The Root of Machlokes

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

Parashas Korach tells of the machlokes (disagreement) that Korach had with Moshe and Aharon, and the destruction that resulted from it. We are commanded (Bamidbar 17:5), “Do not be like Korach and his group.” Indeed, it is so important to remember how dangerous this machlokes was that the fire pans used to offer ketores by 250 followers of Korach were later used as a covering for the altar, so that the memory of this machlokes and the harm it caused would never be forgotten.

Since there is such a severe admonition to avoid Korach’s sin, let us try to understand exactly what Korach’s motivation was, and how it may apply to us. In this way, we will be able to identify and avoid it.

The Zohar (3:176) states, “Korach argued against shalom (peace), and one who argues against shalom is like he is arguing against Hashem.” What does the Zohar mean? What argument could Korach possibly make against shalom?

The Slonimer Rebbe writes that both shalom and machlokes are traits that are deeply rooted within one who possesses them. The root that leads a person to become a ba’al machlokes (argument monger) is self-centeredness. The first step is usually jealousy. When someone has something that he lacks and he is jealous, it means that he thinks that what the other person has should really be his, and the other person has in effect taken it away from him. If he takes any steps against the other person, that is called being a ba’al machlokes.

For example, suppose the jealous party is in a position to fire the other person. Will anything stop him from doing so? Will he remember that he has a mitzvah to love his fellow Jew? If he acts on his jealousy by firing his fellow Jew, he has become a ba’al machlokes. One need not look for such drastic examples, though. Merely deciding not to greet a person also makes one into a ba’al machlokes. In fact, the root of the word machlokes is chiluk, separation. Separating from one’s fellow is being a ba’al machlokes.

Shalom is the opposite of self-centeredness. A man of shalom knows that Hashem owes him nothing, and therefore everything he possesses is a gift from Hashem. If he sees that someone else received a different sort of gift, this does not upset him, because he knows that even what he does have is a gift from Hashem. What logic is there in complaining about gifts? One never hears of a Yisrael being jealous of a Levi because he receives the second aliyah in shul, because it has no relevance to him. So too, a man of shalom feels no jealousy because the possessions of others have nothing to do with him.

Rashi explains that Korach began moving in the direction of machlokes when he saw that he was passed over for the role of nasi of the tribe of Levi, even though his lineage placed him in line for it. However, Korach was a great man! He was able to carry the Holy Ark (Bamidbar Rabbah 16:11), and he had reached a level of spirituality equal to that of Aharon (ibid. 16:18)! He was also one of the wealthiest men in the world (Sanhedrin 110a). It seems surprising that being passed over would upset him, as our impression of great men of Torah Jewry is that they prefer to avoid the limelight in order to better pursue spiritual growth. The problem was that Korach had a bit of self-centeredness deep inside himself, and once agitated, it led him to make the irrational demand that Hashem reverse his appointment of Aharon as kohein gadol and appoint him instead.

Korach stands out as an eternal lesson of the bitter fruits that can stem from self-centeredness. Aharon, on the other hand, provides us with an example of shalom. The Ramban (16:4) writes that Aharon did not argue with Korach. On the contrary, he said, “Yes, you are indeed greater than I am. You do deserve this, but what can I do, Hashem put me here!”

The Slonimer Rebbe teaches that self-centeredness is the source of all bad character traits. We have explained how self-centeredness causes jealousy, arrogance, and enmity. It can cause sadness when a person feels bereft of what was never supposed to be his, or upset when things do not go his way. Laziness is a result of a person feeling that he deserves something, and he therefore does not work for it, as in his mind it should already be his. The Rebbe describes anger as an explosion of self-centeredness. When things don’t go the way one wants and he explodes, why is he exploding? Because he does not recognize that Hashem is running the world, and that what happened is what Hashem wanted. By concluding that what happened is wrong because it violates his will, he is unconsciously becoming a ba’al machlokes against Hashem Himself! Indeed, the Zohar (1:27b) states that one who becomes angry is a kofer be’ikar (a heretic).

In our generation, there was an outstanding Torah scholar named Rav Avraham Chaim Brim. He exemplified what it means to overcome the trait of self-centeredness. Whenever he was offered a position, he first examined it from the vantage point of others. He would ask, “Maybe there’s another person who could do this job better? Perhaps another person needs this position more than I do?”

He told his talmidim that when dealing with another person, one should strive to be like an angel, acting only in the service of Hashem, without any motivation for personal gain, jealousy, or the like. He would even teach young children to focus on what others need and what Hashem wants, not on themselves and what they want.

May we be zocheh to detect and overcome any roots of self-centeredness within us!

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