Parsha Perspectives - Korach

Good morning. Good morning, Bogota. Welcome back to Pasha Perspectives for today. May be day of bisos to let the ceasefire hold. Let there be peace. Let kamas surrender. Let the hostages come home. Let's continue to have a tashm victory and good news. Our para series is generously sponsored by Becky and Navi Katz and family in memory of David Gman. We're very grateful to the cats for sponsoring in memory of Becky's father Lema. This morning is also sponsored by Ron Eisenberg in honor of his father's Morai Eisenberg on Gimmel Thomas and in honor of his daughter who was born on the same day as his father's yearight and this morning is also dedicated in memory of my grandfather's tonight and tomorrow Sam Abof Ben Yona Gdalia tremendous man gentle giant we miss him terribly and our learning is Eloy Nishma so paras page 820 in the art scroll stone After making our way through safer such esoteric complicated detailed laws, we're now back in the narrative of saferbar. Unfortunately, it's not an uplifting and a happy and a gratifying and a positive narrative. It's complaint, its failed mission, its rebellion, its divisiveness and mus. And yet the Torah communicates it all because our sacred Torah is not trying to pretend to be a utopian document to capture a utopian life. It's not painting a picture of perfect people living perfectly. It's rather describing a reality. It's describing imperfect people, human beings with all of our failures and all of our foibballs and all of our challenges. And that too is an inspiration to all of us because the Torah is giving us the blueprint, the recipe for how to navigate and overcome so much of it. So the para begins with the word korak and we've discussed this many times in the past. You can listen to all the shirum of course from before. The word means and korak and korak took which begs the question what did he take? If I say and you took I would continue to say and you took the box of tissues you took the phone. You took the last piece of beef jerky. You took something. And yet the P goes on and it never tells us what he took. And Korak took who is Korak? All of a sudden we get on a it's like an add we get on this distraction. We go on this detour. Korak the son of the son of the son of Ley and Benu. What happened? The opening word says he took himself to one side. He divided himself instead of being part of integrated connected of a whole of a community of people. He extracted himself. He divided himself. What did he take? The answer is he took himself. is like a plug means a a debate. So the word not he took he divided means he divided he divided in order to hold on to. So says asking It's out of order. What happens? First, someone does something to upset you, to aggravate you. You're divided. You have a debate. You have a And then an issue arises. There's two ways to see it. Something breaks out. A debate, a fight, an argument in a community, an institution, God forbid, in a family. So first the locus rises and then you choose a side. You don't choose a side and then have a locus. And at first he chose a side and then he had a debated disagreement. He accused Moshon of usurping of taking the It's out of order. First there's a debate and then you choose a side. You don't choose a side and then have a locus. That is the question says that is exactly how it works. The very question is the insight. We said first you see there's a debate, there's an issue and you choose a side. But it's not true. Sometimes you choose a side. The other person so bothers you. The other person is so different than you. the other person you so recoil or withdraw from. All you know is I can't stand them. I'm in a debate with them. What's it about? We'll figure it out. What am I upset about? What am I outraged over? What am I arguing about? I don't know. We'll figure it out. But all I know is I disagree with them. I have nothing to do with them. All I know is they're wrong. They're wrong. So after Moshe appoints and he says I want nothing to do with those people. Ah what am I upset about? What am I disagreeing about? We'll figure it out afterwards. But all I know is the first thing is I disagree. And you see this today in our time the level of hyperartisanship is is insane. So what happens is nothing's getting done in the government here in America. Why? Because all I know is they're a Republican. I'm a Democrat. I'm a Republican. They're a Democrat. All I know is whatever they say I disagree with. Uh then I'll hear what they have to say. Not let me hear and maybe we agree, maybe we disagree. How can anyone not see it as an outrageous success to obliterate Iran's nuclear program and not go to war? All everyone should be saying is yes. It's an outrageous success. But if you're on the other side of the aisle, you have to say, "No, no, he usurpered his powers. He had to go to Congress. He violated an act." And by the way, the same was true in the other direction. Depending on who's in office, so when the Democrats are in office, the Republicans said they usurped their power. They had to go to Congress. Instead of looking and saying, "We're united. We have this in common. This was a goal. This was an achievement. Yash, congratulations." There's a hyperartisanship that exists in this world. First, I'm in a mus. You're the other side of the aisle. You're the other side. Now, what are we arguing over? We'll figure it out. We'll figure it out. All I'm confident, all I know is one thing. We disagree. What's the issue? I don't know. We'll find out. I just know we disagree. So you see that where does begin you can have healthy disagreement any topic that comes off. We have a fantastic program started after co called off the record after the nine o'clock minion. We sit we make we have kdish. We bring up a controversial topic and it's a chance not for the rabbis to speak. Everyone can voice their opinion and it's a beautiful, beautiful conversation. It's an outstanding smashing success and people disagree. They disagree viferously and vehemently and passionately and then they drink and eat chalant and say we're one community. We're one people. There are legitimate things to disagree about. But the question is are you having a legitimate disagreement but really you're united or are you divided and now you find that you disagree about everything? You see that the beginning the beginning of of a pernitious negative destructive debate is to first see yourself as co in other words you have a board and there's a policy that has to be debated. So do you say let's start with this we're all invested in the well-being of our community. We're all equally committed. We all equally care about the well-being of our community. Now we can have a healthy discussion how to pursue that. what should the policy look like? But really, we're united. There's no other. You're not the other. The other side, we're united. But when it begins with you're the other, you're the other side. When you live a life of us and them, there's the other side in me. And now later, you fill in what you're arguing about. That's how you get to destructive makus, devastating locus. And that's what said. If he said, Moshe, you're my cousin. No, let's go out. Let's have some sushi. Let's talk about what's going on. You're my cousin. I love you. We equally care about the future of the Jewish people. I've got some concerns I want to share with you. In the end, we're united and we love each other. But when it starts, You're the other side. I can't talk to you. I can't break bread with you. I can't give you the other side. Because really it should be the opposite. It says when when a couple would go meet with her the rash of the mere Brooklyn to to meet with him about Shalas couple had conflict. Couple had conflict. There were issues. by his challenges were two brothers who were having a fight about business. When they would come into his office, he saw the following. He had a table set up with chairs on both sides. If they sat on opposite sides of the table, he understood the issue. He would say, "First one of you move. When you sit next to each other on the same side of the table, I can meet with you." And now we could have a conversation. If you position yourself as opposites, if when you sit down, your enemies, your adversaries, your opposites, you're on other sides, you're divided, you're partisan, then we're never going to break through. But when you can sit on the same side of the table, and what's true, it's important. How you sit, the posture you take physically reflects and indicates a lot of what you're thinking, a lot of where you're holding. So when you walk in a room and you sit on other sides of the table and you cross your arms and you sit back and you fold your legs and you can't make eye contact, it's telling you everything about whether you're really open to shalom to shalom bias to figuring it out. When you sit on si, you know, I have a couch in my I used to have a table and I had the same phenomenon people sitting on the other side and I realized that a couch is much more productive for the meetings I have. So I have a couch that's like an L. It's a couch with a corner. And when the couple walks in, do they sit next to each other on the couch, or do they sit on opposite of the couch? And it tells you so much where they're thinking, how they're feeling, and what they want the outcome to be, what they want the outcome to be. If you sit on the other side, then it's you're going to another side. If you sit next to, we're here. We're working something through. We need some advice and some support, but the goal is we're united. The goal is that we're one. And that in fact is the mission of the Jewish people in our essence. We're one. We're one. We're united. And that's why we have an obligation to love our neighbor as oursel. When that splinters, when that breaks down, when that dissolves, when we become partisan, opposite sides of an aisle, when there's an aisle breaking the Jewish people, then we we lose our we lose our sense of and then we're in danger and then we're in trouble. And then we're in trouble. I wrote an article, I didn't put it out yet, hopefully later today. But my article for this week, I was at a wedding on Sunday and at the we all stood towards the end of the for the beautiful rendition of it from my buddy Shim Kramer. I haven't been to a wedding since October 7th and I've been to dozens and dozens and dozens just since October 7th. I haven't been to a wedding since October 7th that didn't include maybe it was Tillm maybe it was the Mishal but it wasn't business as usual an acknowledgement and recognition a pause on our joy that there's a war going on in our holy land our brothers and sisters people on the front line and certainly this past Sunday while in the aftermath of the attack in Iran and the uncertainty of what was going to be and it occurred to me as America entered the war on Moz Chavez on Saturday night and I stood at that listening and closing my eyes and adding our own file to the Mishal I was thinking in all of America's wars against Afghanistan against against Iraq was there one American wedding that was interrupted with a prayer for the troops in America was there one American wedding inter maybe if there was an immediate family member of the bride or groom maybe maybe but it's unlikely was there were there were there many were there any American weddings interrupted with a prayer prayer for American troops. And yet here we are 6,000 m away and Jews around the world wherever they are can't go on with their if there are Jews in harm's way because that's what it means. That's what it means to be one. That's what it means to be one. So it reminded me the in several places the says you you the Jewish people are you're called but the nations of the world the um are not called and read simply it's a horribly prejudiced and biased statement only the Jewish people are called people are called ma man and the other nations of the world the other non-Jews of the world they're not worthy of being called Adam man. Wow, that's pretty harsh. That sounds pretty biased. Rabbi friend shares a story that has an insight. 1912 in Russia, Mendel Bis was accused of killing a Christian child and using his blood to bake matzahas, one of the horrible blood liels. And Bis was put on trial. The slander and the variations of it were prevalent for many years in Europe and even, believe it or not, in New York in the beginning of the 20th century. These were blood libels. and Jews continue. Anyone who accuses Israel of a of a genocide in Gaza is a modern-day blood liel. The blood liels have a new form, but they still continue. So, Bailis' lawyer was very afraid that when they got to court, the opposing council to buttress their case as evidence that Jews look at non-Jewish blood as inferior, as less than, would quote this gamarra in no less than three places. the Jewish people are Adam and non-Jews are not Adam. And the lawyer was worried, how will I refute? How will I defend? How will I explain the statement of the rabbis in in Balis's defense? So the lawyer went to go see the chba and asked them, "How will I respond? The opposing council raises this gamarra as evidence that Jews look down on non-Jews and indeed maybe mend baked a matzah with non-Jewish blood. How will I answer?" So the chart of said the following. He said, "And if Italian was seized and put on trial, we would not witness in a scenario where all Italians were congregating in their churches to pray for the one Italian." The same can be said about the French for a Frenchman or about any other nation, any other ethnicity, any other race. If one were on trial, it wouldn't make everybody gather in their place of worship. They wouldn't gather to rally for that person. They wouldn't pray for him around the world. But when a Jew is seized and put on trial, the solidarity that Jews have towards one another is that Jews around the world stop and daven for the welfare of that Jew. That's uniquely Jewish. Said the shortba that's the you see we have many words in Hebrew for man is an every synonym that we have for man has a singular and a plural. How do you say Adam in plural? You can't and you don't because there is no plural. It's adam for the individual and the plural because the only people on earth who interrupt their weddings, all of them, to pray for people and soldiers on another side of the world are this is something that is uniquely special, uniquely Jewish. And that's what the gur means. You're the only ones that could be used a word that has no plural because you're so united. It's not knocking. It's not prejudice. It's not bias. It's not saying non-Jews are inferior. It's a phenomenon and it's a 100% true phenomenon. The only people on earth that interrupt their lives wherever they are because a Jew is in trouble are the Jewish people attemp. And that's the opposite of Korak. was so dangerous, so catastrophic, so so destructive because Korak was introducing this notion of Jews are ever on another side. We might be having a healthy debate, but we're never on the other side. We're always on the same side. A couple can have a healthy debate about what to do in a particular circumstance, but they're always on the same side, the well-being of their family. And Korak introduces this notion of of being taken and going to the other side. And when you go to the other side, that was incredibly incredibly dangerous for the Jewish people. A second piece of continues, the Rambam writes says writes that anybody who doubts prophecy wasn't at Hari. If you challenge Moshe's authority, his leadership, you weren't at hari where it was clear Moshe's role as appointed by Hashem. from I don't understand Korak and his entire Korak and his whole entourage his whole group thank you his faction they were all at our Rashi says when they said we're all equally holy says Rashi what they meant is all we all were equally at our so if indeed they were all equally at our how could they make such a terrible mistake to challenge Mosha's authority. If the Rambam says anyone in our would see the authority of Moshe, the prophecy of Moshe and if you challenge Mosha's authority and prophecy, all it means is you weren't at Arai. So how could it be and were at? And yet they're challenging the authority. So listen to this insight. You see the challenge, the kira, the denial, the heresy of the authority of Moshe is similar to what we see today. Holocaust deniers, of course, was talking decades ago, but it didn't take long after the Holocaust for there to emerge Holocaust deniers. Holocaust deniers. By October 8th, they were October 7th deniers. Kamas videoed themselves. They wore GoPros and they videoed. They chronicled all their atrocity. It's undeniable the record aside from the testimony that we have. And yet, and yet by October 8, there were October 7th deniers. when you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth. And that's what happens here, too. Yes. And yes, they knew that Mosha's authority and that he's theim, the father of all prophets, but they began to say a lie. And when you repeat the lie often enough, it becomes a truth. When they first said about Moshe, who is he? What's his authority? Who put him in charge? They knew he was in charge. What they really meant was we want honor. We want distinction. We want power. But in the context of their pursuit of power, they introduced this idea. Who says Moshe is special? They knew he was special. But they began to repeat that lie. And when you repeat the lie over and over again, you forget the truth. He has a long essay about this. But that is the primary that is the fundamental. So they get up and they challenge. They ra they they rally. They gather against Moshe against. And they say it's too much for you. All of us are equally holy. Why do you elevate yourself over the congregation of Hashem? Over the congregation of Hashem? Who are you? And what are you? And why do you raise yourself over over everybody over everybody else? Over everybody else. So says we're going to see other commentators today, but we got a few. You know, you got to have a division of powers. You took royalty. Why'd you make your brother the coin? So and Moshe says, what's his response? If you keep reading the rest of this per Mosha says, Mosha says, "Hashem, you've got to avenge my honor. You've got to knock them out. You've got to take them out." And Rashi quotes, listen to Rashi, Moshe appeals to God and says, "Kill them in a way no one has died until now." Wow. says, "What happened to the Moshe who's the most humble of all men? Where did the Moshe who always fought for and advocated for Israel go after?" What does Mosher say? Forgive them. If not, erase me from your book. Now after throughout the wilderness after theim after each episode where the Jewish people are encouraable complainers where they rebel where they make horrible mistakes what does Moshe do each time he prays to Hashem forgive them forgive them forgive them what does he do now here kill them a death nobody's ever seen before what happened to the gentle sweet plea for forgiveness Moshe what happened to the humble Moshe. Now all of a sudden his honor is challenged and Moshe goes from the sweet gentle advocate, the one who was constantly standing up for and pleading with Hashem for forgiveness and now instead all of a sudden he says kill them with a death nobody's ever died from before. What happened? What happened? Says [Music] earlier. All the other episodes of poor judgment, of mistakes were failures of the Yates, of Tyra. They were distracted. They were tempted. They were seduced. The mun tastes no good. We're worried about this. That's not right. The Sahara distracted them. Chuva. So the Yates when they panicked Mosha didn't come back. You could do Chuva 4. When the Maglim gave in to their fear, you could do Yates for you could do Chuva 4. They complain. You could do Chuva 4. However, they were going to undermine everything. If Moshe doesn't have authority, if Moshe is not reliable and credible and trustworthy, then the whole Torah that Moshe transmitted is undermined. Why do you have to keep Shabas and kosher? Why do you have to give the Cohen the first aliyah? Why do you have to be bound by the Torah's rules and regulations? If in fact Moshe has no authority, credibility, trustworthiness, if Moshe was not to be relied on for the transmission of Torah, then you undermine and you compromise. You corrupt the entire Torah, the whole Torah. And they're suggesting that Mosher, he's in it for the wrong reasons. He's all about honor. He's all about power. You can't trust what he's told. If you can't trust what he said, then you have nothing. You have no foundation of Yiddish. You have no foundation, no foundation of Torah. And that's why says when it came to the other rebelliousness, you could accept their chuva. You could advocate on their behalf for forgiveness because they indulge the Sahara. Everyone's human. But this, if you'd indulge it, if you tolerate it, it would undermine everything. It would lead to such a rebellion. The Jewish people, their very future, their very way they were constituted were threatened and could be altogether denied. Rabbi Saxs and has a similar idea. Rabbi Saxs writes, "The Korak rebellion is not just the worst of many in the wilderness years. It is also of a different kind. It is not about a problem the Jewish people have encountered. A lack of food or water or a way through the sea or the prospect of having to fight a battle against giants. It is an ad hominemum attack on Mosha Aron. Korak and his fellow rebels accuse Moshe of nepotism, of failure, and above all of being a fraud, of attributing to God decisions and laws that Moshe has devised himself for his own ends. In contemporary terms, the Korak rebellion is a populist movement. Populism is the politics of anger. It appears when there's widespread discontent with political leaders, when people feel that heads of institutions are working in their own interest rather than that of the general public, people come to feel that that the distribution of rewards is unfair. A few gain disproportionately and the many stay static or lose. Discontent takes the form of the rejection of current political and cultural elites. Populist politicians claim that they and they alone are the true voice of the people. Populist stir up resentment against the establishment. the deliberately divisive and confrontational. They promise strong leadership that will give the people back what has been taken from them. The Ramban is undoubtedly correct when he says such a challenge to Mosha's leadership would have been impossible at an earlier point. The Ramban was dealing with a question. What was the Ramban's question? When did Auron get appointed to Cohen? Way back when we read all of Safer Vikra. Aon is anointed. Aaron's elevated Aaron is preparing and lighting the minora Aaron and his sons. Why does it take until now for Korak to begin his rebellion? Right after Hari, right after Aaron is appointed, that's what bothered the Ramban. You know what the Ramban answers? Korak was smart. Korak knew if he tried to incite a rebellion then he never could. He never would win. I read a headline this morning that BB's thinking about calling elections immediately. Why after what he just pulled off, a military defeat against Iran beyond anyone's expectations, there was the Six-Day War and the 12-day war. The 12- day war is more miraculous than the six- day war. What was accomplished and achieved, please God, by Ezra, Sashemak, I don't know if he will or he won't. that I'm not weighing in on the politics of Israel. That's for sure. But meaning he senses right now is the time nobody could defeat me. Korak knew coming off of Hari the beginning of their journey through the Midbar, nobody is going to take his side if he takes on Moshe. Only in the aftermath of the episode of the spies, when the people realized that they would not see the promised land in their lifetime, could discontent be stirred by Korak and his assorted fellow travelers. They felt they had nothing to lose. easy to tap into their disappointment, resentment, and fear. What happened after this generation was told, "You're not making it into the promised land. You're not getting in." And now that they weren't getting in and they had nothing to lose, now that they had a general discontent, now Korak says this misery and melancholy, this pessimism and negativity, this hopelessness and despair, now is the time to incite a populist rebellion. Moshe wins the argument against Korak, but only at the cost of invoking a miracle in which the earth opens up and swallows his opponents. Yet, this does not end the argument. The next day, the people gather against Moshe. You've killed the Lord's people. In this kind of confrontation, there is no benign outcome. You can only aim at minimizing the tragedy. There's a warning here to stay far from people, movements, and parties that demonize their opponents. Listen to Rabbi Saxs. I will read that again. There's a warning here. Stay far from people, movements, and parties that demonize their opponents. A healthy culture welcomes argument and respects dissenting views. Resist with all your heart and soul any attempt to substitute power for truth. What a powerful insight. And it really combines all that we've seen until now. says, "Any movement that's trying to divide, that's trying to demonize, that's making their opponent the other, stay away from. We're all on the same side. We're trying to figure it out. We're trying to figure it out. We're on the same side. We care. We could have healthy debates and disagreements, but we have to be on the same side." Korak went wrong because he took them to the other side. And why now? Because he never would have succeeded earlier. It had to and could only be. It had to and could only be now. At this time, at this point, at this moment, Mosheard and he fell on his face. Says the why did he fall on his face? Korak gets up. 250 men. He's got a movement. It's gaining speed. And he says, "Who are you and why you?" And by the way, Korak has a very compelling argument. We've spoken about this in the past, so we won't get into it now in depth, but Korak has a very persuasive, very compelling argument. The democratization of Yiddish of Judaism, we're all equally holy. We're all the same. Who put you in charge? Who put you in control? Who made you special or different? Who gave you all the power? We were all at our seni. We all equally heard the voice of Hashem. We're all equally holy. Unlike in other religions where leaders have to live different lifestyles, the rabbi, the rashiva, the men and women in leadership positions in Yiddish, we have no other mitzvah that apply to we're all bound by the same mitzvah, by the same expectations, by the same lives and lifestyles. So Korak's argument is pretty compelling. It's pretty compelling. So Moshe hears it and he reacts alanav. He falls on his face. Why says what was Korak accusing him of? He's so arrogant. Such an ego. You need to take everything for yourself. So Moshe tries to respond. I have an inflated ego. I'm arrogant. He falls on his face. He falls on his face. Mosha's immediate reaction, even though the Torah has already testified he's the most humble man of all time, Moshe doesn't say, "How dare you? Who are you? How could you?" Moshe says, he falls on his face and he says, "For a moment, maybe they're right. Maybe I've taken too much for myself. Maybe I'm too arrogant. Maybe my ego's out of control and needs to be in check." He falls on his face. He gathers himself and Hashem tells us, "You've done nothing wrong." And at that point, Moshe realizes, "If they undermine my authority, the whole Torah is at risk." That's why he says, "Give them a death nobody's ever experienced before." But you see beforehand when a leader gets criticism their first reaction should be is there any merit or truth? Is there anything I can learn? I always try for myself. Every now and then I get some criticism email, text or in person. And I divide into three. There's the messenger, the messaging and the message. Who's saying it? How are they saying it? And what are they saying? And often the who's saying it and how they're saying it makes us not want to listen to what they're saying. It's obnoxious. It's disrespectful. It's unappreciative. It's hypocritical and duplicitous. Who are they? So often because of who's giving the message and how they're delivering the message, we shut down and don't want to hear the message. And it's hard. I try to practice. The most important thing is to say, is there merit to the message? Even if I don't like the messenger and even if I don't like the messaging, is there merit to the message? To the message. That's Mosha's reaction. You see that the symbol, the sign of great leaders is the humility to say, did I make a mistake? Was I wrong? Did I come up short? Is there merit to this message? Is there something to learn from it? Is there something to learn from it? And that's how Moshe reacts. That is indeed exactly what Moshe takes what Moshe takes from it. Trying to decide what to do next. So much here. Boer. So he speaks to Korak and his whole entourage, his whole faction. care. I'll tell you what, let's wait till the morning. And in the morning, Hashem will make known who is the one who's his own and the holy one, and they'll draw him close to him. Whoever he chooses, we'll draw close. Maybe you've got a good point. Maybe you're making a fair argument. So, I'll tell you what, let's wait till the morning. And in the morning, we'll see who Hashem, this is easy. We don't have to guess. We don't have to do a lottery. Hashem through revelation will determine who in fact should be the appointed the leader. Boer says why boer why wait till the morning tells him made boundaries in the world. Moshe was giving and he said, "Let's wait till the morning." What do you mean morning? What is morning? There's night and there's day. Why isn't it all the same? Because Hashem made boundaries. Hashem said they're two different units periods of time. There's night and there's day. Can you turn night into day or day into night? No. Moshe was telling him, "No more can you turn yourself into the Coen than you can take and turn night into day or day into night." Boer, just like time has boundaries and there's different parts of time. There's day and there's night. So too people have positions and there are boundaries that Hashem gave to them and you can't impact them. It is equally impossible to revoke Aon's appointment as the coal. No more can you change boker and arv that you can change you and now how is this distinction between night and day relevant to is going what is this boer so the suggest the following says if a person is insulted if a person is offended and they absorb the insult without lashing out, without fighting back. They hear their disgrace, but they don't respond. Those who love him will be like the sun which goes forth in its might. That's what the Garra says. If you're capable of being insulted and absorbing that insult and not responded, it's brought down. By the way, get a braha from such a person. If you see somebody who's insulted, who's humiliated, who's shamed publicly and they don't fight back, they don't lash out back. They don't call a name back. They just absorb the insult and they move on. Get a braha from such a person who shows such a capacity. The pa compares such a person like the sun which goes forth in its might. The yakov, this commentary on the offers a beautiful explanation. You know, when the world was first created, the sun and the moon were of equal size. Hashem made the sun and the moon the same size. But the moon complained to Hashem and said, "Two kings can't rule with the same crown. Two kings can't wear the same crown. You can't make us the same size. I want to be greater than the sun. Shrink the sun. Make me bigger." The sun heard its disgrace. And what did the sun do? Gornished. Nothing. Sun didn't respond. So, Hashem said, "You know, moon, you're right. It's not going to work well to have you be the same size. I'll tell you what, he shrinks the moon and keeps the sun the same size in every generation. This is Hashem's method method of resolving disputes between those who ridicule and those who are ridiculed. Those who disgrace and those who are disgraced but don't respond. He knocks down the ridiculers and the disgracers. And he uplifts the ridiculed and the disgraced. He comforts the disgraced as he comforted the son. And that's what the pik means when it compares those who love him like will be like the sun that goes forth in its might. With this suggestion of usher we insight of the inyakov the e and yakov. Now we can understand rash's explanation. Can you turn morning into night? Moshe asked korak. It's equally impossible to revoke Aon's appointment as cogul. Anyone who attempts to do so, disgracing Aon, will suffer the same fate as the moon, which was thrown down from its grandeur. Yet Aaron and Moshe were ridiculed and disgraced. They emerge victorious like the sun. Like the sun. What is the greatest demonstration of strength? Is not to scream louder. Is not to punch harder. Is not to call a bigger name. The greatest display or demonstration of strength is to absorb an insult. Stay silent and not respond. Gumar says in gon when tasa entered the kod shakadashim and did the unthinkable and unfathomable. He unrolled the safer Torah and he did an explicit act with the harlot he brought in there and all kinds of other horrible things. You know what Hashem did? Was quiet. The says Don't read it. Who is as strong as you? Read item. Who is as strong as you? That's capable of being an elim. When you stay silent, when you're quiet, when you don't answer, when you don't respond back, that is the true and the greater demonstration of strength. The He was known for his pursuit of shalom and avoiding makus at all costs. He was a man of peace. He stayed away from mlus. He got along with everyone. He was beloved to everyone. One time someone p someone published Pashkavilion. Pashkavilion are those posters and they hung around Brooklyn. They hung these posters against the baba. So the babb of course always the rebba was afraid that it was going to lead to so listen to what the baba said he said I've been mo whoever put up the pashka whoever hung these signs against me I forgive them but if anyone decides on my behalf they're going to start a fight because of them I'm not mo you not in this world and not in the next world whoever hung up the signs I already forgave them. I'm good. But if you think in defending me you're going to start a mlo I don't forgive you in this world or the other. And of course after the schmoo nobody nobody said a word and it disappeared as quickly as it came. It died down the capacity to absorb the insult the disgrace and to carry on. The zorah says that Hashem's chariot has four legs and the first are and the fourth is David. We understand that the four first three legs. Why is the fourth leg writes in the David became the fourth leg of the chariot? Because when Shimmy Benra hurled insults at him in public and David's followers said, "Let's kill him. He's challenging the authority of the king." David said, "No, let's keep going." He absorbed it. He said he couldn't be saying that to me if Hashem didn't want me to hear it. There's no need to respond. Let's keep going. Happens to be later. He had him killed. But at that moment, he said, "Let's just keep going." Rafam says, "There are times we're meant to experience. And the asurin that we get can come in many forms. Illness, financial collapse, a relationship crisis. And if the issur comes in the form of someone insulting you, dance the kazatka. Someone hung a poster about you. Someone sent an email about you. Someone said something not nice about you. And that's the way you're going to get your yur and your suffering. Not a diagnosis, not a financial collapse, not a relationship that dissolves because somebody hung something, said something about you. You know how excited and happy you should be. What a that is to get it out of the way in that way. So we have the ability to follow in the footsteps of Moshe and maybe that's boer be like the moon boer be like the moon in the past when we studied this pik we saw the insider of salvich and others you know what boer meant let's wait till we have clarity when someone first comes at you and fights with you it feels like night darkness wait till boer sleep on it if you get a strongly worded email. Do not respond before you sleep on it. You could write a draft, put it in your draft folder. Don't press send until boer. You learn a critical lesson from our puss until until boer. Till you sleep on it, till you have some clarity, till you thought about it, till you came to your senses. Wait until boer until you press send. We're turning the page. Listen carefully. Moshe turns to and he says, "Listen carefully. Is it not enough for you that Hashem made you separated you to draw closer to him that you have a role in the Mishkan?" What did Mosher mean? What was Korak's role? What was his role? Ley. You're the tribe of Ley. I understand if you're rebelling because you're some lowly is I'm no offense. Dad made me Israel. I would understand if you're some lowly is you're rebelling. You want more. You're a ley. It's not enough. It's not enough that you're a ley. What's going on? What's going on? So the words literally translate is how does art girl translate it? Is it not enough for you? Mikm is it minor? What is the word mikm means from you? Simple understanding would translate as is it minor to you. So asked why doesn't the say if that's rab's point is it not enough for you to be a ley? What should it say? Is it so small for you? What do you mean? You hear the question? Yeah. Anybody? Good. Thank you. Answers with a theme that the has throughout his quoted by the rash alter. He says the following. In a person's life, our actions, our talents, our successes, our achievements are not accredited to the way Hashem created us at one point. It's not that Hashem created us and then everything that we do with it is us, but rather Hashem orchestrates everything in our lives. All that happens, every mitzvah that we do, every success that we have, the outcome of all of our efforts, all our material success, it all comes through him. Hashem didn't press go at the beginning and now we're on our own. He is with us, his providence, his involvement, and his dictating the outcome in everything we do. Someone who constantly lives with the knowledge never feels that he's giving something to Hashem. On the contrary, whatever we have the to do in the service of Hashem is not due to us. It's Hashem who powered it. That's a Everything is from you and from your hands we have. So I did well in the stock market. Yes, I chose the right stocks. I should be proud. Who enabled me? Who gave me the insight? Who made me read the right thing? Who made me write the right decision? Everything we do in life, spiritual and material, it's him. He gave us the tools, the success, the wisdom, the talent. There's no existence but for the expressed will of Hashem. Even enthusiasm, inspiration, good intentions, the like are gifts from Hashem. A person himself cannot recognize what is his own, what's from Hashem. So someone who truly lives with this awareness will constantly seek to serve Hashem with whatever opportunity we have. Whatever gifts, whatever talents, whatever skills, we use it in the service of Hashem. There is no difference to whether you're Coen or a Levy is this is my mission. This is my purpose. This is my mukum. This is my place. This is what I meant to do. We're learning this in Tanya. We learned yesterday every generation a schma every generation if you add up all the Jews of that generation they make up one body some are the head and some of the toenails some of the lungs and the liver some of the arms and the legs but a person doesn't look at as a hierarchy with bitterness or resentment or jealousy or envy they say what's my role what's my mission what's my purpose why am I here there is no hierarchy it's why am I here what's My role Mosher Raenu said that which you consider the status of Ley to be minor. You know why is it comes from a feeling and perspective that your avote comes from you your power in your merit listen that which you feel less than is m is because you're not doing it for the right reason. If you're driven lashma, if you're driven for the right reason, the service of Hashem, nothing is too small or too big. And you're not jealous or envious of anyone else. That's your role, that's your place, that's your purpose, that's your mission. So your sense, your feeling of you know why you have a problem of because it's coming from a sense of that's where it's coming from and that is your problem. Alter goes on, but we'll stop that here. base turning to the next per and we have the entire the ground opens it swallows them up the response and so on. Hashem speaks to Moshe immortal say to Allah the son of let him pick up the fire pans from the fire throw away the flame they have become holy and the fire pans of the sinners they'll make them hammered out sheets and so on and so forth so we have the ground opens up and swallows Korak and his adah and then we have further tests of um Mosher Rabenu intervenes again and so on says says. So the on this writes what does this mean? What's going on in this? Hashem speak to Moshe speak to Allah Aron to lift the to lift the the pans. He didn't want to speak to Aaron himself to teach what's so indicates Hashem wanted to preserve the dignity of the 250 rebellious people. Why are you preserving their dignity? Says of you see something very powerful from here that even when someone's wrong and they've made a wrong choice and they're coming out on the wrong side, nevertheless, nevertheless, for your sake, not theirs, still act with their still care about their dignity. Even you're tempted to say these are rebellious people. They're sowing rebellion. Who cares about their dignity? They forfeited their honor. That's not the Jewish way. Torah is teaching us that person doesn't forfeit their honor. They still deserve it. Even if they've made the wrong choice, we have a responsibility and obligation to treat them still the right still the right way. We have to treat them the right way. Uh says the Yseph Moshe Torah goes out of way to tell us that this will be a remembrance. This is a reminder that no one should ever draw close. Don't be like his assembly as Hashem spoke about him through Moshe over if you hold on to if you enter if you become in the you violate a biblical prohibition says don't be like and his followers a person should be anxious over it. What does that mean if you violate? So you're going to be punished. You're going to suffer. And if not, why should you be worried? Why would you be punished? This is Megan Joseph. Before you speak lash, you just get involved in the you take a side. You get caught up. You want to be on the inside. You want to hear everything going on. You know what that's going to lead to? If you're willing to get drawn into the makas, both sides are pulling you aside. Let me tell you and why they're wrong and you got to get involved. And listen to this and you won't believe what happened. If you're mlo if you allow yourself to get involved, it will inevitably lead to lash. And that's why what did the say not anyone who's in a call tries to get you. Both sides at WhatsApp groups, they're going to try to draw you in. They're going to try to draw you in. Did you hear this group? They broke away. They're doing this that happened. Can you believe it or aren't you going to do something about it? They're trying to draw you in. You have the ability to repel it. You have the ability to push it away to avoid it. But if you're if you hold on to it, if you grab on to it, if you're excited by it, it's going to lead to the lushkin. He said, "Many years ago, I knew a Jew who avoided speaking like nothing you ever saw. eye in he had a positive eye in everyone. All he could see is the good in people. Unfortunately, his daughter got divorced and she moved back in with her father and the divorce was ugly and it was messy and it led to tremendous. And this man sayskin who I knew never said a word of lash who only saw the good nut of the people through that divorce when it led to mlo he couldn't stop talking about the other side. A man who was incapable of speaking lashhara become incapable of speaking anything other than lashhara about the other side. That was what happens. That is how pernicious makus is. so damaging, so penetrating, so dangerous that even a person who is so against if you're if you allow yourself, you grab on to locus, if it impacts you, it's all over from there. You're in trouble from there, it's all over. It's all over. We'll end with the Rabbi Saxs. We know that not only did the ground swallow up and not only do they have the test of the fire pans, then they have an additional test of the rods, the staffs, that the one who's truly the leader, Aron, will blossom will blossom with what writes Rabbi Saxs. The use of force never ends a conflict. It merely adds grievance to injury. What ends the conflict is not the miracle of the ground opening up and swallowing Moshe's opponents, but something else altogether. The visible symbol that Aaron is the chosen vehicle of the god of life. The gentle miracle of the dead wood that comes to life again, flowering and bearing fruit anticipates the famous words of the book of Mishima. It is a tree of life for those who grasp it. Those who hold fast to it are fortunate. Mosh and Aaron stand accused of failing in their mission. They brought the people out of Egypt to bring them to the land of Israel. After the debacle of the spies, hope has died. The stick that comes to life again symbolizes that hope is not dead, merely deferred. The next generation will live and reach the destination. Hashem is a god of life. What he touches does not die. The episode of Korak teaches us there are two ways of resolving conflict. By force and by persuasion. The first negates your opponent. The second, enlist your opponent taking his his or her challenge seriously and addressing it. Force never ends conflict. Not even in the case of Moshe. Not even when the force is miraculous. There never was a more decisive intervention. The miracle that swallowed up Korak and his fellow rebels. Yet it doesn't end the conflict. It deepens it. What ends it is the quiet gentle miracle that shows that Aaron is the true emissary of the god of life. Not by accident is the verse that calls the Torah a tree of life preceded by the words. Its ways are ways of pleasantness. Shalom and all its paths are peaceful. This is the preferred form of conflict resolution in Judaism not by force but by pleasantness and peace. And we'll end with that with our hope that Israel showed force and militarily defeated and obliterated Iran and its other enemies. But the real peace is not the military force. It's when the blossom. And so hopefully there'll be a blossoming of the Abraham Accords. Maybe now with Iran neutralized, Saudi Arabia and others will join the Abraham Accords. One is to militarily obliterate. But the real miracle is the sprouting and blossoming of peace in a meaningful and a permanent hopeful way. Wishing everyone a good week and a day. We should hear besos Yeshuos.