ֵָכוּ לְנֹגַהּ בְּ רַ ק חֲנִיתֶ ךּ יְהַ לֶָיךּ לְאוֹר חִ צ – As Your arrows fly in brightness, Your flashing spear in brilliance. Meaning, He argued against them arguments to which they had no answer, and thus He said to them: “Every day they bow to you, and yet you shine; if so, make a kal vachomer for yourselves – In My honor, you did not protest nor stop yourselves from shining as the nations worship you as idols and bow to you; but in the honor of flesh and blood, which is certainly less than My honor, you protested? Why did you cry out only now? You must go out and continue to shine!” And every day, arrows and spears are shot at them, and they shine.
Another question that needs clarification is what exactly they are seeking in Zevul, for Hakadosh Baruch Hu sits in the celestial sphere of Aravot, not in Zevul. What is there? The Gemara says (Chagigah 12b): שׁ ֶ ב ּ ו ֹ י ְ ר ו ּ שׁ ָ ל ַ י ִ ם ו ּ ב ֵ י ת ה ַ מּ ִ קְ ד ּ ָ שׁ -זְבוּל. Zevul is the location of the heavenly Yerushalayim and the heavenly Beit Hamikdash.
Chazal say (Bamidbar Rabbah, 12:12): When Hakadosh Baruch Hu told Bnei Yisrael to establish the Mishkan, He hinted to the ministering angels that they should also make a Mishkan, and when it was established below, it was established above, and it is the Mishkan of the ministering angel whose name is מַטטרו"ן – and what does this ministering angel do there? ָלוּתָםּשׁ ֶבּוֹ מַקְ רִ יב נַפְשׁ וֹתֵיהֶם שׁ ֶל צַדִּ יקִ ים לְכַפֵּר עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּימֵי ג. In which he sacrifices the souls of the righteous to atone for Israel in the days of their exile.
Therefore, it is written מּ ִ שׁ ְ כ ּ ָ ןהַ אֶת – meaning that another Mishkan was established with it.
The Maharzu expands on this idea and says that in Zevul, the Beit Hamikdash is built and מִ יכָ אֵ ל, the great minister, stands and offers korbanot upon it, as Shlomo HaMelech said: עוֹלָמִיםָ מָכוֹן לְשִׁבְתְּךְבָּנֹה בָנִיתִי בֵּית זְבֻל לָך – I have built a house of dwelling for You; a dwelling place for You, forever. The Beit Hamikdash below corresponds to the Beit Hamikdash above in Zevul, and here they [Korach’s assembly] disputed the Kehuna (priesthood) of Aharon as if they disputed the Beit Hamikdash of Zevul and the status of מִ יכָ אֵ ל the Kohen Gadol. Therefore, they stood in Zevul to demand justice, because Aharon HaKohen is like the morning light, as it is said: if they overturn the priesthood of Aharon, it is as if they turned light into darkness. Therefore, the sun and moon stood specifically in Zevul.
The explanation of the above is, the sun and moon ascended to Zevul to say – either to מִ יכָ אֵ ל or to מַטטרו"ן [the two angels who offer in the heavens] – “Gentlemen! If Korach comes to dispute Moshe and Aharon, Aharon will not be a Kohen, and consequently, tomorrow there will be no service in the Beit Hamikdash; and if there is no service below, there will also be no service above!” Therefore, the sun and moon ascended to Zevul to prevent this situation.
The sefer Netivot Da’at brings the words of the Shach al HaTorah. In Parshat Beha'alotcha, Hakadosh Baruch Hu commands Moshe to go and appease Aharon. Rashi asks why the section of the Menorah is juxtaposed to the section of the Nesi’im in Parshat Naso? He answers, it is because when Aharon saw the dedication of the Nesi’im, he felt distressed, for neither he nor his tribe was with them in the dedication. Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to him: “By your life, yours is greater than theirs, for you light and prepare the lamps.”
Rabbotai, why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu comfort Aharon specifically with the lighting of the Menorah? The Siftei Kohen writes: ָבְּ הַ עֲ ל ֹתְ ך – ָבּ ָ הּ עָ לַ תְ ך. In the lighting is your ascent; in this is your elevation and through you and your lighting, the lamps below ignite the lamps above that are opposite them. ב"ה in gematria equals seven, as the seven upper lamps in the upper Mishkan will shine. The seven planets that are חנכ"ל שצ"ם do not shine and govern the world except through Aharon!
The sefer Netivot Da’at says, now you understand why the sun and the moon ascended to Zevul; because if tomorrow Korach wins, Aharon will not light the Menorah – and then what will happen?! There will no longer be a sun and moon, because all the lighting of the Menorah below causes the lighting of the luminaries above, and therefore they went out to protest!
To explain the matter of the moon briefly, we must first bring the words of Rabbeinu Bachya in Parshat Pinchas. He says that we have a misunderstanding regarding the moon's request; the moon made a most wonderful request, and this request was already made on the second day of Creation! The moon came and said to Hakadosh Baruch Hu: "Ribbono Shel Olam, You created two luminaries but my luminary has no light of its own, and all the light I have comes from the sun. I have one request – give me two small watts of power, but my own. I want my light from You and not from the sun!"
The question arises, who else made such a request? The lower waters! On the second day of Creation, Hakadosh Baruch Hu separated the upper waters from the lower waters; Rabbeinu Bachya brings in Parshat Vayikra a Midrash that is no longer found in our possession today:
וע"ד המדרש יש בו באור לדרך הקבלה, ברית כרותה למלח מששת ימי בראשית שהובטחו מים התחתונים ליקרב במלח ונסוך המים בחג, וכן אמרו במדרש מים התחתונים נקראו מים בוכים, ולמה נקראו מים בוכים, כי בשעה שחלק הקב"ה את המים נתן אלו למעלה ואלו למטה התחילו מים התחתונים בוכים וזהו שכתוב )איוב כ״ח:י״א( מבכי נהרות חבש. אמר רבי אבא בבכי נתפרשו המים התחתונים מן העליונים, אמרו אוי לנו שלא זכינו לעלות למעלה להיות קרובים ליוצרנו, מה עשו העיזו פניהם ובקעו תהומות ובקשו לעלות, עד שגער בהן הקב"ה שנאמר )ישעיהו מ״ג:ט״ז( הנותן בים דרך ובמים עזים נתיבה, )נחום א׳:ד׳( גוער בים ויבשהו, אמר להם הקב"ה הואיל ולכבודי עשיתן כל כך אין להן רשות למים העליונים לומר שירה עד שיטלו רשות מכם, שנאמר )תהילים צ״ג:ד׳( מקולות מים רבים אדירים משברי ים, ומה הם אומרים אדיר במרום ה', ולא עוד אלא שעתידין אתם ליקרב על גבי המזבח במלח ונסוך המים. ועוד דרשו במקום אחר, העולם כלו שלישו מדבר שלישו ישוב שלישו ים, עמד ים לפני הקב"ה אמר לפניו, רבש"ע במדבר נתנה תורה בישוב נבנה ביהמ"ק אני מה תהא עלי, אמר לו עתידין ישראל שיקריבו מלח על גבי המזבח.
Rabbeinu Bachya writes that a covenant was made with salt from the Six Days of Creation. When Hakadosh Baruch Hu divided the waters – placing some above and some below – the lower waters began to weep, mourning their distance from their Creator. In their yearning they surged upward until Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: “Because you acted for My honor, the upper waters may not sing until they first seek permission from you.” As it says: ֹלוֹת מַיִם רַ בִּים אַדִּ ירִ ים מִשְׁבְּרֵ י־יָםּמִק, and the lower waters then say: אַדִּ יר בַּמָּרוֹם ה. Hakadosh Baruch Hu then promised them: “You will yet be elevated – through the salt and the water libation (Nissuch HaMayim) offered upon the altar.” The Midrash adds: when the sea asked, “What of me, since the Torah was given in the desert and the Mikdash built on land?” Hakadosh Baruch Hu replied, “From you, Bnei Yisrael will bring salt upon My altar.”
This shows that whoever desires to draw closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu receives a gift! Another example can be found in Matan Torah: In the year 2448 from Creation, Hakadosh Baruch Hu came to give the Torah to Am Yisrael; Har Carmel came and requested that the Torah be given upon it, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: "You are too tall – not suitable." Har Tavor then came and requested that the Torah be given upon it, but Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: "You are not suitable for this." Har Sinai, which humbled itself, merited; and the Torah was given upon it. But since Har Carmel and Har Tavor requested that the Torah be given upon them, and yet did not merit it, Hakadosh Baruch Hu compensated them by sanctifying His name upon them. Har Carmel merited this through the act of Eliyahu HaNavi on Har Carmel, and Har Tavor merited this through the battle against Sisera with Barak and Devorah the Neviah.
Returning to the moon, she came and said: “Ribbono Shel Olam, I want to receive light directly from You!" It seems she deserves a reward, but what does Hakadosh Baruch Hu instead say to her? "Go and diminish yourself!" This is difficult to understand; why should she diminish herself when she said she wants to be closer to Hakadosh Baruch Hu?!
Rabbeinu Bachya says, the moon indeed had a wonderful request, but she used the wrong words in that request and along the way she also insulted the sun. She spoke with arrogance and pride: "That I should receive light from her?! I don't want light from her! I want it from You!"
How should the moon have expressed herself? Very simply: "Ribbono Shel Olam, I want the light from You!" She should have expressed her desire exactly as the lower waters did, as they did not mention the upper waters whatsoever – “Let them be healthy! Let them remain above just as they are! Our desire is to be near You!"
Because the moon sinned with ַאֲוָהּג – arrogance and haughtiness, says the Sefer Chikrei Lev, Hakadosh Baruch Hu did not punish her, instead directing her to punish herself. This is because according to the words of the Rambam, a person with ַאֲוָהּג should deal with this negative trait by doing the opposite of pride – by humbling themself! Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to her "Go and diminish yourself!"
Since she wanted a greater connection to Hakadosh Baruch Hu, Hakadosh Baruch Hu wanted to give her a gift – to shine together with the sun in the morning – and what did the moon say? "That’s not worth it to me!" So, Hakadosh Baruch Hu said to her: "Look, they will set the festivals according to you." But once again, the moon replied, "Not willing!" This is arrogance!
The Orchot Tzadikim brings a parable about this: There was a king who came before a jealous person and said to him: "I will give you whatever you ask; but on the condition that I will give your friend double!" The jealous person said: "You know what, take out one of my eyes!"
What does this person gain with such a request? Only that his friend will lose both eyes! This person is a fool! Ask for 100 million! Why do you care what the other has? While it makes sense to request a large sum without regard for what the other will receive, the jealous person simply cannot tolerate it!
Hakadosh Baruch Hu saw that the moon was still not satisfied, so He said: "Bring an atonement for Me." Chikrei Lev writes, indeed, initially the moon argued with the Creator and did not want to diminish herself, but the moment Hakadosh Baruch Hu said: "Bring an atonement for Me," she suddenly understood that she had erred. At that moment, the moon realized on her own that she had indeed exaggerated, for it is clear to all the inhabitants of the world that it is not possible that Hakadosh Baruch Hu needs atonement before anyone – chalilah! This statement of Hakadosh Baruch Hu was so extreme and so lacking in understanding, that the moon realized that all her words were nothing but one big mistake; that Hakadosh Baruch Hu answered her gently not because there was justice in her claims, but because He acted with her with Midat HaRachamim – the Attribute of Mercy; because He created His world not to increase His own honor, but to do good to the earth and have mercy on His creations. So much so that out of His great humility, He is even willing to blame Himself, so to speak, to appease His creations, so as not to punish them and remove them from the world.
With this, we can return to Korach. Chazal tell us (Bava Batra 75a): פְּנֵי מֹשׁ ֶה כִּפְנֵי חַמָּה פְּנֵי יְהוֹשׁ ֻעַ כִּפְנֵי לְבָנָה – The face of Moshe was as bright as the face of the sun; the face of Yehoshua was like the face of the moon. Korach comes and says to Moshe: "Do you think of yourself as a sun?! Everyone is holy – we don't need you to shine on us! We receive everything directly from Hakadosh Baruch Hu!"
The Aruch La’Ner (Sanhedrin 110) raises a puzzling question: How could the sun and moon, creations themselves, threaten their Creator by saying they would cease to function if their demands were not met? Moreover, why did Hakadosh Baruch Hu not become angry with them, except for the fact that they based their complaint on the honor of Moshe rather than His own honor? According to what is explained in the sefer Minchat Ani, the argument of Korach and his assembly against Moshe was that "the entire congregation is holy, and Hashem is among them, so why do you elevate yourselves above the congregation of Hashem?" They claimed that since Hashem was among them and leading them, there was no need for an intermediary. However, the falsehood of their claim was revealed by the sun and moon, for Hakadosh Baruch Hu is the light of the world, giving light to the sun, which in turn gives light to the moon. Just as He chose them to be intermediaries for physical light, He also chose a spiritual intermediary to convey the light of holiness: Moshe Rabbeinu. Only in the future, when the world is perfected, will it be said:
ְָרֵ חַ לֹא־יָאִיר לָךּ עוֹד הַשֶּׁמֶשׁ לְאוֹר יוֹמָם וּלְנֹגַהּ הַיְָךּ לֹא־יִהְיֶה־לָךְוְ הָ יָה־לָך' לְאוֹר עוֹלָם וֵא-׃ לְתִ פְ אַ רְ תֵּ ךְלֹהַ יִך
You will no longer need the sun for light by day, nor the brightness of the moon to shine for you, for Hashem will be your everlasting light.
This is what the sun and moon argued: “If You judge [Moshe] the son of Amram, we will shine, but if not, we will not shine.” In this, they did not rebel against Hakadosh Baruch Hu, for they said: “If You judge the son of Amram, then Korach's claim that ‘Hashem is among them’ is justified, and the world will not need our light, for You are the light of the world.” Therefore, Hakadosh Baruch Hu was only concerned with the fact that they attributed the matter to Moshe, for they also rebelled against him, and they should have simply said: "If You judge those who rebel against You," and for this, He shot arrows at them.
In the Gemara we brought earlier, Rabba bar Bar Chana tells us: Every thirty days, they are overturned in Gehennom! And why specifically at the beginning of the month, on Rosh Chodesh? It is very simple; because Rosh Chodesh is the time when it is evident that the moon receives its light from the sun! This is to tell Korach and his assembly: "Do you see how the order of Creation works? This is the order: Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and transmitted it to Yehoshua, and Yehoshua to the Zekeinim, and so on."
The text comes to teach us that we must humble ourselves before the entire Creation! As it says regarding Rosh Chodesh in Parshat Bo: ה ַ ח ֹ דֶ שׁ ה ַ ז ּ ֶ ה ל ָ כ ֶ ם ר ֹ א שׁ ח ֳ דָ שׁ ִ י ם – This month shall be for you the beginning of months. This is the first Mitzvah given to Bnei Yisrael, and it corresponds to Moshe Rabbeinu. Avraham was commanded regarding Brit Milah; Yaakov, regarding the Gid HaNasheh; and what Mitzvah did Moshe Rabbenu receive? Rosh Chodesh. The first Mitzvah, as brought by Rashi up front. And why Moshe Rabbenu? Because he corresponds to the sun, he gets a Mitzvah regarding the moon! Moshe Rabbenu was chosen to give the Mitzvah related to the moon because he was the most humble person who ever lived: וְהָאִישׁ מֹשׁ ֶה עָנָו מְאֹד מִכֹּל הָאָדָם. Moshe Rabbeinu is able to sanctify the new month; he is able to explain to the moon what it means to be humble; he is the sun. He can explain to the moon what humility is.
Rabbotai, we all know to what extent the sun bore no grudge when Moshe Rabbenu was told that "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." What did Yehoshua say? "Moshe, my master, imprison them!" Close them inside a cage! Wait – why close them inside a cage? Since Moshe is likened to the sun and Yehoshua to the moon, Yehoshua reasoned: "There can't be 70 people prophesying at once! There can’t be two kings sharing the same crown!" How does Moshe then respond to Yehoshua? "If only all Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s people were prophets! If only there were 70 thousand luminaries at once! Do I bear any grudge? Not at all! Does all this belong to my mother? Am I a king or something like that? No, I'm no king; I'm just Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s emissary I'm His servant. I'm a servant and he's a servant and he's a servant... I'm just an emissary of the Creator, to do His will.”
Rabbotai, when we begin the new year we should all have this principle ingrained deep in our hearts: Nobody is king! We're all Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s servants! And to all of you who serve Hakadosh Baruch Hu as servants, He should grant you a wonderful new year. A happy and blessed year. A year in which we grow in Torah and in fear of Heaven, and where we merit the Geula Sheleima! ◊
