How to Deal With Strife
What Moshe Rabbeinu Did When Faced with Machlokes
At the beginning of Parashas Korach, we read about the saga of the machlokes of Korach against Moshe Rabbeinu. Usually, people discuss the severity of machlokes and how it evokes Heavenly wrath—but here we discuss the proper conduct when faced with machlokes, as exemplified by Moshe Rabbeinu.
In the pesukim, we learn that Moshe Rabbeinu sought to make overtures to the people of Shevet Levi. “I didn’t take the leadership for myself, I was commanded to do so by HaKadosh Baruch Hu, and I didn’t choose my brother Aharon as a leader because he is my brother, but also because I was so commanded.” At first Moshe spoke only to Korach, but later in the pasuk we find him addressing all of Shevet Levi. Rashi (Bamidbar 16:8) explains, “At first, he [Moshe] began speaking soft words with him, but when he saw that he was stubborn, and his words were falling on deaf ears, he addressed all of Shevet Levi so that they wouldn’t attach themselves to Korach and be annihilated along with him.”
When a machlokes takes place, our avodah is to appease the other side in an effort to bring peace.
Later (Bamidbar 16:12), Rashi says this using even stronger language: “במחלוקת מחזיקין שאין מכאן, from here we see that it is forbidden to keep up a disagreement, for Moshe was running after the instigators to make peace with them.” He did everything he could to bring peace.
This is an amazing trait. Moshe Rabbeinu knew with crystal clarity that he was in the right. But in this parashah we see that he nevertheless ran after them to make shalom. Because this is the halachah: When there is strife—no matter whether we are right or wrong—it is forbidden to continue the machlokes. In addition to this, we are commanded to do everything to minimize the machlokes.
This is what emerges from the pesukim.
The Proper Way to Bring Peace Between People
We find an incredible concept. When a machlokes develops between people, R”l, there are those who seek to fulfill these pesukim by trying to bring peace between the parties. Sometimes it works, and sometimes they’re unsuccessful. We must learn from Moshe Rabbeinu and from Chazal the proper way to bring peace between Yidden.
It is, after all a mitzvah, a very important mitzvah—for how much shefah is brought to the world when there is peace, and how much bad do we avoid for everyone involved when we bring peace. This was the avodah of Aharon HaKohen, who was שלום ורודף שלום אוהב, he spoke to this one and then to the other one until he found common ground, ultimately bringing peace between them.
It doesn’t need to be a massive rift, with thousands of people on each side; sometimes it may be two people in shul who have developed a disagreement. Sometimes it is a small rift between brothers or brothers-in-law.... Sometimes there is a misunderstanding between fathers and their children... and sometimes it is a matter of shalom bayis between a husband and wife. If a third person learns about it and has the ability to bring peace, he has a mitzvah—an incredibly great mitzvah—to do so and thus bring about השכינה השראת—and if so, it is important to know how to do this properly.
These pesukim in the opening of Parashas Korach teach us the importance of this action: If one has the ability and the wherewithal to speak to disputants in an effort to bring peace, it is a great mitzvah to do so.
