BS”D
DONKEY’S DIRECTIVE: PARSHAT KORACH
Shira Smiles shiur
Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein
In studying history, one can cite many challenges to authority and many
rebellions, but none more egregious than the rebellion of Korach and his
assembly against Moshe. Korach was angry at the appointment of Aharon and his
sons as kohanim. He, himself a cousin of Moshe and Aharon, gathered to
him Dathan, Aviram and 250 prominent men, marched to Moshe and demanded: “It is
too much for you! For the entire assembly – all of them – are holy … Why do you
exalt yourselves over the congregation of Hashem? … You seek to dominate us
even further.”
Moshe’s response, while certainly deflecting their accusation, is somewhat
enigmatic. In addition to pointing out Korach’s own exalted position, he
continues, “… I have not taken a single donkey of theirs, nor have I
wronged even one of them.” While the simple explanation says I have not gained
economically in any way, the reference to a donkey to symbolize that idea seems
odd. What could Moshe have been trying to say on a deeper level? As Rabbi Dovid
Hofstadter points out, Korach’s complaint was more about cronyism, about
Moshe’s appointing Aharon as Kohen gadol and Elitzaphan ben Uziel as
head of the Kehas families. Why did this anger Moshe so?
Our first question is how did Korach dare to challenge Moshe so
disrespectfully? Korach indeed was a great man imbued with prophetic vision He
foresaw that his descendent would be the Prophet Samuel who, in his time, would
be equal in stature to Moshe and Aharon combined, as the Psalm declares, “Moshe
and Aharon were among his priests [in their time as] Shmuel [in his time] among
those who called His name.” Given his future lineage, Korach felt justified in
demanding an even more prestigious role for himself than he already had. While
he himself did not survive the punishment Hashem meted out to him and to all
that belonged to him, he was swallowed by the earth, his sons repented,
survived, and from them Shmuel descended. In fact, Shmuel’s final good-bye to
the people echos the words Moshe himself spoke here: “Answer me before God.
Whose ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken …?”
The Menachem Zion focuses not only on the donkey, but also on the term
Moshe uses for “taking” the donkey, nasati/I raised up. From this
terminology, the Menachem Zion deduces that what Moshe was actually
saying was that he did not raise up anyone lowly for his own benefit, nor did
he keep anyone from a position designated for him. It was all truly by God’s
word.
Why didn’t Moshe simply dismiss these false accusations as the ravings of a
disgruntled congregant? Rabbi Yerucham Levovitz notes that herein lies another
example of Moshe’s greatness and humility. If there were any accusations
against him, he would introspect and search all his actions to check if there
was even a hint of impropriety that could serve as a basis for such an
accusation. As Rabbi Wolbe points out, the greatest test of leadership and
honesty is money. Moshe was so scrupulous about the temptation that he wore
clothes with no pockets while he was collecting donations for building the
Tabernacle. He refused to even borrow a donkey as he moved among the people
from camp to camp.
It is up to us to equally examine our actions. Are our actions, even our
mitzvah performance, strictly for the sake of Heaven, or is there also an
element of self interest, of financial gain or prestige in our decision
cautions Rabbi Hillel in Ascending the Path. When you have a personal
interest in anything, clarity becomes clouded. This was the problem with
Korach, notes Rabbi Weissblum in Heorat Derech. Once Korach saw the
future leadership of his descendent Shmuel , his comprehension of current
reality and leadership was distorted.
What was so galling to Moshe, and proves to be a common psychological action,
was that Korach was accusing him of something of which Moshe was totally
innocent, but of which Korach himself was guilty. Korach accused Moshe of using
his leadership for personal gain. In fact, Moshe was willing to die for
his people. That’s why he was chosen for leadership. Not so the arrogant Korach
who wanted leadership for his own power and prestige, writes Rabbi Dovid
Hofstadter. As further proof of how Hashem chooses the leaders of Bnei Yisroel,
Rabbi Hofstadter. notes that the seventy elders Hashem had Moshe choose to help
him lead the nation were the men who had been taskmasters during the Egyptian
enslavement. These men had endured beatings from the Egyptians rather than
blame any of the Jews under them for a shortfall in brick production. While
Korach saw leadership as an honor, Moshe and Aharon perceived their roles as a
form of enslavement to the needs of the people, writes Rabbi Druck in Aish
Tomid.
Then the question becomes is it ever appropriate for a leader to accept
anything from someone else? Can one accept a ride (the donkey) from one’s
neighbor, help with a project, or the gift of tomatoes from a friend’s
overflowing garden, asks Rabbi Sternbach? After all, when you accept something
from someone, you develop a sense of indebtedness and gratitude similar to
bribery, continues Rabbi Druck. To never accept anything from anyone seems
rather harsh. The Oshover Rebbe discusses this question in Be’er Moshe.
First of all, we are not on Moshe’s level. Further, While someone in a position
of a judge where his decision may indeed be influenced by favors received must
be extremely vigilant, certainly not all leadership positions fall into this
category.
The Be’er Moshe then cites the Gemarrah which states that a leader may
derive benefit from another if he so wishes. As proof, it cites the experience
of the Prophet Elisha who accepted lodging in the special room the Shunamit
woman created for him in the attic of her home. But in return, in the merit of
this chessed, he blessed her to have a child. Nevertheless, if he does
not wish to accept benefit from anyone, he may choose not to do so as well, as
the Prophet Shmuel accepted nothing from anyone. The point to ponder is if this
partnership between the giver and the receiver is truly leshem Shamayim,
for the sake of Heaven, or for some personal benefit on either side. When a talmid
chochom or a tzaddik gains benefit from another, He is also
providing a benefit for his benefactor in the form of merit before the
Almighty. To illustrate the point, one can one need only observe the priestly
blessing. When the kohanim bless Bnei Yisroel, they are indeed bestowing
benefit to the nation. However, there is reciprocity, for when Bnei Yisroel
answer Amen, they are in effect enabling the kohanim to bless them.
The kohanim derive further benefit from the people by virtue of the
twenty-four special priestly gifts like terumot and challah, for
example. Korach felt that since he was very rich, he would need none of the
priestly gifts, and therefore he was more suitable for the priesthood than
Aharon and his descendants. He held the opinion of his descendent Shmuel who
would take nothing from anyone, as opposed to Elisha who later helped the
widowed woman and revived her son.
The Be’er Moshe continues. It is important for us to support the priest
(and by extension other religious leaders). Korach was among those charged with
carrying the Ark of the Law. We are told, however, that the Ark carried itself.
What then was the purpose of the “carriers”? They were there to lend support to
the Ark. Similarly, talmidei chachamim and rebbeim need the
support of the people, although they should remain above being influenced by
the “gifts” of others. Yaakov foresaw Korach’s attitude and therefore, when he
blessed his sons before his death, he distanced himself from this congregation
of Levi’s descendants. After the earth swallowed Korach and all he owned, and
the fire consumed his 250 followers, Hashem commands that Bnei Yisroel not be
like Korach and his assembly as Hashem spoke about him beyad Moshe,
through [the hand of] Moshe. This phrase, the Be’er Moshe says, is a
hint that we are to support our spiritual leaders. It was the hands of Moshe
that uplifted Bnei Yisroel in their war with Amalek, and when his hands were
not raised and supported, Bnei Yisroel were weak as well.
The Noam Elimelech uses this idea to offer a novel interpretation to
Moshe’s response. In his introspection, Moshe may have felt that he had
contributed to Korach’s transgression. Perhaps if he had accepted something
from Korach, even the use of Korach’s donkey, perhaps he would have elevated
Korach enough to have protected him from this sin. After all, notes
Artscroll, turning down a proffered gift can also be interpreted as
haughtiness.
There are three people who are noted as being on a chamor, a donkey.
First is our patriarch Avraham who saddled his donkey to go to Mt. Moriah for the
binding of his son Isaac. Then there is Moshe Rabbenu who brought his family to
Egypt from Midyan on a donkey. Finally there will be Moshiach who will arrive
on a donkey. What do these three instances have in common? The chamor represents
chomer, physicality, earthiness, materialism. In each of these cases,
the “rider” is raised above the earth. Avraham is taken outside and told to
look at the heavens and see the stars, Moshe is told to raise his staff to the
heavens, and Moshiach is the humble pauper at the height of spiritual
perfection. Korach complains that Moshe lifted himself up on the backs of
others. Moshe responds that, on the contrary, he lifted himself up by working
on himself to raise himself above earthly matters.
Rabbi Tauber in The Inside Story explains that God did not desire that
we repudiate the material world. Rather, He wants mankind to use the earthly,
the chomer/material of this world and elevate it to spiritual levels.
Thus Avraham used the donkey to carry the wood he would use for the altar of
sacrifice. Moshe would use the donkey to carry his family, the extension of
self, to Egypt to begin the process of redeeming the Jewish nation so they
could serve Hashem at Mount Sinai. Moshiach, representing the merging of the spiritual
and physical worlds for service to Hashem, personally rides the donkey, the chamor/chomer.
Each of us must do our own introspection. Are our acts truly for the sake of
Heaven, or do we have a personal agenda? All leadership, whether in family
situations, social, professional, or spiritual require us to check our own
agendas at the door, to eschew the pursuit of honor or money as we strive to
work for the common good and to serve Hashem. Let us not be like Korach whose
focus was on self and on his own benefit. Let us strive to take the Korach out
of ourselves.