Shalom everyone and thank you for joining me in the study of Parashat Korach. Parashat Korach is a parashat that every time we read it, we have like a little uh sigh, like oi, not again. Why would you do that? Why would you go against Moshe? What was exactly the claim? Why now? Why Korah? What uh what's the what are the reasons to do something like that against the leader of Am Israel that was chosen by God? What we will try to do today is to try to touch some of those questions and to create some kind of maybe an understanding, or at least at first glance to try to see what we can understand, especially from our perspective and how relevant it's going to be to our lives, and what can we learn from this story of Korach and Moshe Rabbeinu. So the Torah describes that Korach did the following and all the people, all this congregation gathered against Mamash Alak on top of Moshe and Aaron. And they said to Aaron and Moshe, Ravlachem, it's too much for you. The entire congregation is holy, and God is in our midst, it's within us. Why are you so pompous, so arrogant, and you think that you know it all and you deserve all the positions and you deserve everything? You are like us. Everyone is equal, everyone is kadosh, everyone is holy. Now, obviously, when we read this sentence and we are not that naive, we all know. It might be that everyone has a potential to be holy and everyone is trying to be holy, but we all know that there are levels in society. Not everyone can be the same, and it would be boring if everyone is the same. We also know that every society needs somewhat of a leader or someone that can lead them. So, what does it mean? What exactly is the claim that Moshe and Aaron should not be leaders and someone else should be a leader, or we don't need any leaders because we are all holy and God is with us, so we don't need anyone else? What exactly is going on here? And especially in light of what we know, Moshe had to be convinced for seven days to be the leader by God. Moshe was chosen to be the leader, Aharon was chosen. So, what exactly is going on here? So that's one claim. So the first claim of Koach and his congregation is we are all holy and therefore we don't need a leader, we need a different leader, or maybe we need a leader, but not like you, Moshe and Aaron, you are too arrogant. Okay, claim number one. First claim, second claim. This is the claim from Datan and Aviram, two partners in crime, and they basically send to Moshe a message says, We are not coming to be judged by you, we are not going to have any conversation with you. And why? You told us, you promised us that you will bring us to the land of Israel, and now we are going to be stuck in the desert for 40 years. According to that, by the way, we know that the story of Koach took place after the story of the spies, which we read last week. Which means the story of the spies basically created a situation that the Jewish people will die in the desert and only everyone who's 20 and under will be able to go to the land of Israel. So Datan Aviram says to Moshe, basically, you didn't deliver on your promises. What kind of a leader are you? We're not going to listen to you. You promised us you will bring you to the land of Israel. Eretz Zavat Khalavudvash, a land of filled with milk and honey, at least that they don't bedmouth the land of Israel. And look at the contrast between a land filled with milk and honey and desert, which is filled with what? Dust. We think, you're not a leader, you're not my leader, I'm not going to listen to you. So that's the second claim. So the first claim is we don't need a leader, or maybe we don't need a leader like you, and then it's what you are not a good leader. You promise, you don't deliver. So let's take a look. That's based on the narrative. What we saw now was the narrative itself. The narrative, in a way, presents two main claims. Now let's see how the midrash, how our sages try to explain what was going on between Korach and Mushe. Vaikah. And Korach took who did he take? So the midrash begins with Shelekaholibu. His heart took him. What does that mean? It probably means that Koach didn't think. He was motivated by emotions, feelings. We'll see in a few minutes what kind of emotions, feelings, and thoughts. But he didn't even stop for a minute to think cognitively. How can I say that? What's my what's the basis for what I say? So he didn't look at his claims as logical claims, but they are emotions. He was overwhelmed by emotions, not necessarily positive emotions. We will talk about it in a few minutes. So then the Midrash quotes a Pasuka verse from Tehilim from Psalms Nunhey 55, says, King David also had few enemies. And he says, you know, my worst enemies are not my known enemies, but rather he's someone that I thought was a friend. Someone that I thought that was someone that I could even close to. This is a very interesting midrash, but I will need to give some kind of an introduction. David Amelikaviste had many enemies. He fought against a lot of people. But he had two close friends in his cabinet, Doeg and Akitofel. These two people who David thought are his friends were probably one of his worst enemies. And the problem with hidden enemies is that you don't know that they are your enemies, so you don't really try to protect yourself. You trust them, you tell them, you share with them. And then whatever you do, whatever you share with them, they use against you. You think that you are friends and there is mutual respect, but they don't respect you. They don't believe in you. David saw that Doeg and Akitofel, based on the experience he had with them, was that really Doeg wanted to kill David as well as Akitofel. When David Amelek had to leave the country because of Avushalom, because of his son who chased him, Akitofel gave an advice to Avushalom that if Avshalom would follow that advice, David will be dead. And they will always disrespect him. They will not call him by his name. They will call him Ben Ishai, the son of Ishai. Which means when you cannot even pronounce someone's name, you really hate him. So David Amelach basically says, look, the worst enemies are the people you think are your friends. And not only that, the egg and achitofel were scholars, were people who learned Torah, who were people who knew Halacha. But they disregard all of it because of their hate. Now, pause here. That's enough for the introduction. The Midrash is creating a connection between David and his enemies, Dueg and Achitofel, and Korach versus Moshe. What's the idea here? What's the connection? It's very simple. Korach is from the same family, like Moshe, from the tribe of Levi. They are cousins in a way. And therefore, as cousins, as family, you trust them that they will be your supporters, they will be the ones who got your back. But instead, Korach stabbed Moshe in his back. Basically, the Midrash wants to illustrate or to explain to us how come Moshe didn't see it. How come Moshe was so oblivious in a way to what's going on within the nation? And in a way, the Midrash explains this by, you know, Moshe saw Korach probably every other day, whatever, said hello, how are you? What's going on? Said regards to your parents, you know. Never ever crossed his mind that Korach is conspiring this thing. But Korach was overwhelmed by emotions. What kind of emotions? Probably emotions of jealousy and envy. But Moshe did not detect it. Moshe did not know. And that's the worst enemy. Korach, in a way, because it was Moshe's family, he had credibility. If Korach is saying something like that regarding a family member, so we that we are not from the same tribe, we are not from the same family, obviously we can join him and say whatever we want about Moshe. In a way, what Korach did, he in a way took advantage on the fact that he and Moshe were relatives and he used it against Moshe. So that's how the Midrash begins his understanding of the backstage, I will call it, of the story of Koach and Moshe. And then he says, Yasimavetale, that's the continuation of the Pasuk, that God should place some kind of death on them. This is a second point of connection. However, their Torah that they learned and studied did not influence their inner personality. The Torah that they studied was probably intellectual, cognitive, but did not really influence their attributes, their midot, the way they act, the way they talk. Perhaps even exactly the opposite. They thought that because they are Torah scholars, they can say whatever they want. This is the same thing with Korah. Korah was from the family of Kehat, one of the branches of the tribe of Levi. They were given, the children of Kehat were given the highest level of service in the tabernacle after the Kohanim. They carried the holy vessels. So you would think that such a high holy position would influence who they are. That's like the additional explanation of how come Moshe didn't see it coming. First, it's a family member. Second, he thought that like himself, more you elevated yourself spiritually, you will also be more gentle, you will be a nicer person, you will be a kinder person, you will have less envy and jealousy and hate and animosity. So when he saw Koach and his family being elevated, he thought, okay, they are like me, they are nice, they are great. He did not understand that how come that Koach, who was so close to holiness and spirituality, would be totally controlled by emotions and envy and animosity. And that's what the midrash is basically saying. Basically, the midrash says, look at Korak. And this is an incredible lesson. The fact that he is family or the fact that he is so quote-unquote spiritual and on a high level of spirituality does not mean he's a good person. And that's what it means, according to the second opinion in the midrash. And then there is a third opinion. So now the midrash is clearly takes this pasuk in Tehilim and applies it on Moshe. And he says, Here is our interpretation. Moshe looks at Korah and says, I can't believe it. He's from He's mine. He's from my family. He is my in a way, we are connected also with blood. And he is the one who goes against me. Aharon slaughtered the animal, this guy sprinkled the blood, this one take the Korban out, which means they they share it. So as a result of what they did, in a way Moshe prayed for their death, and that's what happened. That the land opened up its mouth and they were swallowed. The third opinion in the Midrash adds another layer to what was going on between Moshe and Korach. It might be that we have some kind of if we will leave the jealousy and the envy out for a second, we might come up with an interesting approach, which is Moshe looks at Korach, he looks at Aharon, he looks at each one of us and he says, each one of us has something to contribute to the goal of bringing God down to us and us being elevated towards God to basically create more points of connection between spirituality and the mundane, between Kodesh and Khul. So I don't really care if you are a Kohen, a Levi, Israel, you all have something to contribute. Now, even more so, if you are the chosen tribe, tribe of Levi, and from that chosen tribe there is another chosen group which is called Kohanim the priests. So this is the tribe that was chosen to lead spirituality. So each one of you, I don't care if you are the Kohen Gadol or you are just a Levi who sings songs, you all do something for the sake of holiness and spirituality. And therefore, we should all walk together. We should all walk together towards the same goal. So who cares if I'm the holy the high priest who goes into the holy of the holiest on Yom Kippur, or I'm just the levy who opens up the gates and sings some songs, or the one who carries something out. That's Moshe's perspective. Koach's perspective is very different. I want to be the leader. I want to be the high priest. I want to be the person. I don't want to be just one off and I don't see it like that. I want to be the head guy. First and foremost, when you want it, it's probably doesn't you're not worthy of it. But it's more than that. Even though he claimed Kulam Gdushim, everyone is holy, he's the one who goes against Moshe. In addition, when you have feelings of jealousy and being so envy of Moshe, obviously you will spread rumors and you will accuse Moshe of things he didn't do, and we will see that in a few minutes. So the Midrash is in a way suggesting to us three different options of what motivated Korach, and how come Moshe didn't see it? Because this is like a simple question. How come Moshe didn't see that it's boiling? So you can say Moshe was very detached, but it's not true. Moshe was with the people. How come he didn't see it's coming? And the Midrash is answering it by A. Koach was family, B. Koach was a righteous person, or at least seemingly he was righteous. And Moshe thought that he's like him. You know, like Moshe said later on, me ten veya kol Ahmashem Neveim, ki ten a shemu ale from my perspective, everyone can be a prophet. I don't have any problem with that. But Koach did. So that's one perspective of the Midrash. Now let's see another perspective. Our sages in Midrash Bamid Baraba says the following. Ali Daymanikhlak. The Midrash is asking a very direct question. As we say here in Israel, Dugri. Like Mamash, a very direct question. What was the issue? What really ignited Koach to go on a crusade against Moshe Rabin? What was this little fire in him that got him so upset? So take a look what the midrash says. It's such a sad midrash. But let's read it. If you read the narrative, there is a person that we don't know too much about him. His name is Elitzafan ben Uziel. He became the president of the tribe of Levi. Okay, what does that mean? Maybe he was the one to give the role the rules and the appointments of when each family will do whatever they do. Okay, we really don't know much about Elitzafan. But Korach, for him, just don't mention the name of Elitzafan next to Korach. Why? Amar Korach, says Korach. The head of the tribe, Levi, Levi, Jacob's son, he had four children: Amram, Itzhar, Hevron, and Uziel. Amram Abechor Amram was the firstborn. Therefore, the Haarron Bno Ligdullah, okay. So Amram. Is the firstborn according to the Torah? The firstborn gets double portion. So okay, I agree. That's fine, says Korah. Aharon should be the priest, Moses should be the leader. Fine with me. So who should get third in command? The second child. Who is the second child? Itzhar. And Bnekiat Amram Veithar Ani Bnoshel Itshar. So Korah says, I don't understand. Take a look. Ambrah, Itzhar Chevron Uziel. Amram is the firstborn. Okay, so Moshe and Aaron came from Amram. They should get double portion. Priesthood and kingship. Not a problem with Mrs. Korach. I'm I'm okay with it. Who is next in line? Itzhar. Itzhar is my father. Korach Ben Itzhar. So therefore I should be whatever the title for the third position, which is the president of the tribe of Levi. Should be whom? Me, Korach. Instead, Moshe did not even consider me. He appointed Elitzafan. Who was Elizafan? He was the son of Uziel. Who was Uziel? He was the youngest son of all the brothers. Amram, Itzhar, Hevon, Uziel. He was the fourth one. Why should he, meaning his son, get any honors? It should be me. Unbelievable. Korach agreed that Aaron should be the priest. He agreed that Moshe should be the king, not a problem. He disagreed with Moshe regarding Elitzafan Ben Uziel, this position of being the president of the tribe of Levi, which we still don't really fully understand. What does it mean? But Korach for him, it meant everything. It meant the world for him. It meant that Moshe is totally incorrect. He created an avlah and something that was unjust, unjust, and something that is totally wrong. And therefore, I am going to fight him for everything. I'm going to destroy everything. Look at this midrash. I purposely put for you four different points that you can see in this midrash. A entitlement, which basically is being defined as belief that one is deserving of or entitled to a certain privilege. Meaning Korah says, obviously, I'm the second son for the second father, which means I'm the son of Itzhal, I should deserve it. Korach never went to Moshe to ask. You know, Moshe, I'm I'm amazed, I'm puzzled, I'm I'm stunned. How come that Elizaban was chosen and not me? I understand with you and Aharon, you are the children of the firstborn, but what about me? Like, can you tell me about Ali Tzafan? What kind of qualities does he have? Maybe I should walk on something. Nothing. Entitlement. I deserve it. Why? Because I'm second in command. I'm second in line. As you know, entitlement does not work in Judaism. When we read Sefer Bereshita year after year, we see the same thing. The people who thought that are entitled to be the leaders were rejected, pushed away, or at the end understood that it's not for them. But Koach comes with this idea of entitlement. The second is victimization, feeling oppressed. Koach plays the victim. I'm the victim here. You, the people of Israel, you are the victim. You know, you are the victim of whom? You are the victim of Moshe's random decisions. It makes no sense what he says. And therefore, we are the victims. We are the oppressed. Third. He, Korach, thought that victimization is a virtue. But rather we say no, it's a condition. Which means Korach wanted to use this card of oh, I'm a victim, to get his way. Judaism never believed in being a victim. Oh, we were victims many times, but we never played that card. We understood that whatever happened to us, okay, we need to stand up, overcome it, and try to rebuild. Korach, you feel that you are a victim? You feel that you deserve what Elit Safan received? Okay, walk on yourself. Get better. Improve yourself. Talk to Moshe. Get a mentor. Do something. Don't build your life on the misery that you feel that you experience. And the last thing that we learn from this midrash is lack of true communication. Koach didn't want to hear what Moshe had to say. It might be more too painful for him. You know, maybe Moshe will tell him, look, Koach, you are a great guy, but Elitzafan Ben Uziel, oh, he is an incredible person. He has, you know, talent A or talent B and you don't have it. Koach didn't want to learn. Koach did not want to improve himself. And it's all basically results from this idea of entitlement. When you feel that you are entitled to get something, you don't listen. You don't ask questions why someone else deserves it more than you. You just assume that you need to get it. That's vaikah Kohar. So now let's see this Talmudic paragraph that can teach us a lot about everything we spoke about until now. Ama Rabi Abba Shmuel. So Rabbi Abba says in the name of Shmuel. For three years, the students of Shemai and Ilel, which we call them Beit Shamay, the house of Shamain, the house of Hilel, were debating, were debating. And the debate was serious, meaningful, something that can influence generations. How do we define the Halacha, the Jewish law? Based on Shamay or based on Hilel? And it was hard to decide because each one of them was smart and talented and capable. So they couldn't decide. So a heavenly voice came from Shamayim from heaven and says, Bet Shamai, whatever you said, it's really the words of God. Bethilel, whatever you said, are the words of God. Okay, so how does that help me? But the law, the Psaqak, the Jewish law, accords with Betilel. One second. If what Shamay says are the words of God and what Hilel said are the words of God, so why halakhake betilel? And that's exactly the question of the Ghtalmud. So if you tell me that both opinions, Shamay and Hilel, both of their statements and sayings and halakhot are true, are really what God meant to say. So why do you say that the halachai is like Betilel? Listen to that. Because of first three main reasons. First, Nohim. What does that mean? Bet Hilel were more gentle. The students of Ilel were gentle, they were more relaxed, but I would say probably more gentle. Which means if they were accused in something or someone insulted them, they did not insult back, which means they were probably modest. And also they will repeat whatever Shamay says, which means Bethilel, they not only said their opinion, they also repeated the opposing opinion. And not that only Velood El Ashemakdimim divre betchamay dehim. Whenever you open up a Mishnah, a Tanayk source, you will see if there is a machloke, there is a debate between Shamay and Hilel, it says Shamay, and only after that Hilel. Betchamai and Bethilel, which means not only that Bet Hilel will acknowledge what Beth Shammai says, what the house of Shemai says, but they will write them first and only after that they will say whatever they want to say. This Talmudic paragraph I think needs to be learned and studied in every class about communication. First, it might be that someone else is smarter than you. It might be that someone else is not that smart. But you, if you really want to participate in a debate or try to make a statement, the first thing you need to do is not to talk, is to listen. Only after you listen and you listen in a humble way, not with already an agenda. You know, sometimes you can see in a class someone talks and the other one wants to talk and he raises hand or he or she raised their hand, they don't really listen to that other person. They already have something in mind to say. And it might be that he's going to repeat exactly what this person says, or he's going to say something that if he would listen to this person, he would not ask. But he didn't, or she, they didn't listen. You need to have, you need to come to a discussion with some kind of humility that here I'm here, yes, I'm here to say my opinion, but you know what? My opinion is not the only opinion. And you need to have a lot of humility and gentleness in order to do so. So that's a B, you need to repeat what the other person says, which will reflect that A, you listened, and B, it will reflect if you fully understood what he or she said. And then the highest level is that when you make your statement, you first begin with whom? With the opposing statement. And think about it. If I present the opposing statement, and I say, look, my colleague, my friend said A, and you repeat it or you repeat the outcome of what he said. First you give him or Hera the opportunity to say, Rega, stop, that's not what I said. But if they don't, which means you really understood them, and then you said, but my opinion is what kind of a lesson, what kind of a message do you convey? I heard you, I understood you, I will debate it because of this opinion. But you you what do you create? You create an environment of I heard you, I appreciate what you said, I respect it, I might even say, look, and based on what you said, my opinion says B, it means that I reflected on what you said, and then I formed my opinion. This is true communication, this is true listening, this is true talking. Talking is not only about what you have to say, it's about what the other says, what he said, what she said, how you take it into heart, how you understand it, how you digest it, how you analyze it, and then you say your opinion. And this is why halakha kebetilel. You cannot find here that halakha kebetilel because they were smarter. By the way, exactly the opposite. The Talmud says that Bet Shamay were kharifim yute or they were sharper. But it doesn't mean that halacha is like them. In order to create a conversation, just imagine if Korach would go to Moshe and ask him, Moshe, I have some questions to you. I don't understand what's going on here. I don't come with any entitlement. I just want to understand how come you skipped me? How come Elit Safan became the president? Or even more than that, that would be a higher expectation that Korak will not even feel those feelings. But let's say he will. Go to Moshe and talk to him. There are no conversations. That obviously brings us to the beginning of the no conversation Joseph and his brothers. How much pain, misery, affliction, tribulations, sorrow we could avoid if we will talk to each other. Not on each other, not above each other, not through each other, but talk to really to each other. Parashat Koach always is being like mentioned. Oh, there are always fights among Am Israel, it will always was and it will always be. It's not true. History should not repeat itself if we would listen to the story. If we would listen to the story, we will understand that we are not entitled for anything. We should walk for what we think we deserve. We should listen to what others have to say, internalize it, understand it, repeat it, and then say our opinion. And if everyone will behave like that, if everyone will really adapt that approach, just imagine what kind of a bright future we will all have. Thank you!