Parshah Summary – P’sha
A Levite named Korach, together with Dathan, Abiram and 250 rebels, incites a mutiny against Moses, challenging his leadership and his granting of the kehunah (priesthood) to Aaron and his sons. Moses instructs the rebels to offer special incense in the morning, and that Hashem will make the truth known. The next day, the rebels offer incense in their fire pans. The earth opens up and swallows their tents and families, and a fire consumes those with the incense. The people rise up and complain bitterly about the deaths of the rebels, and a plague then begins to move through the entire community. Aaron stops the plague by offering his own incense. Moses instructs a chief from each tribe to bring their staves, and Aaron’s staff miraculously blossoms and brings forth almonds, showing that he is the chosen one for the kahuna. Finally, Hashem instructs the Children of Israel in a number of offerings which they are to bring from each crop of grain, wine and oil, as well as all firstborn sheep, cattle, and other specified gifts, to the kohanim (priests). Among the offerings, the “Covenant of Salt” is mentioned, which is the origin of dipping the Challah in salt at the Shabbat table today.
Torah of Awakening | Jewish Meditation Teaching
וַיִּֽקָּהֲל֞וּ עַל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְעַֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן וַיֹּאמְר֣וּ אֲלֵהֶם֮ רַב־לָכֶם֒ כִּ֤י כָל־הָֽעֵדָה֙ כֻּלָּ֣ם קְדֹשִׁ֔ים וּבְתוֹכָ֖ם יְי וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְיְ׃ וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיִּפֹּ֖ל עַל־פָּנָֽיו׃ And they gathered against Moses and Aaron and said to them. “You make much of yourselves! For all the community – all of them are holy, and the Divine is among them all! Why do you exalt yourselves above the community of Hashem?” When Moses heard this, he fell on his face. -BaMidbar (Numbers) 16:3, Parshat Korakh
An opponent of the Hassidic movement once came to the Alter Rebbe – Rabbi Sheur Zalman – to attack him with accusations of pride: “You claim to be a holy man – a leader of hasidim – but look how you sit alone in your study, separate from the people – and with an attendant at your door, shielding you and only admitting them one by one according to your command – how fancy of you! Isn’t that arrogance? Who do you think you are?”
The tzaddik put down his head, resting it in his arms, as one does during the penitential Takhanun prayer. After a few minutes, he lifted his head and spoke: “The expression the Torah uses for ‘leaders of the people’ is רָאשֵׁ֖י אַלְפֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל – heads of the thousands of Israel (Bamidbar [Numbers] 1:16), from which we learn that our leaders are known as ‘heads.’ Now it is true, the head and the body are joined together, and neither can exist without the other. Nevertheless, they are clothed separately and differently. Why is this? Because the head must be distinct from the body, just as the ‘heads’ of any generation must be distinct from the people.” The questioner was impressed with the answer and went on his way. But the Rebbe’s little son (who would eventually be known as Reb Dov Bear of Lubavitch), had a different question for his father. “Abba, in order to give that answer, there was no need to rest your head in your arms. Why didn’t you give him the answer immediately?” The Alter Rebbe replied, “In Parshat Korakh, when Korakh and his followers incited mutiny against Moses and Aaron and accused them of abusing their power as leaders, we read that Korakh accused Moses with these words: וּמַדּ֥וּעַ תִּֽתְנַשְּׂא֖וּ עַל־קְהַ֥ל יְיְ – Why do you exalt yourselves above the community of Hashem?’ Then we read, וַיִּשְׁמַ֣ע מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַיִּפֹּ֖ל עַל־פָּנָֽיו – Moses heard, and fell on his face.’ “Only after he fell on his face did Moses give his answer to Korakh. The same question could be asked there; why did Moses have to fall on his face first, before answering? But Moses suspected that perhaps there was some truth to the accusation; perhaps there was a bit of ego involved in his leadership, so he had to go inside himself and search inwardly to see if there was any truth there. After searching within, he was able to see that the accusation was false, as the Torah itself says: וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה עָנָ֣ו מְאֹ֑ד מִכֹּל֙ הָֽאָדָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־פְּנֵ֥י הָאֲדָמָֽה. Moses was exceedingly humble, more than anyone on the face of the earth. - Bamidbar [Numbers] 12:3 “Only then was he was able to respond to the accusation with clarity. A similar thing happened with me here today.” The Alter Rebbe’s description of the head in relation to the body – essentially connected, yet also separate – is not just a metaphor for a leader in relation to the people, but also for consciousness in relation to the mind. Just as the attendant shields the rebbe from his clamoring disciples, admitting them one by one according to the wishes of the rebbe, so too we need to be the “attendants” of our own minds, admitting our thoughts one by one, as they need to be dealt with. In this way, our consciousness can be free and not be besieged by our thoughts. But when you practice attending to your own mind, it sometimes happens that the mind rebels, like Korakh: “What makes you so great that you get to call all the shots? All of us thoughts are holy too!” Thoughts will come with incredible urgency, accusing you of being negligent, of being disconnected, of being arrogant, whatever. And even though Moshe Rabbeinu and the Alter Rebbe may find no trace of ego within themselves, most people will find at least a little. For many, cleansing oneself inwardly from ego is a daily task. That’s why there is the practice referred to in the story of Nefilat Apayim – “Falling on the Face” – that happens in the weekday Takhanun prayer. The practice is to lower the head and rest it on the arm in a gesture of humility and introspection, while looking inside oneself, admitting one’s faults and prayerfully asking for forgiveness. But whether you use the traditional words or not, you can take some moments in your day for introspection – for discovering any faults, misdeeds or arrogance. Express regret prayerfully, and let your heart be cracked open so that the arrogance can be released. In fact, the Alter Rebbe himself recommended doing this for short periods of self-reflection and purification. But, he emphasizes that this practice should be brief, after which you return to a positive state of joy and gratitude. But to do this, you first need to have sovereignty over your own mind, so that your self-reflection does its job and then subsides, without turning into obsessive rumination: לַכֹּ֖ל זְמָ֑ן וְעֵ֥ת לְכׇל־חֵ֖פֶץ תַּ֥חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ For everything there is a season, a time for all things under the heavens… עֵ֤ת לִבְכּוֹת֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂח֔וֹק עֵ֥ת סְפ֖וֹד וְעֵ֥ת רְקֽוֹד׃ A time for weeping and a time for laughing; A time for wailing and a time for dancing... - Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) 3:1,4 The process by which we gain sovereignty over our minds, of course, is meditation. Through meditation, not only can we gain clarity to perceive within ourselves when it is a “time for weeping” and when it is a “time for laughing,” but to the degree we are able to relax our compulsive thinking, the innate intelligence within our consciousness can naturally guide us into the appropriate חֵ֖פֶץ hefetz, the appropriate experience, for this זְמָ֑ן zman, this moment. Interestingly, the dual qualities of humility, on one hand, and gratitude on the other, are both inherent in the sefirah of Hod, whose root can mean both surrender and giving thanks. May these dual qualities of Hod be alive and available to us, each in the right season, at the right time.
Read past teachings on Korakh HERE
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