Today's Learning: Me'ilah 3:2-3 Sponsored by O.C.548:19-549:1 The Sabrin family Kinim 24 in memory of father Shlomo ben Chaim a"h Hamaayan / The Torah Spring Edited by Shlomo Katz Korach Vol. XI, No. 38 (521) 30 Sivan 5757, July 5, 1997 This week's parashah relates another one of the occasions when the Jewish people tested Hashem. How could the people test Hashem after all the miracles that they had witnessed? How did the people of whom the Torah says (Shemot 14:31), "They believed in Hashem and in Moshe, His servant," be so disbelieving? Rav Shlomo Eliasof z"l (grandfather of Rav Shalom Yosef Elyashiv shlita) observes that the majority of Jews were believers. They even took musical instruments out of Egypt with them with the expectation of having occasions to celebrate future miracles (see Shemot 15:20). Those who tested Hashem were only a small number. Indeed, in many cases, it was only Datan and Aviram who caused all of the trouble. For example, at the Yam Suf/Red Sea, the Jews said to Moshe, "Did we not tell you to leave us be and let us serve the Egyptians?" Who was it who had challenged Moshe in Egypt? Chazal say that it was Datan and Aviram. It follows therefore that those who challenged him at the Yam Suf were none other than Datan and Aviram. Who was it who challenged Moshe by leaving mahn overnight, contrary to G-d's command? Chazal say that that too was Datan and Aviram. (Shaarei Leshem Shevo Ve'achlamah II:5:3) [Ed. Note: Even the blame for Korach's rebellion appears to rest largely on the shoulders of Datan and Aviram. Thus, when Moshe reviews the desert experience in Devarim 11:6, he mentions that Datan and Aviram were swallowed-up by the earth, but no mention is made of Korach himself. (See Derashot Haran No. 10)] ****************** Parashat Korach in Halachah * This parashah contains nine of the Torah's 613 mitzvot. (Sefer Hachinuch) * "They [the levi'im] shall be joined to you [Aharon] and [together you will] safeguard the charge of the Ohel Mo'ed/Tent of Meeting . . ." (18:4) "The kohanim and levi'im are commanded to guard the Temple and to walk around it all night long, night after night. The purpose of this guard is to honor and glorify the Temple. It is not because we are afraid of any enemy, G-d forbid. "The reason for this mitzvah is that honoring the Temple helps to instill the awe of G-d in man's heart. When we come there to entreat for favor and forgiveness from the Master of All, [the honor of the Temple] will cause our hearts to soften more quickly." (Sefer Hachinuch, mitzvah 389) The mitzvah of guarding the Temple was done with the kohanim on the inside and the levi'im on the outside. Twenty four people in all guarded the Temple; the kohanim manned three places and the levi'im manned 21. The kohanim who performed this duty were not awake all night; rather, they guarded in one hour shifts and slept on the Temple floor at other times. However, they did not sleep in the bigdei kehunah/priestly garments. Rather, they removed them and folded them neatly when they slept. (Sefer Avodat Hakorbanot, Ch. 2). * The gemara (Erachin 16) teaches: Because of lashon hara, tzara'at befalls a person. Yet [the gemara asks] doesn't Rav Anani bar Sason teach that when the kohen gadol wears the garment known as the me'il, this atones for the nation's lashon hara? The gemara (as explained by Rashi) answers: If the lashon hara caused a fight, tzara'at results. Otherwise, the wearing of the me'il atones. Yet does not Rav Simon teach that the ketoret atones for lashon hara, for we read in this parashah that Aharon atoned for the people with ketoret? Yes, the ketoret, which is usually burnt privately in the inner sanctum of the mishkan, atones for lashon hara spoken in private, while the me'il atones for lashon hara spoken in public. [Until here from the gemara.] The Chafetz Chaim writes: It follows from this that lashon hara which causes a fight is punished by tzara'at even when spoken privately. Ketoret atones for lashon hara spoken privately which causes no harm. Why then did the ketoret atone in our parashah, where the lashon hara was very public? Because Aharon took the ketoret out of the privacy of the mishkan and burnt it in the midst of the camp. (Shemirat Halashon: Parashat Korach). ****************** "For all the congregation is holy and G-d is amongst them . . ." (16:3) When the kohanim recite the birkat kohanim/priestly blessing, they begin with the berachah, "Who has sanctified us with Aharon's sanctity . . ." Rav Yaakov Moshe Charlap z"l writes: Just as the greatness of the Jewish people does not come solely from their own deeds, but rather, it comes primarily from their ancestry, so, too, the sanctity of the kohanim comes from their relationship to Aharon. A person who denies the sanctity of ancestry denies a fundamental of Judaism. Korach was doing just that when he made the claim in the above verse. Chazal say that he wrapped himself in a blue tallit, signifying that one's sanctity is entirely dependent on his deeds. According to him, one who prepares himself for the priesthood can be a kohen, regardless of his ancestry. Such a blasphemy against the sanctity of the priestly line undermined the sanctity of the whole Jewish nation, for it allows other nations to claim that G-d has traded-in the Jewish people for another people. That is why it could not be forgiven. This also is why Moshe said, "In the morning, G-d will reveal who is His." Just as He separated between day and night, Moshe told Korach, so He separated between His chosen people and the other nations and between Aharon and the other tribes. (Mei Marom Vol. XIII p.129) ****************** "Aharon took [the ketoret/incense] as Moshe had spoken and ran to the midst of the congregation . . . He stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was checked." (17:12-13) The plague referred to here began when Bnei Yisrael accused Moshe of being responsible for the deaths of Korach and his cohorts (see verse 6). In effect, the people repeated Korach's challenge to Moshe's claim to be the representative of G-d. Chazal say that Aharon took the ketoret and told the Angel of Death to step aside. The angel said, "But I am carrying out G-d's will." Aharon responded, "I am carrying out Moshe's will, and Moshe does not do anything unless Hashem has commanded him to do it." Aharon then burnt the ketoret and the plague ceased. Aharon's victory over the Angel of Death confirmed that Moshe indeed did not take any step without being commanded by G-d. Thus, Aharon's success directly answered the people's accusation against Moshe. (Based on Iggeret Hanechamah by Rabbenu Maimon z"l, father of Rambam) ****************** From the Humor of Our Sages . . . "For the entire congregation is holy, and G-d is amongst them." Rav Menachem of Sighet z"l used to say: The Jews are a holy people. Chazal say that wherever there are ten Jews, the Shechinah rests among them. The Jews take this so seriously that every group of ten people feels the need to break away from the existing minyan. ****************** Rav Chaim Laib of Stavisk z"l born 5596 (1836) - died 28 Sivan 5658 (1898) Rav Chaim Aryeh Laib Rotenberg was born in Lithuania, where his father, Rav Yosef, was a town dayan/rabbinical judge. His mother, Chana, was the daughter of Rav Baruch of Grodno, a student of Rav Alexander Ziskind of Grodno, author of Yesod Veshoresh Ha'avodah. Rav Yosef was a student of Rav Meir Tiktins, who was a student of Rav Abale Posvaler. Chana Rotenberg was confident from the moment of her son's birth that he would grow up to be a remarkable Torah scholar. She made sure that his head was always covered. When he was one year old, she related, he used to awaken and cry if his yarmulke fell off in the middle of the night. Rav Chaim Laib's primary teacher was his father. At age 15, after completing Seder Moed and Masechet Chullin with the accompanying chapters of Shulchan Aruch, young Chaim Laib set off for Volozhin to study under Rav Eliezer Yitzchak Fried. After a few years, Rav Chaim Laib moved to Eishishok, where he continued to study with great diligence. When there was a plague in the villages surrounding Eishishok, and that town itself was spared, the townspeople said that it was in Rav Chaim Laib's merit. Sure enough, when he later left Eishishok, the plague struck that town too. Beginning in 1859, Rav Chaim Laib assumed a series of rabbinical posts. He was respected by Jew and non-Jew alike. On one occasion, a Jew who was a defiant sinner summoned a religious Jew to a din Torah before Rav Chaim Laib and won. When the loser refused to abide by the decision, Rav Chaim Laib instructed the winner to sue in the provincial court and to call him (the rabbi) as a witness. The day when Rav Chaim Laib was to testify fell on yom tov, but this did not stop him from appearing. "Whether the plaintiff is a rasha is irrelevant," Rav Chaim Laib explained. "The Torah says that a Jew who has no mitzvot to his credit is entitled to the same protection of bet din as any other Jew, and I am obligated to help him." For the last 19 years of his life, Rav Chaim Laib was rabbi of Stavisk. One of his frequent visitors during those years was the Chafetz Chaim, who would come to study as Rav Chaim Laib's chavruta/study partner. (Rabbotenu She'bagolah pp. 99-102) ****************** Donations to Hamaayan are tax-deductible