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kOrach ח ַרֹק
An Example
£An Example An Example An Example
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of Measure For Measureof Measure For Measure
of Measure For Measure
One of the fundamental principles governing Divine justice is the
notion of “measure for measure” (midah kenegged midah). A constant
theme in the oral tradition, this concept also gains great prominence
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in Kabbalah and Chassidut. Some secular or non-Jewish versions
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of this concept include the following: “You reap what you sow”;
“What goes around comes around”; “You are what you eat”; and
the Eastern concept of karma.
In the portion of Korach, wherein Korach organizes a rebellion
against Moses’ leadership, the principle of “measure for measure” is
evident on both conceptual and practical levels in light of the Arizal’s
teaching that Korach possessed Cain’s reincarnated soul, while Moses
possessed Abel’s. There are many obvious comparisons between these
pairs. Just as Cain was jealous of Abel because God chose his offering,
Korach was jealous of Aaron and Moses because God granted them the
chief leadership positions and not him. Furthermore, after God chose
Abel’s offering, He tried to comfort Cain by teaching him to fight his
tendency to jealousy and depression, so that he would increase his
satisfaction with his lot in life. Likewise, Moses attempted to calm
Korach down by providing him with reasons to be contented with
his life circumstances. Both attempts failed; Cain pursued Abel and
killed him and Korach pursued his rebellion until the bitter end.
The principle of “measure for measure” plays itself out when the
earth, which had “opened its mouth widely” (Genesis 4:11) to cover
up Cain’s crime, opens and swallows up Korach and his followers, as
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Beha’alotcha
Although the Talmud (Sanhedrin 17a) presents a number of different
versions of Eldad and Medad’s prophecy, Rashi chooses to cite the
tradition from Sifrei that they prophesied Moses’ death in the desert
and Joshua’s leading the children of Israel into the Promised Land.
This tradition, which sheds light both on Joshua’s and Moses’ reactions,
highlights Joshua’s humility and extraordinary love for his mentor and
Moses’ lack of concern for his own fate. Indeed, as the Torah reports,
Moses instinctive reaction was selfless: would that all the people were
close enough to God to merit His spirit resting upon them.
Yet Moses’ words allude to an even deeper principle at work: the
Talmudic assertion that whatever a great person says ultimately
comes to fruition on some level. The classic example of this is Rachel’s
tragic death in childbirth as a result of Jacob’s hasty vow to Laban
that whoever was found guilty of stealing Laban’s idols would be put
to death. Although the idols were not discovered and Jacob did not
know that Rachel had in fact stolen them, his words, once spoken,
ultimately sealed her fate.
Moses was also swept away by emotion when he pleaded with God
to forgive the people after the sin of the Golden Calf: “And now if You
would forgive their sin, and if not, erase me please from Your book
that You have written” (Exodus 32:32). God did in fact forgive the
people, but He also fulfilled Moses’ words on some level. Moses’ name
appears in every single Torah portion from his birth at the beginning
of Exodus to his death at the end of Deuteronomy, except for Tetzaveh,
the portion preceding the sin of the Golden Calf. Since he is referred
to in the portion’s first phrase and other times as well by the pronoun
“you” – “And you command” – the Sages explain in a derash that God
symbolically “erased” Moses’ name from this portion.
Just as the utterances of a great person have negative repercussions,
they can also have positive ones. When Moses spontaneously prayed
that all of God’s people should be prophets, he was basing this hope
on each and every Jew’s innate potential to experience prophecy on
some level. Although the prophetic era officially ended during the
Second Temple period, even today individual Jews can have prophetic
insights and experience Divine inspiration (ruach hakodesh).
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