HaMaayan/The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Parashat Korach Volume V, Number 34 (220) 3 Tamuz 5751/June 15, 1991 Parasha Overview R' Yehuda Aryeh Leib of Ger (the "Sefat Emet") writes that Korach argued wrongly that G-d seeks a different type of service than Moshe claimed. Korach said, "Are not all of the people holy?" meaning, "Should not each person choose his own path in the service of G-d, rather than having one Torah for all people?" Korach claimed that Bnei Yisrael did not need a Kohen Gadol such as Aharon, for every Jew was a "High Priest." [However, see inside that Korach later contradicted himself by seeking position of Kohen Gadol for himself.] Moshe told Korach that he was wrong. As Rashi writes: "We have only one G-d, one Holy Ark, one Torah, one Temple, and one Kohen Gadol." Furthermore, writes the Sefat Emet, if Korach had understood the nature of the Kohen's position, he would not have wanted it. One is not necessarily deserving of honor merely for being Kohen for it is an inherited position which does not depend in any way on the qualifications of the holder. (This is what Moshe meant when he said to Korach, "What is Aharon that you should complain against him?") True honor is found in working oneself up the ladder of improvement through one's own righteousness and accomplishments. The Parasha concludes with some of the gifts that Bnei Yisrael owe to the Kohanim and the Levi'im. This is G-d's response to Korach. It represents the idea that each Jew - Kohen, Levi, Yisrael, man, and woman - is part of a group which can succeed only as a whole, but not if each member seeks to do the work of the other. ************************************** Rashi writes: "This Parasha is explained nicely in the Midrash of Rabbi Tanchuma." R' David HaLevi (the "Taz") questions Rashi's statement. Does not the Gemara teach that one is forbidden to say, "This Torah thought is beautiful." "This Torah thought is not pleasing."? In other words, just as some is forbidden to state that part of the Torah is "not pleasing," one is forbidden to praise one part of the Torah, for this praise, by implication, calls into question the beauty of the rest of the Torah! Regarding most of the Torah's verses, we find that there is a "P'shat" (a plain meaning) and a "D'rash" (the deeper meaning found in the Midrash). In the case of Parashat Korach, writes R' David, the situation is different, for here the explanation given by the Midrash Tanchuma is the P'shat. The Torah does not give us much information regarding the motives and beginnings of Korach's rebellion, and the Midrash fills in these "gaps" through the exegetical means usually used by the Midrash. This was Rashi's intention when he praised the Midrash on our Parasha. (Divrei David, Bamidbar 16:1; see also Mizrachi) **************************************** "And Korach took..." (Bamidbar 16:1) Rashi asks: What lead Korach to enter into a dispute with Moshe and Aharon? The answer is that he was jealous of the fact that his cousin, Eltzafan, and not he, had been appointed the Prince of the family of Kehat (one of the divisions of the tribe of Levi). R' Leib Chasman elaborates: What lead Korach, who was a wise man and was one of the porters of the Holy Ark, to argue with Moshe and to drag 250 of the greatest leaders of Bnei Yisrael down with him? It was the awful trait of jealously! At first glance, Korach's challenge might appear legitimate. He asked, "Are not all of Bnei Yisrael holy?" However, when he said to Moshe and Aharon, "Why should you be raised above all of us?" he revealed that his true motivations was only his jealousy. Chazal could not understand how so intelligent a man as Korach could go astray, until they realized that he possessed the bad traits of jealousy and envy. R' Chasman explains that character flaws are powerful tools, "like heavy artillery at the top of a mountain....they can dissolve stone and melt iron." Look how far a person can go under the influence of jealousy. The 250 who sided with Korach were all judges and leaders of Bnei Yisrael. They too must have been intelligent and understanding men. Yet they knowingly went to their deaths because of their jealousy. The rebels' complaint was that Aharon should not be the "Kohen Gadol" (High Priest), but rather one of them should hold the post. Moshe responded by inviting Aharon, Korach, and the 250 rebels to participate in a test. "However", warned Moshe, "only one of the participants will survive the test. The others will die." Moshe reminded them that it was not possible to have 250 High Priests, and that they should reconsider challenge, but all of them were blinded by their jealousy. (Ohr Yahel, III, Parashat Korach) ************************************* "Rabbanei Eivra" By the middle of the 13th century, the number of Torah volumes in circulation had become so numerous that at least one Yeshiva introduced radical changes into its study methods. This was the Yeshiva in Chateau Thierry, France, headed by the brothers, R' Moshe, R' Yitzchak, and R' Shmuel, the sons of R' Shneur of Evreux. Collectively, these brothers were known as the "Rabbanei Eivra" - "The Rabbis of Evreux". Unlike the then traditional Yeshiva in which the students spent substantial blocks of time listening to the lectures of the "Roshei Yeshiva" (teachers), in the academy at Chateau Thierry, the Roshei Yeshiva declared that "The books and the commentaries are our teachers." Every student was expected to study these writings on his own, and later, the students and teachers would discuss them as a group. For the purposes of enhancing this process, the Roshei Yeshiva went so far as to waive all the signs and acts of respect that the Halacha demands of a student towards his teacher. In this way, no student would be inhibited from pursuing the true meaning of the passage under study. Like the other Yeshivot of the time, that of Chateau Thierry produced commentaries in the form of "Tosfot". However, these were not focused on the Talmud, but on the work of R' Yitzchak Alfasi known as the Halachot. Among the best known sages who received at least part of their education from the Rabbanei Eivra were R' Meir ben Baruch ("Maharam MeRothenburg") and R' Yonah Gerondi (who came from Spain to study under the Ba'alei Tosfot). ************************************* The End of the Era With each passing year, the material situation of the Rhineland Jews became progressively worse. The main cause for this was the unceasing persecution of the Jews by various dukes and princes in the French and German lands. For many, the last straws were the kidnapping of the great sage Maharam MeRothenburg (in 1286) and the "Rindfleisch massacres" of 1298 which took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Jews, among them the sage R' Mordechai ben Hillel. In 1303, R' Asher ben Yechiel ("Rosh"), one of the foremost students of Maharam MeRothenburg decided that he was no longer safe in Germany. In 1306, Rosh arrived in Barcelona, Spain, where he was warmly received by the foremost Spanish scholar, R' Shlomo ibn Aderet ("Rashba"). Shortly thereafter, Rosh received a call to serve as Rabbi of Toledo, Spain, and there he died in 1327. Not surprisingly, Rosh brought with him to Spain the study method under which he had studied, that of the Ba'alei Tosfot. Rosh also brought with him a large collection of Tosfot which is today known as "Tosfot HaRosh". These Tosfot are not the original work of R' Asher, but were collected by him from earlier sources. (Because Tosfot HaRosh often parallel the Tosfot that are found in our Talmud editions, but are sometimes more clearly written, they are often used to help us clarify the meaning of our Tosfot.) This collection became so popular that R' Yaakov "Ba'al HaTurim" (one of Rosh's eight sons) wrote to a German scholar who was planning to move to Spain: "Please bring any books that you have, whether Gemara, Rashi, or any other work, but don't bother bringing any Tosfot because everyone studies my father's edition." Although several great scholars would appear in Germany for a century-and-a-half after Rosh's departure, the glorious years of the Ba'alei Tosfot were over. Henceforth, the greatest centers of Torah study would be found in Spain and Poland. Next week we go back in history to the beginnings of Spanish Torah scholarship. ************************************* The learning schedule for this Shabbat is as follows: Daily Mishnah Chulin 9:3-4 (Learn two Mishnayot every day) Daily Halacha Orach Chaim (Mishnah Berura) 275:6-8 (Learn three paragraphs each day) Daf Yomi Pesachim 92 (Learn two sides of a page each day) Pirkei Avot Chapter 4 (Learn one chapter each Shabbat afternoon during the summer) ************************************* TTThe hard copy distribution of this week's HaMaayan is sponsored by: Bobbi and Jules Meisler and Penny and Morton Sclair in honor of the marriage of their children Marc and Sara Fran and Alan Broder on their anniversary ******************** Posted by Alan Broder, ajb@grebyn.com (uunet!grebyn!ajb), who should be contacted to request back issues of HaMaayan or to get on or off the direct email mailing list. Shlomo Katz can not receive EMAIL, however I will pass on any comment forwarded to me, or alternately, send your comments care of yehuda@gwuvm.bitnet