Parshas Korach - Chukas - The Tremendous Ahavas Yisroel of Moshe Rabbeinu - Rabbi Asher Parkesh

00:01 The chossid Rabbi Avraham Friedland, who is now a rosh yeshiva, tells this story. I heard it from him. He says that as a child he lived in Toronto. His father, as I understand it, was a Holocaust survivor from Poland, a simple Jew, as they say. Like many Jews who arrived after the war, they were frightened of Judaism and lived without observing Torah and mitzvos. As a child in Toronto, he attended a Jewish school. At the time, there was a chossid in Toronto named Rabbi Akiva Lipsker. From time to time, this chossid would go to the school and give the children lessons about Judaism, tell them stories from the Torah, and so on. Once, the rabbi came to speak to the children and told them stories about Moshe Rabbeinu. Then he told them they should know that the sefarim say there is a Moshe Rabbeinu in every generation. What does that mean? In every generation there is a Moshe Rabbeinu. So in our generation, too, there is

02:14 a Moshe Rabbeinu for the generation. He told them that there was a Jew, a tzaddik, who lived in Brooklyn, and that he was the Moshe Rabbeinu of our generation. Just as Moshe Rabbeinu was a faithful shepherd who thought about and cared for every Jew—as we are told that Moshe Rabbeinu went after his flock, and when one sheep ran away, he cared for it and gave it food and water—so too, today, this tzaddik, the Rebbe, cares for every Jew of the generation as Moshe Rabbeinu did. Anyone can write to him, ask him for advice, and request blessings. That was how the rabbi spoke to them about faith in tzaddikim and in the sages. Rabbi Avraham says he was a young boy then, about fourteen or fifteen, attending that school. When he heard this, he was deeply stirred: What do you mean, there is a Moshe Rabbeinu in our generation, and you can write to him and he answers? He decided he had to write a letter. He sat down and thought: What should I write? What should I ask for? Just then, something had happened:

03:53 He had tefillin that had been bought for his bar mitzvah, and apparently they had disappeared; he had lost them. He decided to write to the Rebbe about it. He wrote that he had tefillin and that they had been lost, and asked for a blessing that he would find them. He sent the letter with his request and forgot about it. A few weeks later, he saw that a letter had arrived in the mail. When he looked at it, he saw that it had come from 770, from Brooklyn, New York, from the Lubavitcher Rebbe. He felt an enormous sense of awe. In his young, childlike mind, he thought: Moshe Rabbeinu—Moshe Rabbeinu is sending me a letter! I’ve received an answer from Moshe Rabbeinu! He treated it with great reverence. He took the letter and opened it. This was what it said: The Rebbe wrote that he was sorry about what had happened, that his tefillin had disappeared. The Rebbe wanted him to know that there is a halachic requirement for the tefillin to belong to the person using them. If someone takes another person’s tefillin, there may be a question whether he fulfills the mitzvah with them. Therefore,

05:33 it would be advisable for him to relinquish his claim to them. He should tell himself that he forgives whoever may have taken the tefillin, so that the person who has and uses them can acquire them and they will be his. That would remove the halachic problem, allowing the person to fulfill the mitzvah properly. He says he was deeply impressed by this answer. He was a child who did not yet know much halacha; he had not known any of this. But it made him think. First, there was the very fact that the Lubavitcher Rebbe was a busy person, occupied with the needs of the Jewish people, with so many matters throughout the world to attend to. Yet he took the time to answer a letter from a young boy in Toronto whom he had never seen and did not know. And more than that: what did the Lubavitcher Rebbe see in the story this child told him? He immediately thought about how it might help a Jew in need. Since the tefillin were lost, someone might take them.

06:59 If he did not relinquish his claim, there could be a halachic problem when that person put on the tefillin. The Rebbe immediately thought about how to ensure that no distress would come of it. On the contrary, whoever found the tefillin would be able to fulfill the mitzvah. This made an enormous impression on him, and from then on he began coming to study Chassidus and Torah in general. He grew closer to Torah and mitzvos, later went to study in yeshiva, and became one of the great Torah scholars and chassidim. Today he is an exceptional rosh yeshiva and a great mashpia, a Jew with tremendous strength and influence for [unclear], for [unclear] Judaism, for [unclear] Torah, in Eretz Yisroel and throughout the world. And this is what we find in the parshiyos we have been studying these weeks, in the three parshiyos of recent weeks: all of them speak about the trials Moshe Rabbeinu faced. In each one, we see Moshe Rabbeinu’s extraordinary Ahavas Yisroel and his tremendous self-sacrifice for it. We’ll discuss one point from Parshas Korach and another from Parshas Chukas. When it comes to true Ahavas Yisroel—with devotion, self-sacrifice,

08:35 and a genuine, illuminating way of seeing—we see Moshe Rabbeinu’s immense Ahavas Yisroel for every individual. From it, each of us learns how true love should be, and what it means to look at a Jew with a genuine, illuminating perspective. When we look at Parshas Korach, there is an old question that the commentators also ask: How can the parsha be called Parshas Korach? Korach was a wicked man. He caused a dispute, and we are told, “Do not be like Korach and his company.” Throughout the parsha, we see how wrong his actions were, how bitter and harmful. As Rashi says, until then Moshe Rabbeinu had succeeded in averting the decrees; but when the episode of Korach occurred, it says, “They fell on their faces.” Korach’s sin was a grave sin among the Jewish people, yet the parsha is called Parshas Korach. There are a number of explanations for this. We also see that the writings of great Torah scholars, particularly the disciples of the Baal Shem Tov, say remarkable things about Korach: that he was a very great man, a holy man, and that his thoughts and concerns stemmed from lofty spiritual levels.

10:11 This is explained in several sefarim. The Alter Rebbe even explains in Torah Or—in Likkutei Torah—that Korach saw what would happen in the future, when Moshiach comes: the Levi’im will then be above the Kohanim. He wanted to bring about that future state already now, with the elevated standing of the tribe of Levi, because then the quality of gevurah will have prominence and the halacha will follow Beis Shammai. There are several other discussions of this as well. Other works of Chassidus, including Kedushas Levi, likewise say that Korach wanted [unclear]. Several sefarim speak this way about Korach’s greatness. But how do we understand things at the plain level? What is the answer? What do we see here? How can we learn something positive from Parshas Korach? How do we look at this simply, and what does it teach us about the way we look at a Jew? The Rebbe of Bobov gives a remarkable explanation. He draws our attention to something Rashi says in our parsha, when Moshe was arguing with Korach and his company, who wanted to be Kohanim—“Do you seek the kehunah too?”—and in all the discussion between them.

11:42 In the back-and-forth between Moshe Rabbeinu and Korach’s company, Rashi uses a striking expression. Moshe Rabbeinu was explaining how dangerous and bitter it was to start a dispute against Aharon HaKohen and seek the kehunah—“Is it not enough for you?” “Do you seek the kehunah too?” and all the rest. Rashi says that Moshe Rabbeinu told them, regarding what you want, [unclear], “I too want it.” I want it too. This raises an enormous question: How can Rashi write that Moshe Rabbeinu told Korach’s followers, “I too want it”? Did he want a dispute? Did he want something contrary to Hashem’s will—that they should become Kohanim Gedolim? What does it mean that Moshe Rabbeinu wanted it too: “I too want it”? What is the point here? It is remarkable, and it reveals the deeper meaning when we look with the right eye, seeing the good. When we consider the inner meaning of Korach’s story, it contains a tremendous lesson. Moshe Rabbeinu, the true shepherd of the Jewish people, who truly loved them, looked for a point of good in Korach. Korach came and started a dispute, tried to undermine Moshe Rabbeinu, and argued with him.

13:16 And he challenges Aharon the Kohen and stirs up conflict among Jews. Yet from this perspective, Moshe Rabbeinu sees something profoundly positive in Korach. What is that positive quality? Korach’s very desire to be a kohen. Korach came and argued, “For the entire congregation, all of them, are holy, and Hashem is among them,” and “Why do you raise yourselves above Hashem’s congregation?” How did Moshe Rabbeinu understand this, and how did he view the argument? He saw that there was something positive in the argument itself. What was Moshe Rabbeinu’s argument? Korach’s argument, excuse me. Korach saw that the Kohen Gadol enters the Beis Hamikdash and performs [unclear]. He reaches the highest level of closeness to Hashem, the highest level of holiness and G-dliness. So when Moshe Rabbeinu looks at Korach, he sees that Korach is saying, “For the entire congregation, all of them, are holy.” After all, every Jew truly is holy. Every Jew has holiness. As Rashi says, they all stood at Mount Sinai, and they all heard, “I am Hashem your G-d.” And at Mount Sinai, as the verse says, “You shall be to Me a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation.” Hakadosh Boruch Hu told the Jews, “You shall be to Me a kingdom of kohanim and a holy nation”—every Jew belongs to that “kingdom of kohanim.” So much so that the Baal Haturim says that every Jew is comparable to a Kohen Gadol.

14:57 And so Korach comes and argues, “For the entire congregation, all of them, are holy.” Every Jew has tremendous holiness; all the Jews received “I am Hashem your G-d” at Mount Sinai; “Hashem spoke with you face to face.” And every Jew was told, “You shall be to Me a kingdom of kohanim.” If so, every Jew can attain the level of a Kohen Gadol. True, there is only one Kohen Gadol, and that was Aharon the Kohen, but perhaps Hakadosh Boruch Hu could permit there to be more kohanim. There is no need to take away Aharon the Kohen’s position, but perhaps other Jews could join him; after all, every Jew has a connection to this holiness. Why shouldn’t other Jews be permitted to become kohanim? Moshe Rabbeinu says to Korach, “I, too, want that.” Your desire, the desire itself, is positive: for a Jew to want to be a Kohen Gadol, to want to reach a level of closeness to Hashem and the Holy of Holies, and to want to reach the highest level of holiness. The idea itself is wonderful, a positive call. Even the Rambam himself says in the laws of Shemitah and Yovel: “Not only the tribe of Levi, but any individual whose spirit moves him.” When a person wants to dedicate himself as holy of holies, he can be like the tribe of Levi in holiness and in service.

16:28 He becomes sanctified as holy of holies, and the Rambam cites the verse, “I am your portion and your inheritance.” A Jew becomes Hashem’s “portion and inheritance,” like the Levites and the kohanim. That is what Rashi emphasizes when he says, “I, too, want that.” The desire itself is a good thing. Korach’s mistake was that he took this desire and turned it into a position, and wanted in practice to challenge Moshe Rabbeinu. The desire should be there; the action should not, because we need to obey Moshe Rabbeinu and know what we may and may not do, how we should do it and what we should do. But the desire itself is positive. And from Parshas Korach we learn a wonderful lesson about how a Jew should look at another Jew. Even if you see a Jew who seems to you like Korach, a Jew who appears to be stirring up conflict, and you see him behaving improperly—if you look closely and see who he is inside, you must see his true self: the “I, too, want that.” You must uncover and draw out the hidden good within him, and in that way you can transform him. And that is what

17:51 we see later in the parsha: even after Moshe Rabbeinu saw that this was not only a desire for holiness, the idea of “wanting that,” but also a force of conflict, strife and jealousy, he nevertheless turned to Hakadosh Boruch Hu. As Rashi says later, on a subsequent verse, Moshe Rabbeinu said: If someone has sinned, there is no need to drown the entire country—as Rashi illustrates with a parable about a king. If a country has rebelled against its king, the king may not know who led the rebellion and who was merely drawn into it. But You, Moshe Rabbeinu argued before Hakadosh Boruch Hu, know who led the conflict and who was not truly part of it, and a favorable case should be made for them. Here we see the tremendous greatness in the way Moshe Rabbeinu looks at Jews. Even when he sees conflict, and people intent on stirring up conflict and jealousy and so on, he nevertheless makes a favorable case for them, prays for

19:11 those people, and tries to minimize as much as possible the number who will be harmed, so that in the end only a few individuals remain and a favorable case can be made for everyone else. Because what is the truth? A Jew is not, in essence, connected to conflict; a Jew is not, in essence, connected to jealousy. In essence, a Jew “wants that”—what he truly wants is holiness. This is the allusion and the proof in the fact that the entire parsha is named Korach, understood in a positive sense. As Rashi says in his first comment on the parsha: “This passage is beautifully expounded in Midrash Tanchuma.” “Beautifully expounded.” One can study the parsha according to its plain meaning, but even in the plain meaning, which Rashi addresses, it says “beautifully expounded”: when we look at the parsha more deeply, with greater sensitivity, we see in every Jew, even Korach, the “wanting that.” Deep inside, what he really wants is holiness, until that desire is revealed and truly becomes his reality. And that is what happened later with Korach’s sons. We are told that Korach’s sons did indeed have thoughts of teshuvah. Yes, Korach’s sons were certainly members of the family, because the truth was openly revealed through those thoughts of teshuvah. And so, as Rashi recounts in this parsha and in a later parsha, they later emerged and had

20:30 children, until Shmuel the prophet descended from them. And it was Shmuel the prophet who anointed King Shaul and King Dovid, from whom the royal line begins and continues to Melech HaMoshiach. This is a wonderful lesson we learn here: what true Ahavas Yisroel should be, and how to look at a Jew. We see how, by looking at him favorably, we can illuminate him and lift him from the lowest depths to the loftiest heights. In Parshas Chukas we find the subject of the red heifer. And with the red heifer we see something remarkable: it is called by Moshe’s name. “They shall take for you a perfect red heifer.” Rashi asks: What does “they shall take for you” mean? The red heifer was entrusted to Elazar the Kohen. It is connected with the kohanim. So what does “they shall take for you” mean—bring it to Moshe Rabbeinu? Why bring the red heifer to Moshe? Rashi says: “It will always be called by your name: the heifer that Moshe prepared in the wilderness.” In other words, the red heifer belongs to Moshe Rabbeinu. And we see a whole theme here: the red heifer is connected specifically with Moshe Rabbeinu. As the Midrash also says, Hakadosh Boruch Hu taught Moshe Rabbeinu all the laws of impurity and purity. For each kind of impurity, Hakadosh Boruch Hu immediately told him how purification was achieved. But

22:02 when they reached impurity from contact with the dead, in Parshas Emor, and Hakadosh Boruch Hu did not tell him how purification was achieved, “Moshe’s face darkened.” Moshe Rabbeinu was filled with sorrow; his face reddened from grief, and he cried out, “How will he gain atonement? How will he be purified?” Hakadosh Boruch Hu did not answer immediately, until they reached the passage of the red heifer. Then Hakadosh Boruch Hu told him, “This is how he is purified.” And it is also said, “To you I reveal the reason for the heifer”—specifically to Moshe Rabbeinu. What is the significance of the red heifer here? Why is its connection to Moshe Rabbeinu emphasized so strongly? “To you I reveal the reason for the heifer”; “It will always be called by your name.” What is so great about the red heifer? And why do we find the greatest sorrow specifically in Moshe Rabbeinu, to the point that “his face darkened,” and only then did he merit having Hakadosh Boruch Hu reveal the matter to him? The matter is explained in Chassidus: the red heifer and impurity from contact with the dead allude to something spiritual. Just as there are death and life in the physical sense, there are death and life in the spiritual sense. “And you who cleave to Hashem your G-d are all alive today.” Every Jew has a soul, and every Jew has that bond expressed in “you who cleave to Hashem your G-d.” A Jew is connected

23:24 to Hashem. And when a Jew is connected to Hashem, he is alive, because he has a soul, and the soul is life. So when he “cleaves to Hashem your G-d,” he is among those of whom it says, “You are all alive today.” When a Jew damages his soul, a state of impurity arises. There are many kinds of impurity. With most of them, something is damaged, but he is still alive, and it can be repaired in simpler ways. But impurity from contact with the dead means that he has touched death itself, the opposite of life. He has reached a state in which, G-d forbid, through transgressions, he has become so disconnected from Hashem. After sins punishable by kares and after [unclear], to the point that he has come to a state opposite to life—impurity from contact with the dead—the question arises: How can he be purified? How is that possible? When the soul leaves the body, the body remains dead; it no longer has any life. So how can purification be possible in such a state? “How will he be purified?” And here the depth of Moshe Rabbeinu’s Ahavas Yisroel is revealed: “Moshe’s face darkened.” The suffering of the Jewish people caused Moshe Rabbeinu terrible pain—“his face darkened”—and he cried out, “How will he be purified?” Even a Jew who has reached a state of impurity from contact with the dead, who has become completely disconnected from G-dliness,

24:49 Moshe Rabbeinu seeks a way to purify him. And to this Hashem says, “They shall bring it to you.” Through Moshe Rabbeinu, and specifically through him, his purification becomes possible. For through Moshe Rabbeinu, who revealed the means of purification, the very essence of life is revealed. So much so that, as the Gemara in Sotah says, “Moshe Rabbeinu did not die”: “Just as there he stands and serves, so here he stands and serves.” In other words, Moshe Rabbeinu embodied the opposite of death. Moshe Rabbeinu had mesirus nefesh; his whole life was devoted to it, and the life of his soul and the life of his body were united in the loftiest way. And so, in the words “They shall bring it to you,” concerning the red heifer, Hashem revealed to Moshe Rabbeinu—“To you I reveal the reason for the heifer”—how it is possible to bring about the purification of even a Jew who has fallen to the lowest depths, to the point of impurity from contact with the dead, by means of a little ash from the red heifer. This is the significance of the ash produced by burning the red heifer, together with a little living water, as explained in Chassidus,

26:18 how all of this relates to the living water that brings about purification, and to the innermost aspect of purification itself. There lies the true quality of living water, which has no connection to the opposite of life, as he says in Sukkah. When this water is mixed with the ash, which represents the bittul and mesirus nefesh found among Jews, Moshe Rabbeinu reveals the living water within a vessel. Through this, even the greatest impurity—impurity from contact with the dead—can be purified, until it is completely removed, as it says: “I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified.” In this way, a Jew reaches a state of resurrection of the dead. Here we see how both Parshas Korach and Parshas Chukas teach us, through Moshe Rabbeinu, how to look at a Jew, how to love a Jew, and how precious a Jew must be in our eyes. Even when a Jew feels that he has sunk to the lowest state, that he has reached a state opposite to life, G-d forbid, and that he is completely disconnected from G-dliness—we must never give up on him. We must never give up on a Jew, under any circumstances. On the contrary, we must reveal his inner being, reveal the living water, the well of living water that, as the Baal Shem

27:42 Tov said, is found within every Jew. Through this, we can bring the dead to life, illuminate a soul, and through it illuminate other Jews. Until we soon merit, in our days, the red heifer—the tenth heifer—which, as the Rambam says, “Melech HaMoshiach will prepare.” And may we merit the fulfillment of “I will sprinkle pure water upon you, and you shall be purified; from all your impurities and from all your idols I will purify you,” and the revelation of the time to come, [unclear], together in the third Beis Hamikdash, with the true and complete Geulah through Moshiach Tzidkeinu.