The 17th-century work Sheivet Mussar writes that there was something unique about the day of Korach’s revolt, when he and his followers challenged Moshe. Unlike any other day that Benei Yisrael spent in the wilderness, they all went hungry. All 2 million or so people had nothing to eat. Because on that day, the manna didn’t fall.
On the day of חטא העגל, when Benei Yisrael betrayed God and worshipped a graven image, the manna fell. The Chida, in his work Yosef Tehilos, writes that this is the meaning of the pasuk in Tehillim (136:25), – “He gives bread to all flesh, for His kindness is everlasting.” Hashem continues showering His kindness upon us even when we fail, when we make mistakes, when we betray Him. Even at the time of the greatest betrayal, when Benei Yisrael bowed to a golden calf, Hashem still lovingly provided them their sustenance by bringing the manna.
But on the day of Korach’s revolt, the manna did not fall. Fighting and strife are so destructive, so sinful, and so pernicious, that it causes Hashem to withhold parnasa.
The Shelah Ha’kadosh (Yoma, 197) teaches: “A single fight keeps away one hundred livelihoods.” As Korach’s uprising teaches us, nothing is so detrimental to our sustenance – not even worshipping a graven image – than machlokes.
People are always looking for “segulos” for earning a comfortable livelihood. If only they realized that the most important such “segula” is peaceful relations with others, avoiding strife and fighting, which requires us to yield, to forgive, to be flexible, and to humbly accept differences of opinion. If we are looking for a “segula” for parnasa, this is it – avoiding machlokes.
The unique severity of machlokes is noted also by Rashi (16:27). Citing the Midrash Tanchuma, Rashi comments that when the ground opened and devoured Korah, Dasan and Aviram, the three leaders of the revolt, it devoured even the young children. Normally, of course, children are not punished for wrongdoing. Rashi writes that Beis Din does not punish youngsters before bar mitzva age, and Hashem’s Heavenly Court does not punish those under the age of 20. Machlokes, however, has the ability to bring death upon even small children. Fighting is so toxic that nobody is spared from its devastating consequences.
Those of us who are parents (and may all those who want to have children be blessed very soon with the ability to do so) know that there are many things we can tolerate from our children, many things that are excusable and forgivable. But fighting with one another is something we have no patience for. The children can disagree; they don’t have to see eye- to-eye or conform to one another, but they cannot have conflict. Fighting among our children breaks our heart, and hurts our soul. The same is true of Hashem and His children. He can tolerate our mistakes and failures – even the worship of the golden calf!!! – but not our fighting.
It is time for us to let go of whatever we are holding on to. There are so many people who hate us, so many who threaten us; we shouldn’t be hating one another. There are so many just causes to fight for – let’s not fight with each other. If we want parnasa, prosperity, for ourselves and our families, we need to stay as far away as possible from machlokes.
