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Orchard of Delights Beha’alotcha

is certainly true, the full manifestation and revelation of this truth we have noted repeatedly when discussing PaRDeS, each word, verse,
will only occur in the future. Until then hierarchy is both a natural story, and mitzvah in the Torah can be simultaneously understood
and necessary component of human relations. Korach was arguing on multiple levels. This is especially true when the phenomenon
that the future, in a sense, had already come; therefore, there was under discussion occurs only once in the Torah, such as these inverted
no need for a leader like Moses whose authority exceeded everybody nuns.
else’s. Ironically, Korach, the populist libertarian, cynically employs The Slonimer Rebbe in Netivot Shalom quotes an insight from the
the notion of equality to advance his own ambitions, while Moses, Maggid of Koznitch who suggests that the ark symbolizes the Torah
described by the Torah as the humblest man on the face of the earth, scholar, for both are external vessels that contain Torah inside.
appears to be selfishly fighting to maintain his authority. However, Indeed, sometimes Torah scholars are referred to as “walking Torah
there is no doubt that Moses never sought power and authority for scrolls” because the Torah has been so wholly integrated into their
himself; clearly he only fought Korach’s bid for power because he beings. The Hebrew word for “journey” (nesi’ah) used in our verse
had no doubt that God had appointed him to lead His people. shares the same root as the Hebrew word for “test” (nisayon), thus
Although Korach’s ego interfered with his ability to be objective implying that anytime the ark or a Torah scholar goes on a journey,
and despite the fact that he misunderstood his contemporaries’ needs, challenges and tests will inevitably arise. The Slonimer Rebbe explains
no one can dispute that there was a very deep kernel of truth to his that this paradigm applies to anyone who wants to journey from a
claim. The Lubliner Rebbe, who was known to refer to Korach as lower spiritual level to a higher, more refined level of consciousness,
“my Zaide (grandfather) Korach,” once exclaimed that had he been one of the vital goals of learning Torah and performing mitzvot.
alive at the time of the controversy he would have had a hard time In the first verse, Moses utters the prayer that God come to the
knowing which side to take. This statement is in keeping with the aid of all those longing to elevate themselves and protect them from
populist philosophy fueling the first few generations of the Chassidic their enemies, that is, from all those forces in the world obstructing
movement, a movement which wished to empower and inspire the positive, constructive spiritual advancement. Within this rubric,
poor, downtrodden, and “simple” masses with a belief that their God’s enemies are our enemies, and vice versa, as we become closely
Divine service was meaningful and precious in God’s eyes.
identified with God: our greatest desire is to do God’s work in the
Therefore even though Korach’s rebellion both appeared to be world and for this very reason we were chosen by Him. Chassidut
and, in fact, was not for the sake of Heaven, he did intuit a great points out that the first part of Psalms 34:15 – “Turn from evil and
truth which would be revealed in the future. Only at the End of Days do good” – expresses this desire for spiritual advancement.
will Korach “blossom like a date palm” and his words be revealed as In the second verse, Moses utters a request that God rest peacefully
“words of the living God.” among the people of Israel. The second half of Psalms 34:15 – “Turn

from evil and do good” reflects this aspiration. In truth, only once
God helps us defeat His and our enemies can our mission of doing
good truly begin. The culminating point of a human being’s service
to God is to draw near Him with love and create a vessel for Him
to dwell in this world. Even more significantly, this culminating
moment is achieved when we allow Him to dwell within each and
every one of us. Since, according to the Slonimer Rebbe, the ideas
presented in these two verses form the very basis for serving God,

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