Elie Weisel
The sons of Eliav were Nemuel, and Dasan and Aviram. These are the same Dasan and Aviram, chosen in the assembly, who agitated against Moshe and Aharon as part of Korach’s band when they agitated against Hashem.
Dasan and Aviram are INDEED "agitating" fellows. These were the guys who fought with each other in Egypt and when Moshe got involved to try to stop the fight - they went and slandered Moshe to Paroh that he had killed the Egyptian.
וּבְנֵ֣י אֱלִיאָ֔ב נְמוּאֵ֖ל וְדָתָ֣ן וַאֲבִירָ֑ם הֽוּא־דָתָ֨ן וַאֲבִירָ֜ם קרואי קְרִיאֵ֣י הָעֵדָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר הִצּ֜וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֤ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹן֙ בַּעֲדַת־קֹ֔רַח בְּהַצֹּתָ֖ם עַל־יְהֹוָֽה׃
Dasan and Aviram are INDEED "agitating" fellows. These were the guys who fought with each other in Egypt and when Moshe got involved to try to stop the fight - they went and slandered Moshe to Paroh that he had killed the Egyptian.
They left over from the מן when told not to.
After the spies came back the Jews lamented that entire evening, and when morning came Dasan and Aviram called a gathering. “Appoint us instead of Moshe and Aharon and we will take you back to Egypt!” they roared. “We would rather be living slaves than dead freedmen!” And of course they rebelled against Moshe during the Korach Mutiny. “Please come to my tent for a meeting,” Moshe pleaded. “Even if you gouged our eyes, we would not meet with you, Moshe,” they retorted. “Is it not enough that you have brought us out of Egypt, a prosperous land, to have us die in the desert? You want to exercise authority over us as well!?"
HUTTTTZZZPPAAAHHHH!!!!!
HUTTTTZZZPPAAAHHHH!!!!!
So we KNOW who these oisvarffs ["bad dudes" in French - spellcheck suggests "scarves"] are - why does the pasuk have to remind us???
Big principal from the Mussar Masters [explicated by Rav Chaim Zeitchik]!!!!!:
We see evil and we get used to it. We become desensitized. Are we completely horrified out of our minds every time we hear about the Holocaust? Probably not. We have gotten used to it. ONE story should completely traumatize us. What about that times 6 million?? Are we horrified when we hear that Stalin starved and killed MILLIONS? Old news.
What about when we open the newspaper [or in today's terms - we see on the news feeds on our phones] that there was a murder? We have heard that a million times. People read about the most blood curdling episodes and continue eating their breakfast as if they had just read that it will be 73 degrees and partly cloudy.
What about when a politician lies? Par for the course. No big deal. Not even newsworthy.
We have read about SOOOO MUCH EVIL in our lifetimes - we have gotten used to it.
When we see a Jew desecrating the Shabbos - are we shocked to our very core?? We SHOULD be!!
The Torah is REITERATING the evil of Dasan and Aviram in order to tell us - DON'T GET USED TO IT!!!! It is not "old news". We hear "Dasan and Aviram" - we should be HORRIFIED!!! These were the guys who started up with Moshe and Aharon!!! How could they have the GALL???!!!! The evil is repeated so that we don't come to terms with it.
SWEETEST FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There are NO WORDS for how much evil there presently is on the planet!! We MUST NEVER get used to it. It must horrify us again and again and again. Immorality doesn't become moral when so many people do it. Some examples:
Innocent babies: Over 21 MILLION babies have already been killed this year in their mother's womb. And no - not all of them or even small percentage were crushed in order to save the mother's life. From the Torah perspective - this is tantamount to murder. [You can help!!!!}
Family: A family consists of a man, a woman and children. That is how the Creator desires to see families [we know b/c he TOLD us!!!]. No amount of advertising or legislation can change that. That the world has changed in the last few decades from seeing non-traditional couplehood as being a sign of psychological instability and mental pathology to being something to be "proud of" doesn't make it valid and acceptable.
Modesty: There are things that a Jew just may not look at. The problem is that the way most women dress in the summer months is included in that category. Just b/c women suffer from temporary amnesia in the summer and forget to get dressed in the morning doesn't mean that we are allowed to look at them. We are the nation of the world that must model modesty and purity. If a [not unattractive to say the least] woman is reading out the news and is dressed for the beach [why?????] we simply may not watch this news show. The fact that it is so ubiquitous doesn't change matters.
Lashon Hara: There is an old joke: How come the Shulchan Aruch doesn't discuss the laws of Lashon Hara? The Chiddushei HaRim explained that the Shulchan Aruch only writes about laws that apply in our days. Those laws are no longer followed.... JUST B/C so many people speak and write Lashon Hara doesn't make it OK!!
There are soooooooooooo many more examples. The bottom line is that we must never come to terms with what is wrong, immoral or unethical!!!
Have a sweet-not-tolerating-evil-increasing-light-and-love-Shabbos-Mevorchim-Av!!!!
Love and blessings
Me😀😊😃
