories (the Miraglim and Korach) are connected. How?
4. The issue of the Miraglim was that they didn’t want to get involved with the mundane labor needed to survive in this world. They wanted to stay in the desert where all their physical needs were taken care of by Hashem and they could sit and learn Torah all day and Daven .
Moshe Rabbeinu answered the Miraglim and said that Hashem’s intention for this world is that it be made into a dwelling place for Him, and in order for this to be done one must work within the physical norm and bring G-dliness into it. In other words, the act is the most important thing.
Therefore, specifically now after Moshe Rabbeinu let it be known that Hashem’s inner will is our actions with physical things, Korach took issue with Moshe being the King over the whole Jewish nation:
Korach knew that with regards to learning and understanding Torah and with regards to spiritual status Moshe Rabbeinu was way above the level of the Jewish people. However, physical action is equal by very single Jew; the greatest scholar and the simplest Jew both do the same exact action while putting on Tefillin (for example). Therefore, said Korach, there is no difference between Moshe Rabbeinu and every other Jew. And this brought Korach to say, “Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Israel? You just taught us that action is the main focus, and in this regard we are all equal!”
5. There are two aspects of a Mitzvah. One part is that when we do a Mitzvah we bring down G-dliness into the world, and another part is that we make this G-dliness revealed so that it is visibly apparent in the world. In other words, not only does Hashem desire that the world be a proper place for Him to dwell in (which is done through the first aspect of a Mitzvah); Hashem also wants it to actually be clearly visible that He dwells here (which is the other part of a Mitzvah).
It is possible for a Jew to fulfill a Mitzvah but this Mitzvah doesn’t bring light into the world. For example, if a person does a Mitzvah or learns Torah for himself, to add in his being, or even to trick people, he is not lighting up the world. This can be compared to a diamond which is covered with dirt. Not only does this diamond not add more light as it usually does when it is clean; it even covers over other light which is already there.
Indeed, this is what Moshe Rabbeinu answered to Korach: Even though “action is the main thing”, there is still a need for the correct intentions while doing a Mitzvah with physicality because we need to ensure that we are lighting up the world and not adding darkness. And in this aspect Moshe Rabbeinu was at a level that no other Jew was at and therefore he was the head of the community of Israel.
6. There are some people who argue that a good heart is all that they need. Others argue that only their bare actions are what matters. This week’s Torah portion teaches us that they are both wrong. Hashem wants us to do specific actions in order to bring His presence into the world, and while doing this He wants us to have the proper feelings as well.
We can also learn that in order for us to be able to learn Torah and fulfill Mitzvos which light up the world (and G-d forbid don’t add darkness) we must connect ourselves to the leader of our generation.
Translated by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume four.
1. In this week’s Torah portion the Torah tells us about how Korach incited the people against Moshe Rabbeinu and his brother Aharon Hakohen. This comes after last week’s story of the Miraglim who had their own agenda and reported to the Jewish assembly that the Land of Canaan was not for them, even though Hashem (G-d) had promised to take the Jewish people into the Land of Canaan.
The basic thrust of Korach’s argument was that if every single Jew is a part of one, “Holy Nation”, as Hashem calls us, why is there only one Kohen Gadol (Aharon)? Korach said, “Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem?”
What finally pushed Korach to fight publicly with Moshe Rabbeinu was when Moshe appointed his younger cousin Elizaphan to be the Prince (Nassi) of the tribe of Levi and not Korach.
Let’s look at the lineage so that we can understand this:
Levi was one of the Twelve Tribes (one of the twelve sons of Jacob our forefather).
Levi had three sons.
The holiest son was named Kehos.
Kehos had four children; 1) Amram, 2) Izhar, 3) Hebron, and 4) Uzziel.
Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon Hakohen were the sons of Amram who was the eldest son of Kehos.
Korach was the son of Izhar who was the second son of Kehos.
Elizaphan was the son of Uzziel who was the youngest son of Kehos.
Therefore, when Amram’s two sons (Moshe and Aharon) assumed greatness, Korach was able to “stomach it” because they were from the eldest son of Kehos. However when Moshe Rabbeinu appointed Elizaphan to be the Prince of the tribe of Levi, Korach could not handle this because Elizaphan was the son of the youngest son of Kehos- Uzziel, while he was the son of Izhar who was older than Uzziel.
2.If Korach’s actual attack was on Aharon Hakohen for being the (only) Kohen Gadol, he should have launched his attack right when Aharon was appointed to his position. However, we see that he waited for a year and five months (approximately) after Aharon was appointed to be the Kohen Gadol to launch his attack! Why did Korach wait so long?
(Also, even if we would try to answer that Korach’s real issue was with Moshe appointing Elizaphan as the prince of the tribe of Levi, and not against Aharon Hakohen, this would still be a problem because Elizaphan was appointed four months before Korach voiced his issues).
3. Since Korach waited so long and only immediately after the story of the Miraglim did he voice his uneasiness, we must say that these two stories (the Miraglim and Korach) are connected. How?
4. The issue of the Miraglim was that they didn’t want to get involved with the mundane labor needed to survive in this world. They wanted to stay in the desert where all their physical needs were taken care of by Hashem and they could sit and learn Torah all day and Daven .
Moshe Rabbeinu answered the Miraglim and said that Hashem’s intention for this world is that it be made into a dwelling place for Him, and in order for this to be done one must work within the physical norm and bring G-dliness into it. In other words, the act is the most important thing.
Therefore, specifically now after Moshe Rabbeinu let it be known that Hashem’s inner will is our actions with physical things, Korach took issue with Moshe being the King over the whole Jewish nation:
Korach knew that with regards to learning and understanding Torah and with regards to spiritual status Moshe Rabbeinu was way above the level of the Jewish people. However, physical action is equal by very single Jew; the greatest scholar and the simplest Jew both do the same exact action while putting on Tefillin (for example). Therefore, said Korach, there is no difference between Moshe Rabbeinu and every other Jew. And this brought Korach to say, “Why do you exalt yourselves over the congregation of Israel? You just taught us that action is the main focus, and in this regard we are all equal!”
5. There are two aspects of a Mitzvah. One part is that when we do a Mitzvah we bring down G-dliness into the world, and another part is that we make this G-dliness revealed so that it is visibly apparent in the world. In other words, not only does Hashem desire that the world be a proper place for Him to dwell in (which is done through the first aspect of a Mitzvah); Hashem also wants it to actually be clearly visible that He dwells here (which is the other part of a Mitzvah).
It is possible for a Jew to fulfill a Mitzvah but this Mitzvah doesn’t bring light into the world. For example, if a person does a Mitzvah or learns Torah for himself, to add in his being, or even to trick people, he is not lighting up the world. This can be compared to a diamond which is covered with dirt. Not only does this diamond not add more light as it usually does when it is clean; it even covers over other light which is already there.
Indeed, this is what Moshe Rabbeinu answered to Korach: Even though “action is the main thing”, there is still a need for the correct intentions while doing a Mitzvah with physicality because we need to ensure that we are lighting up the world and not adding darkness. And in this aspect Moshe Rabbeinu was at a level that no other Jew was at and therefore he was the head of the community of Israel.
6. There are some people who argue that a good heart is all that they need. Others argue that only their bare actions are what matters. This week’s Torah portion teaches us that they are both wrong. Hashem wants us to do specific actions in order to bring His presence into the world, and while doing this He wants us to have the proper feelings as well.
We can also learn that in order for us to be able to learn Torah and fulfill Mitzvos which light up the world (and G-d forbid don’t add darkness) we must connect ourselves to the leader of our generation.
Translated by Shalom Goldberg. Taken from Likutei Sichos volume four.
