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Korach | 3 Tamuz 5782 | July 2nd, 2022 | Issue 951
This edition is dedicated
In loving memory of
Miriam Rivka bat Chaim z"l
Mordechai Yosef ben Yitzchak David Friedland z"l
Menashe z"l ben Mordechai Yosef z"l and Miriam Friedland
Rabbanit Dr. Avigayil Rock z"l
Mazal Tov to Rabbi Reuven Brand (Rosh Kollel YU Torah MiTzion Chicago)
and his wife, Nechama, on the Bar Mitzvah of their son, Aryeh
Mazal Tov to Ilan Frydman (Shaliach of the RZO in the United States)
and his wife, Oshrat, on the Bat Mitzvah of their daughter, Temima
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What is in this week's Sabbat MiTzion?
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Dedicated in memory of Yaakov ben Avraham and Sarah Aharonov z"l
Dvar Torah - Korach / Chukat
The Controversy Between Korah and Moshe
Rav Shlomo H. Pick
Currently Beit HaMidrash, Ludwig and Erica Jesselson Institute for Advanced Torah Studies, Bar-Ilan University
Click here for the PDF version
Click here for the dvar torah on Chukat
The late Rabbi Dr. Joseph B. Soloveitchik, Zt”l, discussed various aspects of the controversy between Korah and Moshe. I will concentrate on of the aspects, it not the main one. Korah argued: “You have gone too far for the whole community is holy, and God in their midst. Why then do you raise yourselves above the congregation of God?” All Jews are equal because all have the same sanctity inherited from our forefathers. There is no difference between Moshe and the woodcutter or watercarrier, they both have intrinsic holiness, and hence Moshe has no right to lead and rule over them. The sanctity of the Jewish people in not personal nor intimate, but universal, community rooted, and community nourished. Accordingly, the individual sanctity of each Jew is derived from the community, and hence, all are equal, and Moshe is no different from Korah or the woodcutter. This was Korah’s main argument to subvert Moshe’s leadership.
What Korah did not understand was besides the sanctity inherited from our forefather, each individual has his own sanctity. This sanctity derives from the inner recesses of an individual’s personality and is singular to him. It is a result of his personal endowments, efforts and achievements. When one deals with this personal sanctity the woodcutter is no longer equal to Moshe. The individual rises to leadership based upon his personal sanctity, his merits, and accomplishments. To this one must add that one can enhance his personal sanctity by engaging in Torah study. The more one studied Torah, both the written and especially the Oral Law, he develops his own personal sanctity. This point was missed by Korah.
Hence, Korah misunderstood the Jewish philosophy of power and leadership. He identified power with kingship, and leadership with political authority, which implies some suppression. Korah claimed that the democratic sanctity derived from the forefathers precluded the right of any individual to such power. However, he failed to realize that there is an individual sanctity especially derived from the study of Torah, the comprehension of the Torah, and the mastery over its intricate details. The Torah community is not just socio-political one, but a covenantal and teaching community whose leader is not the king, but the teacher. Moshe is not known as Moshe haMelech, but as Moshe Rabbeinu, Moshe, our teacher. Thus, his accomplishments in the world of Torah is what made the greatest of prophets and the singular leader of the Jewish People.
Comments: Shlomo.Pick@biu.ac.il
For more Divrei Torah on the parsha click here
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'One Who Loves Tanach'
A short Dvar Torah for Parashat Korach (5 min)
Who's to Blame
A short Dvar Torah for Parashat Chukat (5 min)
Questions
For more weekly videos join a quiet WhatsApp group
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Recruiting in Yeshivat Ma'ale Eliyahu in Tel Aviv
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Sharing with you a picture from the Religious Zionist Kenes in South America! This is a dinner to show appreciation to our Shlichim for their work
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Former Shlichim, Rabbi Yechiel Brukner (Munich, 2007-13) and Rotem and Eliezer Noy (Munich and Berlin, 2013-21) met in Berlin for the wedding of Malka and Boaz, who met through Torah MiTzion! Wishing the young couple a big Mazal Tov!
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This week Melbourne celebrated the completion of their Bar Mitzvah program, full of learning, chessed, and growth. Mazal tov to the participants!
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🤏 Status of undeveloped fruit dropping from fruit trees
Question: We have two citrus trees in our yard. Due to the weather, lots of undeveloped fruits are dropping on their own. They are by no means edible. What are we supposed to do with them? Do they have kedushat shevi'it?🍊
Answer: It seems your tree is doing some natural thinning and saving its energy for fewer, but higher-quality fruit. It's actually recommended to thin fruit trees, but it is forbidden to do so on private trees during shemitah (so it's being done for you!).
✨ As for the status of the fruit: Since the fruits began to develop this (shemitah) year, they have kedushat shevi'it. This is true, even though they are currently not edible.
What should you do with them?
Like many issues in halachah, there is a dispute.
🧺 Rav Kaniyevsky holds that it is the responsibility of the fruit tree's owner to gather the fruit to prevent them from being spoiled.
🍊 Rav Yehuda Amichay, head of Torah VeHa'aretz Institute, holds that this is not so and it is possible to leave them there on the ground.
In practice: If you wish to throw them away, you should gather, bag, and only then dispose. 🚮
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Our friend Benjy Singer has a very useful website, www.israelb.org,
which contains accurate and fresh information of what's going on in the Religious Anglo Community in Israel.
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