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These divrei Torah were adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Torah Tapes on the weekly portion: Tape #151 -- The Mitzvah of Pidyon HaBen: Some Fascinating Facts. Good Shabbos!
Flower Power: G-d Gives An "A" for Effort
This week's parsha contains the story of Korach and his followers, who contested the legitimate rights of Aharon and his sons to be the Kohanim [Priests]. We know that the result of this was a terrible plague, while the earth swallowed up the rebels.
At the end of the parsha we again learn of the Jews complaining about the priesthood of Aharon. The verse says "Speak to the children of Israel and take from them one staff from each father's house, from all their leaders according to their fathers' house, twelve staffs; each man's name shall you inscribe on his staff." [Bamidbar 17:17].
G-d is trying to settle this once and for all. G-d is going to prove, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that Aharon is the one He intends to be the Kohain. The Princes of each tribe had to give over their walking sticks and the proof would come through these staffs. The Tribe of Levi was to be represented by Aharon and his name would be written on the staff from that tribe. The person's staff which miraculously sprouts will be the one chosen by G-d to be the priest.
Aharon's staff was the one that flowered, and it gave forth almonds. The commentaries ask an interesting question. Normally, when fruits grow, the flower or bud that preceded the fruit falls away. Why are both the flower and the fruit simultaneously present on Aharon's staff? The Talmud [Yoma 52], in fact, explicitly mentions that the staff was hidden for Eternity --together with its flowers and its almonds.
How did this happen? Obviously it was a miracle -- the same G-d who made the walking stick sprout can make it sprout and have flowers and fruit simultaneously. But, why? What is the significance of the flower remaining?
Rav Moshe Feinstein, zt"l, offers a beautiful insight. What is the flower to the fruit? It is a preparation -- first the plant blossoms, and then fruit emerges. In spirituality and in mitzvos, preparations are important.
In the secular world, people are only interested in the final product -- the bottom line -- the fruit. The effort, the time, the preparations are all wasted if one does not produce. When it comes to matters of holiness, when it comes to learning -- the exact opposite is true. G-d wants the effort. The preparations that a person performs before doing a mitzvah are important to G-d like the mitzvah itself.
That is why the flowers remained. G-d is sending us a message: "The fruits developed and came about, but that which preceded them is also important to Me." That is the groundwork. In every other endeavor in life the groundwork and the preparation and the toil do not count, but by spirituality they do count. Therefore, when the staff was hidden for Eternity it was hidden with its flowers and with its fruit, because to us, preparation is significant.
Being A Loser -- And Proud of It!
How does this incident end? "And Moses brought out all the staffs from before Hashem to all the Children of Israel; they saw and they took, each man his staff". [17:24] The point was driven home; everyone was impressed; and everyone took back his staff.
We know that sometimes the most intricate of laws is learned from a singleextra letter in the Torah. Why does the Torah here go through the troubleof telling us that every man took his staff back home? Who cares? The pointwas made -- what difference does it make whether they took their staffsback home or not?
The "Min HaBe'er", suggests the following speculation in the name of "Chassidic Greats" about these apparently non-essential words: Each Prince took back his staff and went around the entire Jewish camp telling everyone "See this is the staff that didn't sprout!"
What is the point of showing off the staff that did not sprout? Why would a person brag about being a loser? The point is that in this instance everyone was proud to be a loser. Each person was proud to say, "I was involved in a greater good." Because of the competition with the staffs, Aharon's leadership was finally established once and for all. The plagues were over; the complaints and jealousies were over; now the dispute was finished.
"OK, I wasn't chosen. But there is something that is bigger than us all and that transcends my own personal interests." Here everyone was willing to sublimate themselves to the greater good. "I do not need to be the star. I do not need to be the winner. There is a winner and I was part of the process and I am proud of that." That is what the Torah is telling us through the words "and they took their staffs home".
There is an important lesson in that for us. We can not always all be stars. But many times we can attach ourselves to a greater cause, something that is bigger than ourselves as individuals, but which is important for the community. Finally the Jewish people had reached the level where they could say "Enough of this business of 'Who is Leading' -- I don't care who is leading! I am proud to be a personal loser, because as a member of the congregation, I am a tremendous winner."
Sources and Personalities
Rav Moshe Feinstein --- (1895-1986) Posek, Rosh Yeshiva; New York.
Glossary
Kohanim --- Priests
This week's write-up is adapted from the hashkafa portion of Rabbi Yissocher Frand's Commuter Chavrusah Torah Tapes on the weekly Torah portion (#151). The corresponding halachic portion for this tape is - The Mitzvah of Pidyon HaBen: Some Fascinating Facts. The other halachic portions for Parshas Korach from the Commuter Chavrusah Series are:
Yad Yechiel Institute
PO Box 511
Owings Mills, MD 21117-0511
Call (410) 358-0416 for further information.
Also Available: Mesorah / Artscroll has published a collection of Rabbi Frand's essays. The book is entitled:
and is available through your local Hebrew book store or from Genesis Judaica, http://books.torah.org/ , 1-410-358-9800.