A lesson on Bitachon for Parashat Korah:
These past few weeks we’ve been learning of the different challenges of Benei Yisrael in the desert.
First we learned, in Parashat Bahalotecha, about the complainers, the ,מתאוננים who complained that they were tired of the manna and complained, demanding watermelon and meat.
Then we heard about the Meraglim, the spies, who brought back their negative reports about Eretz Yisrael.
Finally we have the story of Korah, who slandered his cousins Moshe and Aharon, and accused them of taking the positions for themselves.
Our rabbis teach us that each of these events teach us about certain middot, and these three fundamental middot, jealousy, desire and honor, as we know from the pasuk below, take a person out of this world
רַבִּי אֶלְעָזָר הַקַּפָּר אוֹמֵר, הַקִּנְאָה וְהַתַּאֲוָה וְהַכָּבוֹד, מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם
(Pirkei Avot 4/21)
Rabbi Elazar Ha-kappar said: envy, lust and [the desire for] honor put a man out of the world
Our rabbis tell us each of these sins in the parshiyot talk about these three middot.
In order of the Parshiyot:
1- The complaints in the desert stemmed from ta’ava- desire. When you don’t get what you desire, you complain. That’s rooted in ta’ava.
2- Next, the spies: Mesilat Yesharim teaches that the spies knew their positions were in jeopardy once they got to Eretz Yisrael. They were biased, so they spoke negatively about the land to save their honor/kavod.
3- Finally we have Korah: He was jealous of his cousin who got a position before him, which motivated his rebellion- kin’ah
These are the 3 major middot that take a person out of the world and we see that:
-The complainers were burned in a fire sent down from shamayim.
-A horrible, gruesome, graphic death was decreed for the spies,
-and Korach and his crew were either swallowed up by the earth or burnt by fire as well.
So we see here that literally, bad middot take a person out of the world.
We all know many stories of people in positions of greatness or power that lost everything after they were caught in improper conduct. We know of many great celebrities that lost everything because of it. And it’s not just celebrities, it’s us too. This is what happens.
How does this relate to Bitachon?
Rav Wolbe quotes a Rambam that says that word Olam (world) refers to world of Emunah. These middot are all contrary to Emunah and Bitachon.
Kin’ah- Jealousy- you want someone else’s position? With Emunah you understand that G-d is in charge, that He decides what you get and your cousin gets what he gets.
Kavod- Honor, wealth come from G-d as well. He decides.
And Ta’avah- Desire- you want something? With Emunah you know and understood that it’s not good for you, it’s poison, and that G-d gives you what you need.
If a person’s Emunah and Bitachon are clear, they are the antidote to these bad traits.
And conversely, if a person chases after jealousy, honor, and desire, that will destroy his Emunah.
We are working on our Bitachon and so though we might not realize it, indirectly we are solving our jealousy, kavod and honor issues as well.
BeH if kin’ah, ta’ava and kavod destroy a person in this world, than working on our Bitachon will give us more in this world.
And BeH we will continue to strengthen our Emunah and Bitachon and overcome these challenges.
Shabbat Shalom