Parshas Korach 5775
In this week’s parsha, Korach leads a revolt against the leadership of Moshe and Aharon.
When the confrontation begins, Moshe speaks not only to Korach but to all the bnei levi (who he saw were joining Korach’s rebellion, explains the Ramban): Is it not enough for you that Hashem has drawn you close to Him in His service … you’re asking for kehunahas well?
We can ask, though, was Moshe’s accusation relevant to all the members of Korach’s delegation? Unlike Korach, who was motivated by jealousy, the others were motivated by a sincere desire to ascend in ruchniyus. If so, how could Moshe tell them to abandon this desire, saying: “Is it not enough for you that Hashem has drawn you close to Him in His service?” Aren’t we expected always to grow in ruchniyus and aspire for more?
Rav Yitzchak Ze’ev Josef writes (in his sefer, Achas Sha’alti): One certainly should live with aspirations to grow in ruchniyus. The flaw of those who were joining Korach was that they sought to grow in a way that was not dependent on their own free will. If the task delineated for them by Hashem did not include the kehuna, they should have realized that the kehuna was not in their power to achieve. In such cases, a Jew is expected to be happy with what he has. His aspirations can include only what is within his range of free will.
Whatever is in our ability to reach, we are encouraged to pursue it, and even to harness the midda of jealousy to do so. The Sages say that the “jealousy of scholars leads to [greater] wisdom” (Bava Basra 21a). However, the intent is that jealousy motivate us to use our free will to change only what we are capable of changing. If, however, one wanted a certain chavrusa, or to be accepted into a certain yeshiva or kollel; if a rav wanted to lead a prominent kehilla but was hired only in a small one—the outcome must never be despair or jealousy. While we can try to improve our surroundings so they’re as conducive to spiritual growth as possible, the results are ultimately in Hashem’s hands. He gives each person his portion in ruchniyus, and a Jew must be happy with this portion. He should grow at his level and in his personal situation, and not descend into negative emotions such as jealousy.
Rav Yechezkel Levinstein points out another way in which we can fall into discontent and despair, even when we seem to have the best intentions. When one is ascending in ruchniyus, his vision can become distorted and he will develop an attitude of dissatisfaction with his present level. This dissatisfaction seems almost natural. When one’s eye is ever trained on a still higher level, of course where he is now is not enough! How can he be satisfied with it? No, says Rav Levinstein: even as one seeks to ascend in ruchniyus, he must not lose his appreciation and joy over what he has achieved and where he is right now. He must devote time to feeling happy about the achievements he has already made.
The Mesilas Yesharim (chapter 19) stresses the importance of developing a sense of joy and satisfaction from doing mitzvos, quoting the Midrash (Shocheir Tov 19) that Rav Eivo would say: “When one comes to daven, one should arouse himself to joy over the fact that he is praying to Hashem, Who is beyond compare…!” We too should pause at times throughout the day and think: “How lucky I am that I am learning Hashem’s Torah and not wasting time out on the street!”
Every time we complete a tractate of the Talmud we declare: “We rise early to learn Torah and they rise early to empty matters. We toil and they toil, we toil and receive reward, and they toil and do not receive reward!” Why engage in such comparisons, if not to imbue within the completer of the tractate the sense that his lot is the most fortunate on earth? We should live with this, keep it in mind at all times, and as Rav Shimon Green says, the average mindset of a ben Torah should be one of near-ecstasy. Even as we realize that we could be doing more, this happiness should assert itself.
When Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel was still in high school in America, he spent a summer in Eretz Yisrael. His uncle, Rosh Yeshivas Mir Rav Eliezer Yehuda Finkel took great interest in his young nephew and strongly encouraged him to take a year off to study in his yeshiva in Yerushalayim.
R’ Nosson Tzvi did so, and stayed with there with his uncle. Very early one morning, when R’ Eliezer Yehuda thought that Nosson Tzvi was still asleep, he got up and went over to the Shas in the room and began kissing each Maseches. When he came to Bava Kama, which is what the yeshiva was learning that zman, he kissed this Maseches “as if he hadn’t seen it in years,” Rav Nosson Tzvi would later recall.
Rav Nosson Tzvi then observed the exceptional simcha with which his uncle blessed thebirkos HaTorah and then sat down to learn with fervor. These expressions of simcha, made while Rav Eliezer Yehuda thought that no one was watching, remained with Rav Nosson Tzvi after he returned to America. He knew that he would return at some point to Eretz Yisrael, after having seen how joyous a life one could have by dedication to Torah.
May we feel simcha in our learning and avodas Hashem!
Exciting news! Rabbi Krieger will soon be publishing a sefer featuring the “best” of the weekly Parsha sheet. If you would like to share in this celebration, please go towww.bircas.org for further details.