Who's Right?- Parshat Shelach and Korach 2019 / 5779

Insights and Inspiration

from the

Holy Land
from

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

"Your friend in Karmiel"

June 18^th 2019 -Volume 9 Issue 38-25^th of Sivan 5779

Parshat Shelach/ Korach

Who’s Right?

 One of the hard things about being too smart, not that I would know, of course., is that you form opinions. Generally, they are pretty strong opinions. After-all you’re a smart guy. You’re thought out. It is almost incomprehensible that someone else’s opinion could have any really validity. What makes it even harder is that if your job is to teach a particular subject, or discuss a particular area repeatedly. If people are asking you your “take” regularly on a certain issue, then you become even more entrenched in your thinking. It’s not easy to step back and see the fallacy of your idea, premise, solution or perspective. You have kind of dug yourself a hole and now you gotta live in it.

Take for example…ummmm I dunno… let’s say a tour guide. People ask you all the time, what your opinion is on the two state solution, the prospects for peace, the fights between the different religious segments, what you might think about the upcoming elections, the government, or whether Jews should move to Israel or not. Those are the easy things to form and share your opinions on. Than you have the subtler things about the country. Archaeologists and the legitimacy of their findings, whether the country is investing enough in the infrastructure and roads, the price of gas and cars vs the price of tuition and health insurance and of course if good shwarma and falafel outweighs a decent pastrami sandwich on club or not. Tour guides are asked these questions every day and we become more and more authoritative in our opinions. We’re the experts right?

Now I generally try to play the devil’s advocate and take the opposite side of whatever I think my tourists will say. I do not discriminate. I’m an equal opportunity offender. If they are liberal I will challenge them with some right wing views, if they are right wing I play the dove. If they are anti-zionists then I try to inspire them with some great soldier stories and the spiritual benefits of the country and even the merits the governments that formed it may have. On the other hand if they are very zionisty than I’ll go the other way and try to show them some of the hypocrisy in that system. Atheists will get challenged with God, Religiousists will be challenged with heresy- just joking, but certainly will be challenged in what some of their pre-conceived “sacred cows” might be. And if they are vegetarians of course they should just find another tour guide…We’re doing cow J I never challenge the carnivores though.

The idea behind this excersise is really two-fold. One, you’re in the land of Israel. It’s time to rethink things. You can understand things different. You’re outside of the system you were raised in for the past _________ years of your life. Let’s examine, challenge and perhaps maybe even appreciate a different point of view. Secondly, and perhaps even more importantly it exposes me to new views. New arguments and ideas. Maybe it will get me to reexamine some of my firmly entrenched opinions I have been spouting. Maybe I will understand why I am wrong.

Now someone who has this type of personality can get into trouble. Especially if they aren’t blessed with a nice smile and hearty slap on the back laugh that makes people forget that you challenged the most fundamental principles of their life moments before. For me the trouble started at a young age- before I perfected the smile and laugh- and got me in hot water more times than I can count. But the real trouble isn’t just getting “moved” yeshivas or sitting in the principal’s office. When I say real trouble I mean real spiritual trouble.

See, because as a Rabbi who believes in the Torah and having read and studied it many times, there is one thing I learned. And that is that the elders and more learned Rabbis and spiritual leaders of our nation are given special divine guidance on how best to lead the people. I don’t mean that Hashem talks to them. He doesn’t. We don’t have prophets any more. But he acts through them. They are charged with the spiritual responsibility of the people, and with that job, and the decades of non-stop Torah study and tradition from their own Rabbis and masters whose torch they are carrying, they are granted that loving hand of Hashem that pushes their decision in the way that He wants it go. In the way that it is best for our people.

So I believe this fundamentally. The problem is what happens when I think they are wrong? Now some people can quickly just blindly close their eyes and agree. Perhaps many of them never had an opinion in the first place. But what if you do have an opinion. What if all you have are opinions. Strong ones. And then you hear somebody else who you know is “right” say things that just make no sense to you. The path they are suggesting is destructive. It’s missing the boat. It’s focusing on the trees and missing the forest. Has that ever happened to you? It has to me many times. I know they are right and I am wrong. The Torah even tells us that there is a mitzva to follow what our sages tell you if “right is left and left is right”. Now a lot of people might try to convince themselves that if the Rabbi says left is right than it must be. But somehow I can’t get over that nagging feeling that it still looks kind of left to me.

But that’s the beauty of the Torah though. The world is not run based on our understanding. It’s run by Hashem. If I’m an observant Jew than I follow their lead, because ultimately the God that I believe in and that created me and that knows what’s best for me commanded me to do so. It’s a simple as that. At least in theory…

But it seems that I’m not the only one with this problem, the two parshiyos of Shelach and Korach are replete with this issue. Do the people know better? Do even great Rabbis and leaders know better. What makes more sense. I shudder to think what side I would’ve been on had I been there. What side do you think you would have been on? Let’s play the Rabbi Schwartz devil’s advocate game.

So Moshe sends out spies. He thinks it’s a good idea. Their job? Check out the land and report back. Frankly the land looks pretty scary. Giants, dying people, and to be honest lots of bad influences. Immorality, licentiousness and that old Jewish sweet tooth “idolatry”. Uh Oh. Now let’s say you’re a Rabbi, a leader, your entire yeshiva is studying hard like nobody’s business. They are in the class of Moshe Rabbeinu. The only food they eat is spiritual Manna and everyone is getting it at their own doorstep because nobody wants to be humiliated by having to shlep out to the field and getting it- which is what happens if they sinned. So everyone is behaving and as they say in yeshiva ling shteiging away! Are you gonna come back and recommend they leave yeshiva put on army uniforms and move to a place where they will have to plant, grow, farm, get involved in business?

You’re the Jewish people. You love learning. You love shiur, you feel closer to Hashem each day. Now Your Rosh Yeshiva Moshe and Yehoshua and Calev are telling you that you have to leave and go fight, and get dirty. But you like your shtender in Kollel. You heard about all the terrible influences over there. Some of them even have smartphones. All the other Rabbis are saying you”ll never be successful there. Not physically and not spiritually. You’re just not ready for it yet. So whose side are you on?

You’re the children of these Jews and spies. You just heard the bad news that basically you will die here in the wilderness. You will never see Israel. 40 years of shlepping around in a desert. And for what? To die and no one will ever know you were buried. Sure Hashem told us we can’t go. But as Rebbi Tzadok of Lublin explains the sin of the ma’aapilim- those that went up after Moshe told them they can’t- the law is

 kol ma she’omar lecha haba’al habayis asei- chutz mei’tzei- One is obligated to listen to everything your “host” tells you except when he tells you to leave.

Hashem Himself told us that we should not listen when he tells us he doesn’t want us anymore. Maybe it’s just a test. Sure Moshe, is telling us not to but maybe that’s part of the test. We will give our lives for the mitzva to live in the land. It is like the akeydas Yitzchak- the binding of Yitzchak, where we are meant to feel we are giving up our lives. {In fact I saw it pointed out that it the reason they got up early in the morning like the morning of the akeyda. They start out saying hinneinu- we are ready, just like Avraham did. And the concept like the akeyda is in fact going up olah- like Yitzchak. Moshe is like the angel telling them not to go, but they are ignoring him until Hashem will tell them- pretty cool! No?} So are you grabbing your sword and the call of these brave heroes to make aliya?

Finally, we come to this week, Korach and 250 of the head of Sanhedrin. These were not simple people. They were the ones that took blows for us back in Egypt. In the words of the Torah they were kriyei ha’eida- the men of renown. They were the ones that answered all of their shaylos,questions and personal issues. Sure Moshe and Aharon are the leaders and great ones. The greatest ones. But didn’t Hashem say on Mt. Sinai we are all holy. We are a nation of Kohanim. Isn’t the ultimate plan for all of us to be connected directly to Hashem. Doesn’t each Jew have something that no one else can provide. We don’t need any intermediaries. The truth is some of the commentaries note that they were right. Ultimately in the times of Mashiach the entire world will be connected to Hashem the service will no longer be in the hand of the Kohanim rather each family will have its first born representing them. They were right logically.

And then Korach loses. He gets swallowed up, as do all the 250 greatest men of that time. There is no more competition for Moshe. But…they were our Rebbeim, they taught us everything. They took blows for us. They were gedolim. Moshe, did you really have to have them swallowed up? Couldn’t you find a more peaceful solution? They were good people that got it wrong. Hey, we also thought they might be right. Is that a reason to ask Hashem to swallow them and their poor little baby children into the ground? 14,700 people dead later in a plague proved that they (we?) were wrong about that as well.

Pretty scary isn’t it? Can you imagine which side you would be on? One of the great Rebbes of Satmar (I believe it was the yitav lev) once said that he remembers that he was there in his previous incarnation and he was on the fence on who to follow. And if you think you wouldn’t have been than you don’t really understand who Korach was. He was the grandfather of Shmuel. He saw with prophecy that his descendant will ultimately anoint King David and begin the pathway to Mashiach. He was someone that had the ability to get the majority of the Jewish leaders- the Moetzes Gedolei Hatorah behind him. But he was wrong. We were wrong. We are wrong a lot.

Perhaps that’s the most important message to take from these parshiyot that we read each year about the lessons that we need to enter the land of Israel. Perhaps it’s important to not necessarily be that entrenched in our opinion. We see many great leaders fight and argue throughout the millennia. Many times really nasty bitter fights. Each side believes the other side are heretics and taking us down to the abyss. Many times we identify and understand and relate to one opinion over the other. We are closer to one idea more than the next and we may even thing the opposite view is just bad business. A Chilul Hashem. Maybe we should remember the words of the wife of Ohn ben Peles who was originally on Team Korach but then didn’t show up for the finals, who asked him one simple question. “What do you stand to gain?”. Why get involved? Why be wrong? Why end up in a hole...

Yes, it’s true there are times that we have to take a stand. When you have to join a team. When you have to vote for a party. But in those cases, it’s an incredible exercise to not do so because you feel it is your opinion that is best being expressed. You’re a lot safer if you’re relying on someone greater than you. You’re following da’as Torah- the ones that have that extra spiritual gifted insight. That doesn’t mean you have to give up your opinion. It’s called nullifying your will before His. It’s Judaism 101. We are meant to have a will. We are meant to question, challenge, and play devil’s advocate and try to see all sides of an argument. Torah and Talmud study is all about that. But at the end of the day, we are all mere pawns in the hands of Hashem. He’s the one that’s leading our tour. And it is his path-the path to redemption that will finally bring us all to the promised land.

Have a smashing Shabbos and a blessed Rosh Chodesh Shvat,

Rabbi Ephraim Schwartz

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RABBI SCHWARTZ’S FAVORITE YIDDISH PROVERB OF THE WEEK

“Az men chazert tsu fil iber vi gerecht men iz, vert men umgerecht.”- If you repeat too many times how right you are, you’ll find that you’re wrong

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S COOL VIDEO  OF THE WEEK

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBw5ZQ0SRY4  – Baruch Levine on the shoulders of Giants new song Torah Umesora

https://youtu.be/Gdf1XUIcr6c   – My colleague Rabbi Mike Stern O”BM who died tragically this week. An inspiring class he gave- the Rabbi without Walls. All heart!

https://youtu.be/ouYVNnsJeXk  –On the topic of sinkholes and Korach check out the Dissappearing Dead Sea and the sinkholes that it is eating it up.

https://youtu.be/B3z1AWRJGtY   - Shlomo Katz Berdithcever niggun and Korach!

https://youtu.be/K1wlv9kuOzM - In honor of Rivka and Elka Schwartzes Birthday! Composed by Avrum Mordche Schwartz – (not my father- but the name is pretty close J)

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S TOUR GUIDE EXAM QUESTION OF THE WEEK

answer below at end of Email

Q  A Philistine burial site was recently discovered in:

A. Gaza

B. Gat

C. Revadim

D. Ashkelon

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S “LOMDUS” CONNECTION OF THE WEEK

Parshat Korach– Our sages tell us that we should watch out for the words of our Rabbis because they’re words are sharp and like fire can burn. Lamdanim particualarly are so. If they want to give a good line, it’s not just a simple little sthoch-or wise crack. There will be an insight, a torah thought and then they will take that idea and use it for the line and message they want to give.

Take this week’s Torah portion for example. We are told the mitzva of the Kohanim and Levi’im working in the Temple their job is meant to be one of Avodas matana- work that is a gift. It seems a strange contradiction. If they are workers then its not a gift. It’s their job. On the other hand if it is a job than its really not a gift. Fascinatingly enough we find the same term in the opposite sense. Hashem tells the Jewish people that they should provide “gifts” for the Kohanim. Parts of their animals, the tithes, the first born etc… But again this is refered to as the terumas matana- the tithe of a gift. Is it a tithe or a gift. Is it voluntary or not?

This was a question Rabbi Mordechai Banet asked when he came to speak in a synagogue. Before he spoke the Gabbai came over to him and gave him an “envelope” of money for his speaking honorarium. The Rebbi turned to the Gabbai and paraphrased our sages insight into the words of Hashem-

“ma ani b’chinam gam atem b’chinam”- just as I am free so too should you be free”

However, when the Gabbai took the envelope and turned to take it back for the congregation. The Rabbi stopped him and told him he shouldn’t give it back to them so quick- for “just as I am for free- so to should the people feel they are giving it to me for free- not as a speaking fee…

And thus he explained the verse and insight into the Torah’s description of the gifts above. The Kohen should look at his service in the Temple not as a job, but rather as a gift. He is privileged to serve Hashem’s holy people. It is certainly his job, but he should always view it as gift that he is offering to them. Similarly, the Jewish people when they are giving their tithes and first-borns and steaks to the Kohen that they are obligated to give. It should never be viewed as a burden, or a tax. Rather it is a gift. It is something that is given with love and privilege. They have the merit to provide for the Kohanim.

I don’t know if he walked away with the money or not. But one thing is certain. They certainly were granted a gift with this beautiful insight.

RABBI SCHWARTZ'S ERA’S AND THEIR PLACES AND PEOPLE IN ISRAEL OF THE WEEK

Division of the Land –Cities of Levi and Refugee Cities 1265 BC – We have reached the end of the Book of Yehoshua and with that the final division of Israel. All the tribes got their biblical potions, the tabernacle had been set up in Shilo and the tribe of Levi now approached and asked for their cities. The tribe of Levi dedicated to working in the Temple and teaching the Jewish people would not have a portion in the land. The land was meant to work, plant, gorw and make flourish. That wasn’t their job. They were too busy worrying about making the Jews grow and flourish spiritually. Yet they were promised cities to live in amongst the people. Different tribes would dedicate cities for their living. The large tribes with lots of land gave more, the small tribes with smaller portions less. Yehuda for example gave them 8 cities., Naftali up in the north 3, Shimon in the Negev only 1.

In addition to the Levi cities there was one more group that needed cities; the refugees. See, Donald, the Torah as well was worried about refugee Jews. Not just refugees though, rather they were people that had killed someone unintentionally. Perhaps a bit negligent, they should’ve paid more attention. They were not liable for the death penalty but they were forced to flee to these “safe cities” from where the family of the deceased would be unable to avenge themselves against them. They would remain there until the Kohen Gaol died. They were permitted to go to all of the cities of the Levites, where they would be protected, but there they had to pay rent.  I guess it would be a good influence on them to be with the Levi’im and get that added spiritual counselling they would need after causing such a tragedy. However, there were 6 cities that were just refugee cities that was free for those that needed a place to flee to. 3 of the cities were on the other side of the Jordan River, in the areas of the tribes of Reuvein, Gad and half of Menashe, and three were in the rest of Israel. I guess more accidents happened over there.

Many of those cities are still around today. The Golan was a city of refuge and is still part of Israel today. Ramot Gilead is a village in Israel but it is named after the city of refuge that is in Jordan today, which they are illegally occupying as the other side of Jordan was the biblical portion of the tribe of Reuvein and Gad. In Israel the 3 cities were Kedesh which in the finger of Galile today as well as Shechem and Chevron. There are certainly lots of “non- intentional” killers that are finding refuge in those last two cities from our “cousins” till today.

Of the 48 cities of the Levi that are still familiar names today from north to South are Chammat- which part of Tiverya today but was the Chamei Tiverya. Kisalot, Tavor, Yokne’am by Mt. Carmel. In the center there is Beit Shemesh, Yutah,Givon, Anatot, and Beit Horon, and in the Chevron area there are Yatir- great winery and Kiryat Arba.

Am I the only one that finds it inspiring to learn and read about all these biblical cities that are now flourishing cities in Israel. To read and see the same names of places in our 3000 year old Tanach and then see the same places on the maps of Israel once again being populated by the children of Israel. If I am. Then don’t worry we’re starting the book of Shoftim soon and we’ll get back to the story narratives of Tanach and where they took place. But I hope you have found the past few weeks description of all the tribes as inspiring as I have.

RABBI SCHWARTZ’S  EMPLOYEE JOKES OF THE WEEK

Berel walks into his boss and  asks him “Excuse me sir, may I talk to you?”

Boss: Sure, come on in. What can I do for you?

Berel: Well sir, as you know, I have been an employee of this prestigious Firm for over ten years.

Boss: Yes.

Berel: I won't beat around the bush. Sir, I would like a raise. I currently have four companies after me and so I decided to talk to you first.

Boss: A raise? I would love to give you a raise, but this is just not the right time.

Berel: I understand your position, and I know that the current economic down turn has had a negative impact on sales, but you must also take into consideration my hard work, pro- activeness and loyalty to this company for over a decade.

Boss: Taking into account these factors, and considering I don't want to start a brain drain, I'm willing to offer you a ten percent raise and an extra five days of vacation time. How does that sound?

Berel: Great! It's a deal! Thank you, sir!

Boss: Before you go, just out of curiosity, what companies were after you?

Berel answered on his way out “Oh, the Electric Company, Gas Company, Water Company And the Mortgage Company!”

Berel comes in for a job performance assessment. His boss begins the questions
Boss: There are 50 bricks on an aeroplane. If you drop 1 outside. How many are left?
Berel That's easy, 49.
Boss: What are the three steps to put an elephant into a fridge?
Employee: Open the fridge. Put the elephant in. Close the fridge.
Boss: What are the four steps to put a deer into the fridge?
Employee: Open the fridge. Take the elephant out. Put the deer in. Close the fridge.
Boss: It's lion's birthday, all animals are there except one, why?
Employee: Because the deer is in the fridge.
Boss: How does an old woman cross a swamp filled with crocodiles?
Employee: She just crosses it because the crocodiles are at the lion's birthday.
Boss: Last question. In the end the old lady still died. Why?
Employee: Ere.... I guess she drowned.... errr...
Boss: No! She was hit by the brick fallen from the aeroplane. Thats the problem, you are not focused on your job.... You may leave now!
Moral: No matter how much you know or how much you are prepared. If your Boss has decided to fire you don’t stand a chance
Employer to applicant: "In this job we need someone who is responsible."
Applicant: "I'm the one you want. On my last job, every time anything went wrong, they said I was responsible."

Yankel walked into a New York City bank and asked for the loan officer. He said he was going to Europe on business for two weeks and needed to borrow $5,000. The loan officer said the bank would need some security for such a loan.

Yankel then handed over the keys to a Rolls Royce that was parked on the street in front of the bank. Everything checked out and the loan officer accepted the car as collateral for the loan. An employee then drove the Rolls into the bank's underground garage and parked it there.

Two weeks later the Yankel returned, repaid the $5,000 and the interest which came to $15.41.
The loan officer said, "We do appreciate your business and this transaction has worked out very nicely, but we are a bit puzzled. While you were away we checked and found that you are a multimillionaire. What puzzles us is why you would bother to borrow $5,000?"
Yankel  replied: "Where else in New York City can I park my car for two weeks for fifteen bucks?"

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Answer is D–  So this discovery was actually found in 2016. A few years since I took my course, so I didn’t learn it there. To be honest I’ve never toured any of those places, so as well I haven’t seen this cemetery. Most of my clients are not turned on by philistine history or artifacts. I do remember reading about the find of the cemetery as I try to keep apprised of new finds and developments. But it was a fairly easy deduction and guess. It wasn’t Gaza because despite the fact that it was where the philistines lived, but the only digging going on there is tunnels sadly. Gat and Revadim don’t have any archeological sites I know of. Ashkelon on the other hand does, as well the government would like to open it up to more tourism so they invested in finding stuff. So I went in Ashkelon and that is the right answer. So the score is Schwartz 27 and 6 for MOT (Ministry of Tourism) on this exam so far.