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Home -> 5776 -> Korach

כי שכר הוא לכם חלף עבדתכם באוהל מועד

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Korach, 5776

For it is a wage for you in exchange for your service in the Ohel Moed. (18:31)

The Torah describes the Maaser, tithe, which is given to the Levi as payment for the service Hashem requires them to perform. Nothing is innately holy about wages. This applies across the board to all matnos Kehunah, gifts given to the Kohanim, and matnos Leviyah, gifts given to the Leviim, which are all considered payment for their service. The Sefer Yagdil Torah quotes the Ohr Sameach who questions this halachah. The Kohanim receive a number of matanos, gifts: Terumah, Terumas Maaser, Pidyon HaBen, etc. A Kohen does not have to be actively involved in sacred service in the Sanctuary to…

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Home -> 5776 -> Korach

ויקח קרח

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Korach, 5776

Korach took/separated himself. (16:1)

Korach had it all, but it was not enough for him. If someone else had something that he did not have, it angered him to the point of obsession. He, too, had to have it. When Elitzaphan ben Uziel was placed in charge of the family of Kehas, Korach became irrational. Why should his cousin have a role that placed him in the position of  Korach’s superior? Korach was a rodef achar ha’kavod, one who pursued honor, craved recognition, was obsessed with being in the limelight. This is the most corrosive desire that one can have. Ramchal (Mesillas Yesharim, end…

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Home -> 5776 -> Korach

ויקח קרח

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Korach, 5776

Korach took/separated himself. (16:1)

The “Korachs” of every generation seem to be thriving. Sadly, there is no shortage of malcontents who rise up to usurp the authenticity and authority of our Torah leadership. What about their followers? How do these scoundrels always find individuals that follow their organized animus toward everything holy? Korach was able to lure 250 heads of the Sanhedrin. This was no simple feat. They were not the shleppers that hang around with nothing to do with their lives. They were distinguished leaders, men of stature and repute. Yet, they were ensnared by Korach’s invective, lured by promises of even greater…

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Home -> 5776 -> Korach

ויקח קרח

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum
In Korach, 5776

Korach took/separated himself. (16:1)

Korach did not wake up one morning and decide that “today” he was going to dispute Moshe’s leadership, thinking: “Today, I will mutiny against Hashem; today, I will demand that Aharon’s position as Kohen Gadol be transferred to me”. It certainly did not happen that way. Korach’s dissent had been festering for some time. He was biding his time, waiting for the most propitious opportunity in which he would have the greatest success. What was there about “now” that provided Korach with the fortuity for fomenting a successful revolt against our nation’s leadership? Horav Bentzion Firer, zl, suggests that it…

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