Ari Goldwag - Korach - You Can Have It All

you're listening to the weekly paral podcast recorded with hashem's never- ending assistance in orat Bish Israel 2016 this week's para outside of is in K and I'd like to share with you some questions from freedlander on a a few different MIM like to offer my own thought on the answer to these questions classically we know that korak what was his Gambit what was his what was he coming with what was his Rebellion about so it's not so clear at first glance there's a few different indications as to what the issue was the first thing that we see is by this is in chapter 16 ver three they gathered in front of Moses and AAR they said you have enough the entire congregation is holy God is in their midst why are you making yourselves greater why you making yourselves above anyone else everyone is equal we don't need a leader we don't need any special Hashem is inside of each of us we can all just do what we're supposed to do properly so it sounds like what was the issue why are they rebelling CU they felt like we don't need leadership we don't need formal leadership each one of us has access to Hashem and we don't need you to tell us how to access Hashem so that's the first thing that happens that's the first thing that's said but how does moshin respond and from his response we can deduce what the issue of korak was he says like this this is in verse 8 Moes says to listen here sons of is it not enough for you that God separated you from the rest of the congregation of Israel to bring you close to him to serve the service of the Tabernacle of God and to be there to serve the congregation listen to this verse carefully he brought you he's referring specifically here to korak it seems he's brought you cloth and all of your brothers the sons of Ley close with you and you also want to have Kahuna you also want as the uncas says you want to have the high priesthood so we see and as the story progresses we see what why you why are you having complaints against Aaron what has he done to you that's the next next verse but we see that the issue of korak was that he was going for the K he was going for the high priesthood so even though he comes with this statement of equality and all Jews are equal we don't need any leaders mosu understood somehow that no that korak wants something very specific he wants to be the leader now there's a medish though that makes it even more interesting as to what was his motivation what was the issue this is the medish it says like this what did K see why did he decide to come into a an argument with Moses he was jealous of the fact that there was an individual named the son of who had become the he became the prince that Moses based on hashem's Direction had appointed this person to be the nussi the the main ruler or the main Prince so to speak over the children of cahas which was one of the families of the Levites says he says look let's let's figure things out K said to himself my father so he had three brothers there were four all together sh says refers to the children of gas and it mentions these four different individuals who was the oldest of the four so his two sons they ended up in high positions one is Moshe he is the king so to speak Aaron is the high priest who would it be appropriate that he should get the next honor the next level of nus of princehood so to speak so he saidani it should be me Shar I'm from the second son I'm from Yar he's the second after who did he appoint as the n as the Prince it was the son of the youngest which is I am going to get into an argument and I'm going to to get what I deserve I'm going to nullify what Moses has said now so we read this and we say well what was what was korak issue what did he want did he want the position of Nasi the prince did he want the position of Kangal the high priest or did he care about the Jewish people as a whole he wanted everyone to be equal very interesting theeland brings ran ramban says I want to read it inside how did kak get everyone to come and be part or a large group to be part of his Rebellion so he seduced all of the tribes that he's doing it for their honor he wants to give back the Ava it had been taken away really the first borns they had the rights to serve in the in the Bish in the temple and the Mishka and the Tabernacle and it had been given over to the tribe of Ley and he went around and said to them look let's bring it back let's bring it back to the everyone has a right everyone should really all of the all of the tribes should be able to be part of it part of the service of like he says so understands that when he said the whole entire congregation is Holy he was saying we want to give back those rights the the rights to serve hem to be the messengers of the Jewish people to [Music] the Moses in his wisdom was able to understand intuitively or perhaps with r Kesh with divine inspiration what was inside of of korak's heart he revealed the truth he is only interested in the high priesthood and so Moshe said to him it should be enough for you you should be satisfied with the honor of your shave of your tribe he said to him it's enough what you have oh sons of Le so he says that one time and then he says here oh children ofi at that point he's speaking to who's the greatest of this group and that's understanding of what it says mosha says to K but he also speaks to the children of Le why mosha was trying to point out to korak that he should desist that he should stop what he's doing and also that the rest of his tribe who had been seduced who had followed after him should also not listen they all shouldn't be drawn after him now Freelander explains something profound in the thinking of K that we see from what's going on here in these M he says that at first indeed when when korak looked and he saw that someone had been appointed to the next honor the next position of power he said that should be mine I should be the N I should be the prince of my family of the bahas who who's greater I'm greater I'm from the older son but Moshe saw that even though he thought that in his head he wouldn't stop there that he if he wants a position of power if he's already looking if he's eyeing the position of Prince he's next going to eye the position of Aon of being the high priest and it doesn't say this in Freeland there but I'm adding and the next place that he's going to eye is the position of mosha Rino of Moses here he is coming up against Moshe and trying to undermine his authority undermine his his n connection to hasem and interestingly explains freedlander it's it's true generally that when a person desires something when a person has a 100 100 is never enough he wants 200 if he has 200 he needs 400 that's not only true when it comes to money it's also true when it comes to power and when it comes to to even to R when it comes to something that's spiritual if I've learned a certain amount it's not enough for me I want more I want to learn more so korak he saw the position of nus he saw the position of being The Prince and he said I want that but that wasn't going to be enough for him as MOS understood if he wanted that he's going to further want the high priesthood he's going to end up wanting the malus the kingship it won't ever be enough for him and this is what Moshe was trying to point out to K watch out you're headed on the road for disaster you're headed into a place which is inappropriate which is wrong and now the question that Freelander asks on this is that we need to understand something important because when it comes to matters of gmas when it comes to matters of physical things when it comes to food when it comes to money these types of things so we understand that it's not a good idea for a person to have to have desires for more and more and more that's clear to us but the question is when it comes to Rus when it comes to spiritual matters isn't it a good thing to have desire for more says to K and to all of the Levites he says to them you have enough be happy with what you have be happy with your spiritual status don't try to grab for more beyond what you have recognize that you have enough but Freelander challenges that is that really how we're supposed to approach things don't we see that when it comes to when it comes to spiritual matters it's not good for a person to feel like he has enough person need always want more when comes to spirituality a person needs to always desire to have more what was mosha why was Moses instructing them or directing them or asking them to be happy with what they have when it comes to spirituality what's the understanding of it soand brings a statement of the is in it's also in Su and the says like this Papa and those who say who said come and see come and see that the way of hasem the mid the attribute of God is not like the attribute of human beings when it comes to a human being when it comes to the Physical Realm clear if a vessel is empty if a cup is empty it's possible to pour something in there if it's already full it can't hold anything else when it's when it comes to God when it comes to spiritual matters it's not so if something is full that's what it can hold if a mind is full of information if it's full of Torah if a person is full of mitzvas so he can hold more and more Mitzvah he can fulfill more and more Commandments if a person is used to doing used to doing kindness so it's PS him to do more kindness but if he's empty of kindness if he's empty of Torah so he's not going to be able to hold too much the more a person is involved in spiritual matters the more a person is able to be involved in spiritual matters so that vessel which is empty can't really hold too much but the vessel which is really full it can hold much much more so we see there's something very interesting that indicative of the spiritual realm is that when I have I can have more if I don't have I don't have that seems to sound very much like the idea of yes if I have $100 I want 200 it seems to sound like the same idea or parallel the idea so why is it that we see when it comes to spiritual matters indeed wanting more of course is is desirable and the more I have the more I want or the more I can contain the more I can receive so how are we to understand this idea is it a good thing or is it a negative thing so I'd like to offer an explanation or an answer or an insight to explain these questions of freedlander which I think is very profound and very true and perhaps can help us in ourem in our service of God and in our approach to life there's a very big difference between the type of Desire that comes when a person has $100 they want $200 $200 and $400 etc etc between that and somebody who has spiritual desires that the more they feel themselves the more they want and we're going to see that korak his desire wasn't really a spiritual desire it didn't fall into the category of something spiritual and we'll soon see why that's true and how that's true but what's the difference what's the difference between that spiritual desire the more I have the more I can contain as opposed to the physical the more I have the more I want and the answer is contained in the very words of mos of Moses he says you have a lot ra it's very interesting we find elsewhere in the Torah in Genesis and braus that there are there's someone else who uses a similar language who uses the word RAV which means a lot and that's asov asov AR RHA the brother of Yakov Jacob and Esau Esau says you don't have to give me this big gift says Esau I have so much I have so much R I have so much that's his language contrast that with the language of yob of Jacob Jacob says yes call he says I have everything I have everything what's the difference between I have a lot and I have everything and if we understand that we understand the difference between the physical the gashi and the spiritual the r the answer is means I have a lot but you know a lot means that there's a little and there's a lot you know I could be missing if I wouldn't have this a lot I wouldn't have what I need that's what it means when it's person says I have a lot and that's as yob Jacob represents the r represents the spiritual realm he says yes call I have everything doesn't say I have a lot I have everything that means that I have what I need and the implication of the word yes call I have everything is that I have what I need and I always have what I need and I always have had and always will have what I need it's almost the statement that there's no such thing as lack Now understand this because this is profound it's very important to understand that all of the things that we find in R all of the things that we find in spiritual in the spiritual realm all of the mitzvas of the Torah the Commandments of the Torah the words of the Torah the ideas of the Torah kindness duck of Charity learning Torah prayer serving God all of these things when I do them when I do what I'm supposed to do based on what the Torah says I'm entering into a space of yes call I have everything all of the Torah is directed to try to get me into that space of yes call I have everything if I'm if I'm willing to give Saka for my money hey maybe this money like the sheet of s like the understanding the world view of the sodomites if I have this money this money is for me if you're poor you don't have any money that's good God because God doesn't want you to have money why should I give you my money God meant this money for me that's the is RAV I have a lot and if I don't have a lot I will not have what I need so I can't give it to you that's the she of s that's the the world view of ASV but our world view the torah's view is if I have money give part of that money to SED to charity there are those who need that money and you don't lose anything say what does the Torah mean when it says double language give off a tithe give a tithe give a tithe why does it say it that way they they say that if you give you will be rich what does that mean that means if I enter into the realm of thinking yes I have everything I need and when I give it to you I don't lose anything when I give it to you if I can enter into that realm of yes call that I have everything so then that's where the the true richness comes from that's where wealth comes from it comes from the recognition that I have everything that I need if I have everything that I need I am now resonating in a place of wholeness I'm resonating with Hashem who is perfect who has everything that he needs doesn't need anything for me now Look Back For a Moment amazing look at the of the language of our sages they say that when can I receive more when can my vessel receive things it can receive things when it's full what does that mean it means when I have the recognition that I am full I have all of my knes when I have that recognition I will always have I will be overflowing I will be receiving and receiving and receiving but if I perceive myself as lacking if it's empty if I see myself as missing in spiritual terms if I see myself as lacking I will never be able to hold anything I will never be able to to receive anything now the amazing profound idea the the the ramifications of this are if I'm involved in the physical if I'm involved in gmas if I eat food the more I eat the more I feel I'm lacking that's what happens the more I do ras the more I'm involved it's at the spiritual level doing the Torah the mitzvas following even using my physical desires but in a way which is mandated by the Torah so I resonate more and more with godliness with wholeness I am already whole and the result is paradoxically that I get more but the more I resonate and I allow myself to fall into the Trap of physicality so the Paradox there works in the opposite direction when I eat something I feel full I feel whole when I get my desires me I feel whole I feel full for a moment but after that I feel worse I feel sick if I eat I remember hearing a sore froma how One Time One Summer he ate and ate and ate this delicious watermelon to the point he got sick he couldn't look at a watermelon after that that's the way it is with physical things the more I try to get the more it tears apart my wholeness because and and the the logistics of it the the mechanics of it is that what I'm really doing is as I fill myself up I am making a bigger hole in myself cuz I am saying I don't have enough even though I'm saying I have a lot here give me a lot I have a lot but what I'm really doing is saying I need a lot to be whole and if I don't have a lot then I'm not whole so the moment that I don't have my stomach is no longer full of that watermelon it's all over I need a lot more watermelon to fill my stomach and it's just a progressive cycle that's the addictive cycle and that's the amazing statement of MH to korak and to the B he says to them look korak what did you want at the beginning you wanted one thing a smaller thing you want it to be the nas you want to be the prince but your approach is a physical approach it's a gash me approach it comes from your desire for Honor it's not coming from a true place of service of Hashem that being the case it will start out with you know you want nus you want the princehood but next you're going to want the Kahuna next you're going to want to replace Aaron as the high priest and next you're going to want to replace me as the king it doesn't stop there it doesn't stop there because it's starting in a place of lack and that's what mosha says beautifully he says he says watch out guys you're in the place of asov you're in that same state of mind of RAV of RAV give me more I don't have enough if I don't have enough I won't be whole and this connects very much to what we spoke about last week with the illusion korak he sees the illusion he sees the illusion I'm going to be whole I'm going to have a true relationship with Hashem I'm going to resonate with God if I have something more mosha understands no it's the other way around the the more I'm honest with who I am recognize what is it that hasm really wants from me not buy into the illusion just do what the Torah says just follow the instructions are very clear the Torah says if you want to be whole if you want to resonate with wholeness with godliness here's what you do follow these directions keep the Torah do the Mitzvah give charity do kindness give to others the more I give away the more I receive because as I'm giving away I'm acknowledging the fact that I already am whole that I already have all that I need now coming back to one of the points that a Freelander pointed out which was that when it comes to r a person is not supposed to be when it comes to spirituality a person is not supposed to be satisfied with what he has why why is it that that's true it's true because when it comes to the the to this side the Paradox is the more R I have the more spirituality I have the more I recognize and resonate with my wholeness with the fact that I already am whole so I can't have enough of that so to speak because the more I have of that the more I truly am resonating in that place of wholeness so I need to always need to have more and the more I have the more whole I recognize I am the more wholeness I can receive I'd like to bless you and please bless me back hasem should help us to be in this place of riness to be in this place of of desire for greatness for wholeness to recognize that I'm already whole to do the actions that bring me into that space of wholeness sh should help us recognize yes that I have everything and not fall into the Trap of yes ra of asov and of kak thank you so much for listening have a wonderful shambas this podcast was made possible through the gracious donations of listeners like you for more podcasts like this please visit www.wag.com or search on iTunes Ari goldwag