By Rabbi Moshe Pogrow
Shelach is the parsha of rebellion against Hashem; Korach is the parsha of rebellion against Moshe.
The premise of the revolt was false. Kol ha’eida kulam are not kedoshim already; rather, kedoshim tihyu, their calling is to be holy. Their task is to uplift themselves, not confuse their destiny with reality. Holiness should be their aspiration. To help bnei Yisrael realize this, the Mishkan was built in their midst. They were divided into Kohen, Levi, and Yisrael, with the Mishkan fenced off in the center, expressing the message: yes, kedoshim tihyu, but not yet “kedoshim atem”! Not everyone was worthy of unrestricted access to the Mishkan. Even Aharon was only allowed to approach at Hashem’s command, and even then only as a messenger of the public.
A true messenger of Hashem, like Moshe and Aharon, would be the first to admit unworthiness and beg Hashem to choose someone else. But if, despite his protests, Hashem sends him and no other, who would dare to come before the messenger and ask “Madua tisnasu al kehal Hashem?”
The words of Baruch shem kevod malchuso do not appear in the Torah, but Chazal tell us that they were said by Yaakov Avinu just before his petirah. When his sons gathered around him, he was concerned that perhaps one of them was not complete in emunah. They responded with Shema Yisrael—“Listen, Yisrael [our father]: Hashem is One in our hearts just as He is in yours.” Yaakov responded “Baruch shem kevod malchuso l’olam va’ed. This phrase is also in the shira of the malachim. All year long, we say it silently, since it is not written in the Torah. However, on Yom Kippur we say it aloud, just like the malachim.
Adapted from Emunah in the Classroom
Korach accused Moshe and Aharon of the greatest sin against Hashem: abusing His name for their own purposes. This hurt Moshe deeply. Hashem’s emissary must be faultless in middos; G-d does not send those with even a hint of cruelty. Purity of character is His first credential. Had Moshe blemished his with the slightest show of self-interest—riding another man’s donkey—they would have the right to deny the Source of his mission.
The reliability of a messenger must be confirmed by the one who sent him; so, too, Moshe’s mission was confirmed by Hashem. Moshe did not defend himself against Korach’s accusations. If G-d would not confirm the truth, his mission would come to an end.
All so-called natural events occur only by Hashem’s will. However, a “natural” death would demonstrate Hashem’s providence, but would not certify that Moshe’s mission had come from Him. That mission was based on Hashem’s intervention in the natural order.
Through Moshe’s mission, Hashem wished to educate mankind, to bring man back to G-d to attain moral freedom. Through Moshe’s mission, as well as every nevuah, Hashem demonstrates His Personality operating in freedom. Hence, a certification of this mission can only be through a mofes, which attests to this freedom from the laws of nature.
When Korach’s death was brought about by a new creation that proclaimed Hashem as G-d, the One with the power to introduce at any time a new future not dependent on the past, then they understood that people who deny that Hashem had sent Moshe deny the rule of Hashem, and everything else he has done.
Based on the commentary of Rav Shamshon Raphael Hirsch zt”l on Chumash, with permission from the publisher.
