The Weekly Shtikle - Korach

Beginning with the first mitzvah we received while still in Mitzrayim (Shemos 12:3) there is a word that is used quite often to refer to the community or congregation – eidah. The word is featured quite significantly in last week's parsha as (14:27) it is used to teach us (Berachos 21b) that 10 men are required for a minyan. But in this week's episode with Korach and his followers, there is a very precise nuance in the use of the word which may shed some light on how all the events went down.

It would take quite some time to analyze each and every use of the word as it appears 18 times (see concordance.) There are three different contexts in which it is used. Adas Korach (or adasecha, when Moshe is talking directly to Korach) refers to Korach's own cohort. Adas Yisrael is the larger population of B'nei Yisrael – perhaps not all, but at the very least, a large portion of it. The one context which is not as easy to define is eidah without a qualifier which would seem to also refer to the greater population. The group of 250 are referred to as nesi'ei eidah. It would be superfluous to understand that as chiefs of Korach's group. They were Korach's group.

A careful reading of the exchange between Korach and Moshe reveals another aspect of Moshe's great humility. At no point does he call for a national spectacle to expose the flawed campaign of Korach. He demands a showdown simply with (16:6) "Korach vechol adaso," (16:16) "ata vechol adasecha." Moshe did not feel the need to prove himself to the entire population. Only Korach and his group needed to be rebuffed. But Korach had other plans. He wanted the entire nation to bear witness so he, on his own (16:19) summoned "kol ha'eidah." Before his demise, HaShem commands that ha'eidah – the nation – remove themselves from their midst to not follow their fate. (Some of these points are discussed in Ramban to 16:21.)

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Dikdukian: Just do it!
Dikdukian: Flee Market
Dikdukian: Vayikach Korach

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The Weekly Shtikle - Shelach

This week’s parsha begins with the tragic story of the spies. Following those events immediately is the commandment regarding the wine and flour offerings that are to accompany each type of korban. Then, we are told of the mitzvah of taking challah from the dough each time we make a large batch of bread. The timing and wording of this mitzvah are somewhat intriguing, to say the least. It begins with (15:2) “When you enter the land that I am giving you…” This is, of course, mere moments after it was decreed that nearly the entire generation would not merit to enter that very land. Surely, there must be a deeper meaning.

Sure enough, this very topic is covered by this year’s offering from Noam Jacobson. Some commentaries suggest simply that this commandment is meant as a reassurance that it will take time but the nation will indeed merit to enter and perform mitzvos in the land. But Noam takes it even deeper.

One of the many interpretations of the true driving force behind the sin of the spies is that in truth they greatly valued the high level of Divine Providence that they were currently experiencing. They were fed by the manna, protected by the Clouds of Glory and dwelled close to the mishkan. Once they would enter the land, a lot of that heightened kedushah would seemingly disappear. They would have to work the land and engage in so many this-worldly matters. They preferred to stay in their current state.

This mitzvah of challah directly addresses this fear. When they will enter the land, the realities will change but in a positive way. There is kedushah in every single grain of wheat. And the language of the commandment is also very deliberate. The spies decried that Eretz Yisrael was (13:32) “a land that devours its inhabitants.” Conversely, we are commanded to take challah (15:19) “when you eat from the bread of the land.” The land doesn’t eat the inhabitants – it’s the other way around. This commandment is meant to directly address the claims of the spies and the motivations behind them.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:
Dikdukian: What's Different About Efrayim? 

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The Weekly Shtikle - Beha'alosecha

In this week's parsha we have the famous two pesukim (10:35-36) regarding the traveling and resting of the aron. The two pesukim are encapsulated by the irregular upside-down nuns, thus dividing sefer Bemidbar into two (three, really, counting what is in between) parts. The exact placement of this separation is quite significant. The divided parts of Bemidbar are rather divergent periods in B'nei Yisrael's sojourn in the midbar. Until this point, everything is proceeding beautifully. B'nei Yisrael are camped as a united nation at Har Sinai. They complete the building of the mishkan and its consecration. Everything seems to be going fine. And then everything seems to go wrong. The rest of Bemidbar seems to be a drastic sequence of struggles that B'nei Yisrael face. Moshe seems constantly challenged with complaints. B'nei Yisrael are faced with the challenging episodes of the spies, Korach and Midyan. These two pesukim are the border between these two eras.

The first challenge is that of the mis'onenim, the complainers. The Torah does not tell us what they were complaining about but the ensuing consequences are quite clear. The site of this disaster is named Tav'eirah, after the great consuming fire. R' Chaim Kanievsky notes that in parshas Mas'ei, when all the checkpoints that B'nei Yisrael passed through are enumerated, there is no mention of Tav'eirah.

Ramban (11:3) posits that B'nei Yisrael did not move from there before the next challenge after which that very same place was renamed Kivros HaTa'avah which is mentioned as the first stop after Har Sinai (33:16). However, R' Chaim dismisses this suggestion based on the pasuk in parshas Eikev (Devarim 9:22) which seems to clearly refer to Tav'eirah and Kivros HaTa'avah as separate places. R' Chaim quotes from his son that the list of checkpoints in parshas Mas'ei is only a list of locations where B'nei Yisrael camped and rested. While the Torah does not tell us directly what the mis'onenim complained about, Rashi does offer some insight into the matter. He writes (11:1) that B'nei Yisrael were complaining about the discomfort of having traveled three consecutive days without resting. It therefore seems that this place was not a place where they rested at all. They were certainly traveling until the tragedy occurred and seemingly picked up and continued immediately afterward as well. Therefore, it is not listed in parshas Mas'ei.

Have a good Shabbos.

Eliezer Bulka
WeeklyShtikle@weeklyshtikle.com

 

Shtikle Blog Weekly Roundup:

Al Pi Cheshbon: Piles of Quail 

Dikdukian: The Impure

Dikdukian: In My Humble Opinion

Dikdukian: To Make Travel 

Please visit the new portal for all Shtikle-related sites, www.weeklyshtikle.com

The Weekly Shtikle and related content are now featured on BaltimoreJewishLife.com

 

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