Adas Israel - Mason City, IA

Korach - Being 100% Right

It happens too many times.  In religion, in business, in politics somebody "thinks" they are  100% right...or do they?  In this week's Torah Portion we read about Moses being 100% right and sticking with it.

Leading up to this dramatic event we've been witness to all the grumbling going on by the Children of Israel.  The Jews grumbled about not having food, even though they had manna.  They grumbled about a lack of water, even though G-d provided each and every time.  They even grumbled about not having a leader, when Moses was absent.  So they created a golden calf.  And then, in last week's parsha the ultimate slap against Hashem.  On the very border the people demand to send spies into Canaan to double check G-d.  Their reward...wandering the wilderness.

Now we come to this.  Korach rebells and takes hundreds with him.  Understand Korach isn't just the "rabble".  He is a learned man.  A man of stature of respect.  He comes from a good family.  But he was also jealous.  When Aaron became the Kohen Gadol the rage in Korah mounted and on this day he stands with 250 other well respected leaders and demands Moses to "share power".   He starts out being "reasonable", "This is too much for you..." and ends with Moses falling on his face in prayer and despair.

In the end G-d makes the punishment very public and very amazing.  The earth opens and swallows Korach and his followers and seals back again.

So, was Moses 100% correct?  The answer is...yes.  The lesson here is that IF we listen to what G-d tells us to do.  If we listen to the truth, not our interpretation of the truth, but what Torah tells us is truth we can be 100% correct. But, that means paying very close attention and being able to discern the difference between what G-d says...and what we 'think' He says..

Have a wonderful Shabbos!

 

A Gift For You - Shavout

Starting tonight at sundown Jews will begin the festival of Shavout, a two day holiday  outside of Israel.  Shavout means "weeks" and it's been seven complete weeks since Passover. On this day, more than 3,300 years ago, G-d gave the Torah to the Jewish People at Sinai.

We Received a Gift...Now What?

It's interesting that when the Torah was given, the people at Sinai said, "All that G-d has spoken we will do and we will hear."  (Na'aseh V'nishma), It would seem that the people said they would do the commandments without knowing what was being expected of them.  Think of it, would you "do" something before knowing how it might affect your life?   We are told that when G-d the gift was given it was a major event for those who were there.  Perhaps they thought, "We better do this stuff...or else."  Or they were actually moved to become the "Children of G-d" because they knew it was right.

But What About This Story?

In the Talmud we are told this interesting story, it's almost as well known as the quote above:

They stood at the foot of the mountain (Exodus 19:17) R'Avdimi bar Chama bar Chasa said, "This teaches us that the Holy One, blessed is He, covered them with the mountain as though it were an upturned vat and He said to them: 'If you accept the Torah, well and good. But if not your burial will be right here!'" Rav Acha bar Yakov said, "From here stem strong grounds for a complaint of coercion regarding the acceptance of the Torah." (Talmud, Shabos 88a)

How can this be?  On one hand we say,"Sure!" yet in this story we are told we were forced.  It might be explained in this way: 

Free will....

G-d knows us better than we know ourselves.  Might it be that we were so "caught up" in the moment that we would have accepted nearly anything?  Or might it be that the story of the mountain is like life?  If we do not find a way to incorporate Torah into our daily life our existence is...in question.

Sure, 99% of the world does just fine without incorporating Torah into their daily lives and they go on...but....they are not...us.  Remember, we've been "commanded" some 618 times. 

Like any gift the excitement and the pleasure of the present can be fleeting.  But, when we tie our existence, in a spiritual sense, to that gift...it becomes something that we can truly live with, grow in and enjoy...even if a mountain is hanging over our heads.

Have a wonderful Shavout!