The Hidden Crack

By Rabbi Moshe Krieger, Yeshivas Bircas HaTorah (www.bircas.org)

When we read Parshas Korach, something doesn’t add up. Korach was not an ordinary Levi. He was among those chosen to carry the Aron HaKodesh. To carry the Aron required a very high level of holiness. Rashi (Bamidbar 16:1) tells us that Korach even had ruach hakodesh — Divine vision. He foresaw that the great Shmuel HaNavi would descend from him. The pasuk in Tehillim, “tzaddik katamar yifrach” — “a righteous man will flourish like a palm tree” — has an acronym in its final letters that spells Korach’s name (kuf, reish, ches). The Arizal notes this, and Chazal say that in the World to Come — Korach will flourish and be restored to his greatness. On one hand, he is a tzaddik. On the other hand, he launched a massive rebellion against Moshe and Aharon, who were appointed by Hashem. He caused terrible destruction, and brought death to thousands. How do we make sense of this?

Rav Sternbuch explains that at his core, Korach was indeed a tzaddik. His original drive was pure. He wanted to serve Hashem intensely and to take on even more avodah. That root was good, but somewhere along the way something else crept in. A small dose of kavod — personal honor — mixed into his desire for avodas Hashem. He felt slighted when Moshe appointed someone else instead of him as a nasi. Jealousy began to simmer. Korach may not have even realised it. He thought he was acting leshem shamayim but deep inside, his own ego had gotten tangled up with his avodah. Once that crack appeared, says Rav Sternbuch, it broke him entirely. That small mixture of self-honour was enough to bring the whole structure down.

This is one of the most frightening lessons in the Torah. How far must a person go to guard himself from jealousy and the craving for kavod? Even someone as great as Korach — a man who carried the Aron, a man of ruach hakodesh — was broken by it. The most dangerous part is that he did not see it happening. We must take that seriously. A person can think he is going completely in the right direction, while something else entirely is driving him. That is why it is so important to speak with a rav and honestly examine what is really motivating us. The middah of kinah is a quiet destroyer, and we cannot afford to underestimate it.

There is another dimension to this story. Along with Korach, two hundred and fifty men joined his rebellion. These were not men driven by jealousy or personal ambition. They had no desire on becoming the Kohen Gadol. Rav Sternbuch explains that these men were genuinely motivated to do more avodas Hashem. They said that “all of the congregation is holy” (Bamidbar 16:3). Meaning to say that we can we all serve Hashem on the same level. We should all be serving Hashem like the Leviim. Their desire was real. So how did they end up in such a terrible sin? How could they have joined a rebellion against Moshe Rabbeinu, whose hand of Hashem was evident in everything he did?

The answer lies in what Rav Yisrael Salanter writes in the introduction to Ohr Yisrael. He says when it comes to physical danger — fire, war, illness — people feel real fear. It grips them immediately. But when it comes to spiritual danger, people simply don’t feel the same fear. They are not afraid to sin and having the consequences of going against Hashem’s will. Not because they don’t know. They know. But there is a teva, a built-in quality Hashem placed in the human heart, called arlas halev — a kind of covering over the heart. Without this covering, every person would be so terrified of sin that there would be no real free choice. Hashem created us with this covering so that our service would be genuine. It also means that fear of sin does not come automatically. It has to be worked for.

That was the failing of the two hundred and fifty followers of Korach. They wanted more avodah. They knew they were going against Moshe even though his leadership was Divinely ordained.  But they didn’t feel that they were doing anything wrong. The arlas halev covered their hearts and dulled their senses of sin. They didn’t feel any danger and they walked into the abyss.

We also have this problem. Often, we don’t feel the severity of our actions. We do many things out of habit and maybe we know that it’s not totally correct but we don’t consider them as sins.

Rav Wolbe asks: so how does a person break through arlas halev? His answer is hisbonenut — deep, focused contemplation. Sitting with an idea and really thinking it through. A good time to do this is during limud mussar. The Mishnah Berurah and the Rambam both say that we should learn mussar every day. Do hisbonenut. Contemplate on two things. Firstly, contemplate on the greatness of Hashem.  Secondly, look honestly at your own ma’asim — your actions. Am I truly doing what Hashem wants? Am I clean, am I holy, am I following the path that Mesillas Yesharim lays out? Think about it, go over it, sit with it. This is the only way to break through the covering and let the knowledge reach the heart.

Rav Chaim Kamil adds one more layer to this hisbonenut. Alongside examining your ma’asim, you must also strengthen your faith every single day. This too requires real contemplation. Think about the miracles of Yetzias Mitzrayim. Think about the splitting of Yam Suf. Don’t just mention it in tefillah and move on — picture it. Rav Yechezkel Levenstein would spend hours bringing these images to life in his mind. Make them real. Every Yom Tov, bring the events of that Yom Tov to life inside yourself. There is a gemorah in Avodah Zara (11A) that when Unkelos became a ger the Ceasar sent a group of people to try to persuade him to come back. When they came to him Unkelos so vividly described Yetzias Mizraim that they decided to become geirim.  We see how powerful visualization can be.

To strengthen your emunah the Chovos Halevavos, in Sha’ar HaBechinah, says that a person should contemplate all the miracles Hashem does for him. Look at the history of Klal Yisrael — every generation, nations rise up to destroy us, and somehow we survive. We are here. The Ya’avetz wrote that the survival of Klal Yisrael across history is a miracle even greater than Yetzias Mitzrayim. Think about that what is happening Eretz Yisrael every day. Baruch Hashem we learn Torah, we build our families, we maintain our lives — while we are surrounded by people who want to kill us. The hand of Hashem is everywhere, we just have to stop and see it.

A story was told about one of the hostages held in Gaza. During a period when Israel was bombing the area, the Arab captors became terrified. After some time, they came to the Jewish captives and said: staying near you is the safest place, G-d protects you. If the captors saw this how much more should the Jews see and be strengthened by it.

May we be zocheh to strengthen our hisbonenut – better our maasim and grow in emunah.