SPEAK TO THE CHILDREN AND TAKE

FROM THEM A STAFF FOR EACH FATHER'S HOUSE FROM ALL THE CHIEFTAINS ACCORDING TO

THEIR FATHERS' HOUSES… INSCRIBE AARON'S NAME ON THE STAFF OF LEVI, FOR THERE

IS [ONLY] ONE STAFF FOR THE HEAD OF THEIR FATHERS' HOUSE… THE STAFF OF THE

MAN WHOM I WILL CHOOSE WILL BLOSSOM… AND ON THE FOLLOWING DAY MOSES CAME TO

THE TENT OF TESTIMONY, AND BEHOLD, AARON'S STAFF FOR THE

HOUSE OF LEVI HAD BLOSSOMED! IT GAVE FORTH BLOSSOMS, SPROUTED BUDS, AND

PRODUCED RIPE ALMONDS.

(Bamidbar 17)

And Aaron's

staff. Some say that it was the staff that had been

in the hand of Judah, in regard to which it says, And

your staff that is in your hand (Bereishit 38:18). Others say that it was the staff that had

been in the hand of Moses. It blossomed of its own accord; as it says, and

behold, Aaron's staff… had blossomed. Others again say that Moses

took a beam and, cutting it into twelve planks, said to the princes: "Take

your sticks every one of you from the same beam." Why did he do this?

Because it is an honor for a man to keep aloof from strife; but every fool

will be snarling (Proverbs 20:3). He did

it in order that they should not say that Aaron's staff was fresh and that this

was the reason why it blossomed.

(Bamidbar Rabbah

18:23, following the Soncino translation)

R. Aha bar Ze'era

said: At this also my heart trembles and leaps from its place (Job 37:1). What is the meaning of and leaps? "Jumps," as it is said, with which to jump upon the

earth (Vayikra 11:21). Moreover, we translate it as "to jump" (in the Targum

Onkelos of Vayikra 11:21). When Titus the Wicked entered the Holy of

Holies and sawed open the curtains, he entered in peace and came out in peace;

but the sons of Aaron entered to offer sacrifice and came out destroyed by

fire, as it is stated, when they offered sacrifice before the Lord.

(Tanhuma Aharei Mot

4, based upon Townsend translation)

Many say – even today – that if God would now show us

manifest miracles a spirit of repentance and true fear of God would fall upon

us all, "and they all shall form one band to do Your will full-heartedly,"

but since we have no manifest miracles and do not see His wonders with our own

eyes those of little faith have grown numerous and truth has become scarce…

…this is not the truth of the matter. Miracles can only

serve as proof for he who sees them and is prepared to see them. Lack of faith

is simply lack of will.

(Nehama Leibowitz, Iyunim be'Sefer Bamidbar, pg. 242)

In

Praise of Disagreement

Nahem

Ilan

Most of parashat Korah deals primarily with the controversy in which Korah and his followers stood against Moses and Aaron and

with the consequences of that controversy. Korah, Dotan and Aviram came out against

the concentration of leadership and the priesthood in the hands of Moses and

Aaron. They protested what seemed to them an unjust distribution of senior

offices among the other tribes, and even among the Levites themselves.

I would like to consider two different attitudes towards the

controversy, one found in Midrash Hefetz, a medieval Yemenite midrash, and the other in Midrash

Shemuel, which was composed in the Land of Israel in the

beginning of the Renaissance period at the end of the 16^th century.

Midrash Hefetz is a midrash

upon the Torah. It was written in Hebrew and Judeo-Arabic by R. Zekhariah ben Shelomo

the Physician in Yemen in the year

1420. R. Zekhariah writes:

Woe unto Korah, for what he did to himself,

to his sons, to his property, to Moses, and to the Israelite People! He caused

himself to be burned and swallowed up, he caused his young sons and property to

be swallowed up, he caused Moses to become angry and

the People Israel to be objects of the Omnipresent's

anger. Regarding him it is said, A man's pride shall humble him (Proverbs

29:23),

for he sought greatness and controversy, for [the word] vayikah

– and he took – can only refer to cajoling people with words, for he

cajoled great men of Israel and the people

into following him.

The author of the midrash

criticizes Korah for not having confronted Moses on

his own, instead causing harm to himself, to his children, to Moses, and to the

entire people. Midrash Hefetz

presents a short and dense paraphrase of the biblical story. In a few Hebrew

sentences, R. Zekhariah the Physician translates the

Biblical Hebrew into simpler language, making it understandable to his

audience. This practice was typical of a midrash

that seems to have been based upon oral discourses that were only set down in

writing at a later stage. Succinct and simple language that manages to quickly

express both the story and its message is the strength of this work.

In the fifth chapter (mishnah 16/19) of Pirkei

Avot we read:

All controversies that are for the sake of Heaven will endure

in the end, and those not for the sake of Heaven will not endure. Which

controversy is for the sake of Heaven? That is the controversy of Shamai and Hillel. And which is

not for the sake of Heaven? That is the controversy of Korah

and his party.

What distinguishes these two controversies from each other? The

controversy of Hillel and Shamai

was pursued in order to reach the truth, while the controversy of Korah and his party was aimed at creating vexation and

promoting one of the sides. Truth itself was of negligible importance and

perhaps entirely irrelevant to the controversy.

Midrash Shemuel on Pirkei Avot was composed by R. Shemuel

di Ucedo, one of the most

important French rabbis of the second half of the 16^th century. He

wrote exegetical and philosophical works on various areas of study. Midrash Shemuel is

a kind of encyclopedia of commentaries (mostly Sephardic) on Pirkei Avot. It has been printed

often and in various places, four times in the course of the author's own life.

This demonstrates the book's success and popularity. The commentary treats

intellectual problems and was clearly intended for scholarly readers.

R. Shemuel brings a variety of

interpretations of our mishnah,

including this passage:

It is known that controversy between opposing sides in study

and scholarship causes matters to come to light and for the truth to be known

without doubt. Therefore, doubts, critical comments, and vexing questions are a

necessary precondition for achievement of the goal [i.e., knowledge of the

truth].

The Philosopher [Aristotle] himself said that doubts make

people wise. This is something worthy of being grasped by all those who seek

knowledge of the truth in any book or science. It is known that doubts can only

reach their perfection when opposing parties exist, questions and answers

bringing justice to light…for when there is no party offering opposition

through tough questions and arguments regarding the area of investigation it is

impossible for the thing to come to light and everyone can fall into error….

Sometimes questions are more important than answers; that is

the significance of the quote from Aristotle (and it is not obvious that a

gentile sage would be cited in such a work) brought by R. Shemuel.

Questions and doubts advance one towards knowledge of the truth or to the

discovery of things one would never become aware of otherwise. When controversy

arises from genuine questions and is aimed at uncovering some new fact or

insight it is a necessary condition for development and learning.

I should also point out that the explicit quotation from

Aristotle teaches us, of course, not only that R. Shemuel

knew the dictum and identified with it, but also that he had no qualms about

naming its author. He appears to have known that some potential readers of his

work would be familiar with Aristotle's name and would not find it abhorrent. Imagine

that such had been the case in Safed during the

highpoint of the Kabbalah's flourishing there – that

Aristotle could be used to clarify the words of the Mishnah!

In conclusion, Midrash Hefetz formulates the story of the controversy between Korah and his followers and Moses, as well as the

consequences of that controversy, in succinct and clear terms. In a few short

sentences it illuminates not only the story, but also its lesson. Midrash Shemuel

relates to the controversy as a general phenomenon, seeing its positive aspects

when it is motivated by the will to reach the truth. The main instruments for

reaching the truth are criticisms and questions.

A possible lesson for us is how vital the questions are which

we ask and which are posed to us. There are not always answers to all of them,

and the answers that are available are not always satisfying. Nonetheless, the

questions inspire creativity and without them we are likely to remain in error.

One of the strengths of any community is its ability to engage in controversy

and debate, and to develop thanks to the power of those controversies and

debates.

Prof.

Nahem Ilan teaches in the

MA program in Jewish Studies in the Lander Institute in Jerusalem

(founded by Touro

College)

Who is to be

Punished – the Inciters or the Incited?

They flung

you be furious?!"

It is revealed and known before you that the spirit of the

masses are easily inflamed by dazzling claims, and a person such as Korah, who is spiritually superior and who enjoys full

confidence heretofore unblemished, is able to dupe the people and lead them to

sin. When the masses sin, the guilt can usually be attributed

to a few instigators of high standing. When human beings intervene

against the transgression, as a rule it is

themselves usually go unpunished. But you are God, God of the spirits of

all flesh, because you are all powerful God, you have it in your power to

punish whoever is guilty; and since you are God of the spirits of all flesh,

you can discern in your wisdom the degree of

every man's guilt. When

one man sins – Korah alone was guilty, whereas

the incited masses are deserving of your graces. We have noted

a number of times in similar cases: when The Holy One, Blessed Be He, leads

Moses to prayer, He arouses in his heart the understanding of His ways of

supervision; He elevates his spirit, as it were, to think – along with Him –

the thoughts of divine supervision.

(Rabbi S. R. Hirsch, Bamidbar

16:22)

The Ketoret (Incense) and the Torah – Elixir of

Life or Potion of Death?

Why ketoret? Because Israel were maligning the ketoret,

saying it is a potion of death, it caused the

death of Nadav and Avihu,

and because of it 250 people were killed. The Holy One, Blessed Be He, said: "You

will see that it arrests the plague and that it is the sin which kills." (Rashi Bamidbar 17:13)

Rabbi Yehoshua ben

Levi said: What is the meaning of And this

is the Torah which Moshe set before the Children of Israel (Devarim 4)? If they are deserving, it

will be an elixir of life, but if they are not deserving, it will be a potion

of death for them. [The Hebrew for "set" is "sam".

"Sam" may be spelled in two ways; spelled with a

"sin" it means "set"; spelled with a "samech" it means a potion.]

(Yoma 72b)

Which you shall

set before them — if they are deserving it will be an

elixir of life, but if they are not deserving, it will be for them a potion of

death. The explanation for this is that this is the reason for Scripture using

the word tasim ('set') –

derived from the word sam [a "potion"]

to teach that if the judge judges justly, he will be an elixir of life, and if

not, he becomes a death potion. Similar to this is the Sages' explication of

the verse (Devarim 11) vesamtem [and you

shall set] these words – from the word sam

– and this is what they meant when they said that if one acquires words of

Torah, they become for him an elixir of life, but if he does not acquire them –

they become for him a death potion.

(Rabenu Bahayeh, Shemot 21:1)

"Hillel said: Be among Aaron's disciples, one who loves

them close to Torah."

(Avot 1:11)

Rabbi

Shimon ben Gamliel said:

Great is peace, for Aaron the Priest was praised only because of peace, — he

loved peace and pursued peace, and greeted with "Shalom" and replied "Shalom",

as is written He walked with me in peace and honesty, and this is

followed by and he held the many back from iniquity (Malachi 2). It is

taught that when he would see two men hating each other, he would go to one and

say to him: "Why do you hate so-and-so? He came to me in my home, and

prostrated himself before me and said ‘I have transgressed against so-and-so' –

go and appease him." Then he left this man and went to the other and told

him exactly what he had told the first, and thus he would establish peace and

love and friendship between man and his fellow, so he held the many back

from iniquity.

(Derekh Eretz Zutah, Perek HaShalom, Mishna 12)

"Loves peace" – how? It is taught that one should love peace between every

one in Israel, just as Aaron loved peace between everyone, as is

written: Proper rulings were in his mouth, and nothing perverse was on his

iniquity (Malachi 2). R. Meir says: What do we

learn from the verse and he held the many back from iniquity? That when Aaron walked on the road and met a wicked man, he would

greet him. The next day, if that man wanted to sin, he would say "Woe

unto me! How shall I be able afterwards to set my eyes upon Aaron? I am

embarrassed because of him because he greeted me," and so that man would

refrain from sinning.

(Avot D'Rabbi

Natan 11:8)

I Have Not

Taken the Ass of Any One of Them:

A Proper Characteristic of a Public Figure

According to the plain reading, custom was that the public

ruler would be carried on a horse, as per Kohellet (10:7): I have

seen slaves on horseback, and nobles walking… From here we see that the

proper order is the reverse; but even the servant who accompanies his master on

his travels is given a donkey. Not only did I never take one's horse [says

Moses], I never even took a donkey to ride upon. Rashi explains this according to a Midrash

of the Sages: even the donkey upon which my wife rode when we traveled from Midyan to Egypt was not

theirs. It should be noted that he could have made an even more remarkable

claim: that even the bread he ate in Egypt was not taken

from the public. [But he does not make any such claim]. From this we learn that

it cannot be rightfully expected of one who constantly engages in public

affairs that he not eat from public funds, for then he would have to set aside

some hour to make his living, which would result in his not attending to public

needs. The public prefers that even that hour be devoted to their needs and

that the leader eat at their expense. Moses, too, ate at public expense, and

only the donkey on which he brought his wife was his. In fact, the presence of

Moses' wife and children in Egypt was

unnecessary – they returned to Midyan immediately –

but she had asked him to be able to see the glory of the Exodus from Egypt (Mekhilta Yitro). This was not essential for the life of one who deals with

essentials.

(The NeTziV of Volozhin; Ha'amek Davar, Harhev Davar, Bamidbar 16:15)

It is proper, therefore, that we review and internalize that

final passage of these thoughts of the NeTziV. They

are worthy of being said to all generations – especially to this generation, in

which it is not customary to emulate the attributes of Moses our teacher.

(Y. Leibowitz, Sheva Shanim shel Sihot al Parashiyot

ha'Shavu'a, p. 694)

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