Today's Learning Shevuot 6:1-2 Sponsored by O.C. 334:21-23 Helen & Abe Spector Menachot 49 in honor of Yerushalmi-- Doris & Bruce Shnider Bava Kamma 32 on their 3x Chai anniversary Dr. and Mrs. Irving Katz & family on the yahrzeit of mother and grandmother Sarah bat Yitzchak Hakohen Katz a"h Chani & Jay Parness in honor of Tamar's marriage to Jeremy Lustman Rochelle Dimont in honor of the marriage of Chayim Dimont and Michelle Berman Hamaayan/The Torah Spring edited by Shlomo Katz Korach Vol. X, No. 34 (471), 5 Tamuz 5756, June 22, 1996 Siddur Avodat Yisrael writes that there is a chapter of Tehilim which corresponds to each parashah -- this week Psalm 5. This psalm is David's prayer for salvation from his enemies Doeg and Achitophel, but it closely parallels Moshe's response to Korach's rebellion. For example, Moshe said (Bemidbar 16:5), "In the morning G-d will make known the one who is His own..." David said (verse 4), "G-d, in the morning hear my voice..." Moshe prayed that Hashem identify who is chosen to serve Him in the mishkan (Tabernacle). David prayed (verse 8), "As for me, I will enter Your house, I will prostrate myself toward Your holy sanctuary in awe of You." Indeed, Doeg was jealous of David's special connection to the future Temple, just as Korach was jealous of Moshe and Aharon's connection to the mishkan. (See Zevachim 54b, and note that the person who taught David the laws of the Temple was the prophet Shmuel, a descendant of Korach.) Moshe prayed that Hashem reject the offerings of Korach and his band. David prayed (verse 11), "Declare them guilty, G-d, ... for their many sins cast them away." ************************************ The verses and commentaries on this page relate to the chapter of Tehilim associated with our parashah (see page 1). "Heed the sound of my outcry, my King and my G-d, for to You alone do I pray." (5:3) Rav Chaim Vital z"l asks: Why does David call Hashem, "My King and my G-d" (instead of just one of these)? Also, why does he use two different terms, "outcry and prayer"? Rav Vital explains: An "outcry" is a call that deserves a response. For example, if a person is attacked by thugs, the king's police are obligated to answer his "outcry." "Prayer" ("tefilah"), by contrast, is a request that does not merit a response. A mortal king likely will not answer such a call, but G-d will answer out of His endless kindness. Thus David says to Hashem, "Heed the sound of my outcry because You are my King. But, You are also my G-d, and thus to You do I pray." (Etz Ha-da'at Tov) ************************************ "Hashem, at dawn hear my voice..." (5:4) Dawn signifies renewal, says Rav Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Izbica z"l. David prays: At any time that I experience renewal, hear my voice so that this feeling will not develop along lines that are against Your will. (Mei Hashiloach) ************************************ "For their many sins case them away, for they have rebelled against You. And all who take refuge in You will rejoice, and You will shelter them." (5:11-12) Rav Moshe Alshich (the "Alshich Hakadosh") z"l explains: When Hashem's enemies fall, the tzaddik rejoices. However, when the tzaddik's enemy falls, the tzaddik does not rejoice, for then the verse says (Mishlei 24:17), "When your enemy falls, do not rejoice." As long as we rejoice for Hashem's honor, and not for our own, this verse says, then we can ask that He shelter us. (Romemut Kel) ************************************ "And Korach ... and Datan and Aviram ..." Korach's rebellion was the last time, but not the first time, that Datan and Aviram quarrelled with Moshe. They were the ones who handed Moshe over to Pharaoh to stand trial for killing an Egyptian (Shmot 2:12). They also were the ones who tried to prove that the mahn did indeed fall on Shabbat (Shmot 16:27). Were Datan and Aviram really so wicked? If so, why didn't they die in the plague of darkness with the other resha'im among Bnei Yisrael? In truth, we must understand that all of those who witnessed matan Torah and the other miracles of the desert were truly great people. No one is without a fault, however. It was Datan and Aviram's "misfortune" that their one fault was their inability to get along with Moshe. In every other respect, however, they were great men. (heard from Rabbi Gedaliah Anemer shlita) ************************************ "They stood before Moshe..." (16:2) Rav Moshe Sternbuch shlita writes: This could be taken literally, that the rebels stood out of respect for Moshe. Such is the way of the wicked, attempting to show that they recognize the greatness of Moshe but differ with him on one point (i.e., whether it is appropriate to single out one person as the kohen gadol). (Ta'am Vada'at) ************************************ "And Aharon -- what is he that you protest against him?" (16:11) This verse also can be punctuated: "And Aharon -- what is he? Protest against him!" Rav Meir Shapiro (the "Lubliner Rav") z"l explained in the name of his teacher, Rav Meir Arik z"l, as follows: Chazal say that there are three ways to determine a person's true character -- "bekoso, bekiso, beka'aso"/"through his drink, through his pocketbook, and through his anger." Moshe said, "Do you want to see how fine Aharon's character is? You can't tell through his drink, because the kohen gadol may not drink. You can't tell through his pocketbook, because in the desert all were equal. Therefore, if you want to see what Aharon is, protest against him! Try to get him angry and see how he reacts." (quoted in Marbitzei Torah Me'olam Hachassidut, III p.42) ************************************ Rav David Lifshitz z"l born 5666 (1906) - died 9 Tamuz 5753 (1993) Rav David, known as the "Suvalker Rav," was a important figure in American Jewish life for nearly five decades, as a rosh yeshiva and as president of the Ezras Torah welfare organization from 1976 until his passing. He was born in Minsk, but moved to Grodno as a child, where he studied in Yeshivat Shaar Hatorah of Rav Shimon Shkop z"l. He later transferred to the Mir yeshiva where he studied under Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel z"l and Rav Yerucham Levovitz z"l. At age 24, Rav David married Zipporah Chava Yoselewitz, daughter of the rabbi of Suvalk. (Students of "The Mir," as the yeshiva was known, generally did not marry at such "young" ages, either because they were too busy studying or due to the lack of suitable girls in those pre-Bais Yaakov days.) Two years later, in 1935, Rav David succeeded his father-in-law as rabbi of Suvalk, a title he carried for the rest of his life. Rav David suffered tremendous persecution at the hands of the Gestapo before the Jews were expelled from Suvalk. One-half of Suvalk's 6,000 Jews (including the Lifshitz family) escaped to Lithuania. In June 1941, Rav David arrived in San Francisco on a boat that carried several other leading sages. Rav David's first position was in Chicago, but he soon moved to Yeshivat Rabbenu Yitzchak Elchanan (the rabbinical school of Yeshiva University), where he remained for the rest of his life. A small number of Rav David's shmuessen (ethical lectures) were printed posthumously under the title Tehilah Le'David. Several of these relate to the subject of "shalom," such as one from Yom Kippur 1974 when he said: When we say "Shalom aleichem," we are not merely greeting someone; we are blessing him. "Shalom" is a name of G-d, meaning "completeness." "Shalom"/"Peace" means that the whole cosmos has achieved a state of completion through uniting to serve G-d. Whereas man was created lacking, it is his job to complete himself... Israel today [one year after the Yom Kippur War] is in a state of truce. There are agreements, but is that peace? Is a cease-fire peace? Real shalom can exist only when Hashem's awe is over all His handiwork, united to do His will (paraphrasing the Yom Kippur prayers). Shalom cannot be just the absence of war, because peace is completeness, a name of G-d. ************************************ http://acoast.com/~sehc/hamaayan/ send mail to: ajb@acm.org Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible