Today's Learning Nedarim 6:4-5 Sponsored by O.C. 202:7-9 Irving and Arline Katz Sanhedrin 82 in memory of mother Yerushalmi-- Sarah bat Yitzchak Hakohen Katz A"H Yevamot 70 Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Lewin in memory of grandfather Rabbi Aharon Lewin zatz'l Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Korach Vol. IX, No. 38 (422), 3 Tamuz 5755, July 1, 1995 The midrash says: "Korach rebelled against the Torah, which is called 'strength' (þþ). He did not know that his opponent was as hard as the bar on a door." Why does the midrash say that Korach rebelled against the Torah--wasn't his quarrel only with Moshe? Also, what does it mean that "his opponent was as hard as the bar on a door"? Rav Aharon Lewin zatz'l explains: The Sefer Ha'ikkarim says that the pillar on which our acceptance of Torah depends is the belief that Moshe was the greatest prophet who ever did, or ever will, live. Since we know that no one can replace Moshe, we know that no one can replace even part of the Torah. But Korach, says Rav Lewin, did try to replace Moshe. It follows, therefore, that Korach in effect rebelled against the very Torah itself. Moshe was like the bar on the door of a fortress, specifically the fortress of Torah, because it is Moshe's legacy which holds the Torah together. The midrash says that Korach remains in Gehinom reciting, "Moshe is true and his Torah is true." Korach did not realize that his attack on Moshe could have destroyed the entire Torah, but now he understands. Because Korach now accepts Moshe, he also acknowledges that the Torah is true. Unlike a lie which appears true at times but is revealed as untrue at other times, the truth is always true. The Torah also, Korach says, is always true because Moshe is "the bar on the door." (Hadrash Veha'iyun) ************************************ The midrash says, "What led Korach to rebel? The laws of parah adumah led him to rebel." What does this mean? Rav Chaim Yehuda Meir Hager, (the "Vishuver Rebbe") zatz'l explains that Korach was specifically misled by the law that the ashes of the parah adumah purify one who is impure, but temporarily defile the pure person who prepares them. Korach reasoned: "I know that machloket- -dispute--can defile a person, but isn't it worth becoming temporarily defiled in order to bring about the pure results which I seek?" Why was Korach wrong? Because one can never guarantee that the impurity of machloket will be only temporary. As the gemara (Sanhedrin 7a) states: Machloket is like an overflowing canal--once the dike is breached, the opening gets wider and wider. (Zecher Chaim) ************************************ "Much is yours, sons of Levi." (16:7) "You should know," Rav Yechezkel Abramsky zatz'l, once said to his students during the week in which Parashat Korach was read, "that you who study Torah without distraction are the greatest mezakei harabim--those who bring merit to the community at large. The whole world depends on you. This is what Moshe said to the Levi'im (who were the Torah scholars of the nation), "Much is yours, sons of Levi"--a great deal of merit awaits you. "Is it little in your eyes that Hashem set you aside from the congregation?" (16:9). Don't you appreciate your own greatness? (quoted in Peninei Rav Yechezkel I p.13) ************************************ "And the sons of Korach did not die." (26:11 in Parashat Pinchas) Chazal say that as Korach's sons were falling into Gehinom with their father, they repented. Hashem therefore created a ledge above Gehinom where Korach's sons were saved. Imagine that! says Rav Yechezkel Levenstein zatz'l. This whole process could not have lasted more than seconds. We see, therefore, that even a single, but sincere, thought of repentance can save a person. (quoted in Nedivut Lev p.241) ************************************ Korach's rebellion was prompted by a lust for power, writes Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik þ"þþ, but being an intelligent man, Korach knew that his rebellion needed an ideology and a slogan. He therefore employed two main arguments, both of which, says Rav Soloveitchik, give us insight into contemporary rebellions against Torah authority. First, Korach argued, "By what right may any Jew--even Moshe-- assume leadership and power over a fellow Jew?" Every Jew, Korach maintained, was equally chosen by G-d. What Korach failed to recognize, however, is that there are two aspects to Hashem's "choice" of the Jewish people. On the one hand, there is choseness of the nation. Every individual possesses holiness by virtue of being a member of the Jewish people. This holiness is inherited, and it formed the basis of Korach's ideology. There is, however, a second source of holiness: individual choseness. Every Jew is the direct recipient of holiness according to his own unique personal efforts and achievements. Korach did not understand that Moshe possessed a larger measure than others of this second type of holiness. Moshe told Korach, "'Boker' - in the morning - Hashem will make known who is His" (16:5). "Boker" comes from the root "bkr" meaning, "to discriminate" or "to distinguish." In other words, Moshe explained to Korach that there are differences between people. Korach's second argument was that every person has the right to interpret halachah for himself. What Korach failed to understand, however, is that halachah is not governed by common sense, but by a unique methodology and manner of analysis. Common sense no more governs halachah than it does physics--for example, it was once believed that objects fell because of their weight; that is what common sense dictated, but we now know that is not true. Korach argued that each person should interpret the mitzvot in the way that will mean the most to him. Common sense supports that view, but Korach erred because it is the act of the mitzvot which is primary, while the emotion is but a reflection of the mitzvah. The halachah cannot control emotions; man is too volatile. When each person's emotions become primary, organized religion ceases to exist and all goals are soon lost sight of. The two primary duties of the Kohen Gadol--the job that Korach sought--were lighting the menorah and burning the incense. The pure olive oil of the menorah symbolizes the clarity of mitzvah performance; the scent of the incense represents the less tangible consequences of mitzvah performance. (Shiurei Harav pp.38-45) ************************************ Rav Aharon Lewin zatz'l 14 Cheshvan 5640 (1879) - 6 Tamuz 5701 (1941) Rav Aharon Lewin, one of the leading figures of Polish Jewry before World War II, was born in Przemsyl, where his maternal grandfather, Rav Yitzchak Schmelkes zatz'l (the "Beis Yitzchak"), was the rabbi. The work Sdei Chemed by Rav Chizkiyah Chaim Medini includes a letter from the Beis Yitzchak in which he quotes his "grandson, the gaon (genius)." That letter was written when Rav Aharon was 16. Rav Lewin's first rabbinic position was in Sambor, beginning in 1904. He was immensely popular, and his fame quickly spread. In 1913, he was named a counselor to the Austrian Emperor. It was mostly an honorary title, but one that no Orthodox rabbi had ever received. This title aided him greatly in his work on behalf of refugees during World War I. In 1922, Rav Lewin was elected to the Sejm (the Polish parliament) as an independent candidate. (He later joined the Agudas Yisrael party.) In parliament, he served on the Culture Committee, which dealt (among other things) with the issue of supporting yeshivot. In 1926 he published a Polish-language collection called "Speeches in the Sejm," including his (then) famous speech advocating abolition of the death penalty. His position was based on the Talmud, at the end of the first chapter of Sanhedrin. The Sejm sat from Tuesday through Thursday, allowing Rav Lewin to be in Sambor for Shabbat. As a member of parliament, he rode free in the first class section of Poland's trains, and it was during the twice-weekly 15-hour ride between Warsaw and Sambor that Rav Lewin wrote his best-known work, Hadrash Veha'iyun, a Torah commentary (see front page). His other works include She'eilot U'teshuvot Avnei Cheifetz, Davar Be'ito, and Mateh Aharon. In 1926, Rav Lewin succeeded his father as rabbi of Rzeszow. The Jews called this city "Reisha," and Rav Lewin is known today as the "Reisha Rav." When the Germans entered Poland, Rav Lewin and his wife fled eastward. Rav Lewin knew that his prominence made him a prime target of the Nazis. Rav Lewin and his wife nearly succeeded in entering Romania and, later, Lithuania. Rav Lewin was in L'vov when the Germans captured the city on July 1, 1941, and he was murdered on the same day. The Jews knew that he had been arrested, but they did not know his fate. Even President Roosevelt attempted to intercede on his behalf, and the Jewish community of Buenos Aires elected him its rabbi. (This biography is based on an essay by Rav Lewin's son, printed in Hadrash Veha'iyun, Bemidbar Vol. II.) ************************************ Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible.