Parashat Korah

Korah

and his followers filed a complaint against Moshe and Aharon. “The whole nation is holy, and why should you be raised, self-importantly, from amongst G-d’s community?” Korah wanted to be just as holy as Moshe and Aharon. Despite Korah’s high position, Korah wanted the highest level of holiness; being a Levi was not enough for Korah. He wanted to be High Priest. Moshe answered Korah’s complaint… “Isn’t it enough that G-d separated you (as Levite), do you also want to be a Kohen?”

Moshe’s answer doesn’t seem to add up. Moshe, the holiest of men, who ascended the Heavens to bring down the Torah, built the Tabernacle, and served with his brother Aharon as High Priest can’t tell a Levite to be content with being a Levite. It is like the rich fellow comforting his struggling, destitute friend, “Cheer up! At least you have bread and you’re not starving!” The poor friend responds, “If you were struggling also, I would accept your consolation. But, how can you tell me to value bread! Let’s see how happy you would be if all you could afford were the bare minimum! You don’t think twice when you lose fifty dollars, so how can you tell me to be happy when that is all I have to make Shabbat?” How then could Moshe, on his high spiritual plateau, console Korah for being just a Levi?

The answer to this is a big lesson. Moshe was telling Korah that there is an enormous difference between spiritual matters and material ones. True, the more millions the rich fellow makes, the less sleep he loses on small amounts of cash. But in spirituality, in religion, the higher level one achieves does not in any way minimize the importance of the first small steps of spiritual growth. Quite the contrary, the more one values each step of spiritual growth, the more he grows. Korah, be grateful you’re a Levi, appreciate the spiritual level G-d put you on, and then G-d will bring you up to the next level.

Each step on the way to the Beit Medrash has value, even if you get stuck in the rain and decide to turn back home. Just the decision to go to Beit Medrash is enormous. The Evil Inclination cannot convince the determined to stop coming to the Beit Medrash. Instead, he convinces them that they should be doing much more, and what they are doing has little value!

Take out a calculator and do the math. G-D counts our mitzvoth more than we count money. Our Rabbis teach us that the entire Universe was worthwhile for G-d to create, if only once, one Jew would say the words, Baruch Hu Baruch Shemo!… One Amen is worth a thousand times saying Baruch Hu Baruch Shemo!  One Amen Yehe Sheme Rabba is worth a thousand times saying Amen! One word of Torah is worth a thousand times saying Amen Yehe Sheme Rabba! 

About the author, Yosef