Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW
Rabbi, Kehillat New Hempstead
Rebbe/Guidance Counselor – ASHAR/ Yeshiva Bais
Hachinuch
STAM TORAH
PARSHAS KORACH 5774
“SYNERGETIC
PEACE”
A
stormy night, off the coast of Newfoundland
USS
Lincoln to Canadian Naval Authorities:
Please divert your course 15 degrees to the North to avoid a collision.
Canadians: Recommend you divert YOUR course 15
degrees to the South to avoid a collision.
USS
Lincoln: This is the captain
of a US Navy ship. I repeat, divert YOUR course.
Canadians: No. I repeat; you divert YOUR course.
USS
Lincoln: THIS IS THE
AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS LINCOLN, THE SECOND LARGEST SHIP IN THE UNITED STATES’
ATLANTIC FLEET. WE ARE ACCOMPANIED BY THREE DESTROYERS, THREE CRUISERS, AND
NUMEROUS SUPPORT VESSELS. I DEMAND THAT YOU CHANGE YOUR COURSE FIFTEEN DEGREES
NORTH, OR COUNTER-MEASURES WILL BE TAKEN TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF THIS SHIP.
Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call….
Korach incited an overt rebellion
against the authority of Moshe and Aharon, the selfless leaders of Klal
Yisroel. Korach posed as a champion of the masses, in order to rouse the masses
to join his cause.
He began his tirade with an exclamation
intended to put Moshe and Aharon on the defensive, accusing them of selfishly
garnering all of the nation’s power for themselves. Then, in order to curry the
favor of the public he demanded that, since all Jews were equally holy, Moshe
and Aharon had no right to usurp the highest positions for themselves.
Despite the fact that he was baselessly
attacked, Moshe did all in his power to make peace with the rebels. But it was
to no avail. They were bent on rebellion and would settle for nothing less.
The greatness of peace is constantly underscored
by our Sages. “How great is peace; for prayer does not conclude with anything
other than peace, and the Priestly Blessings do not conclude with anything
other than peace.”[1]
“Hillel said: One should be from the disciples of Aharon - love peace and
pursue peace; love the creations and bring them closer to Torah.”[2]
“Great is the blessing of peace which G-d granted Pinchas because the world
runs on nothing other than peace. The Torah is solely peace as it says, ‘its
ways are wars of pleasantness and all of its pathways are peace’.”[3]
In the tractate called Derech Eretz Zutah,
the entire final chapter is dedicated to speaking about the greatness of peace
and its importance. Among the other qualities mentioned is that the Name of G-d
is Peace, the name of Moshiach is peace, and the name of Klal Yisroel is peace.
The verse in Tehillim (29) states, “G-d will grant strength to His nation. G-d
will bless His nation with peace.” In addition, the kaddish prayer concludes
with a prayer for peace, “He who makes peace on high, He will make peace upon
us, and upon all of Israel
What is the great merit of peace and why is
it so important?
Nesivas Shalom[4]
explains that the need for peace was built into the very fabric of creation. The
Koznitzer Maggid explains what it means that G-d’s Name is Peace. Every object
in this world is composed of one, or some combination of more than one, of four
base substances: Fire, spirit, water, and dust. The enigma of creation is that
these four substances all oppose each other. Fire consumes, water floods, wind
extinguishes, and dust conceals. Yet, when a precise measure of these
substances is combined in perfect balance they create a world which sustains
and nurtures life.
Truthfully, every force within creation stands
in direct contrast to another opposing force. Night contrasts day and winter is
the opposite extreme of summer. Every time a wave crashes against the shore, it
threatens to consume the land and devour it into the infinite ocean. The world
of science has demonstrated that all matter is composed of a balance of negatively
charged electrons, neutral neurons, and positively charged protons which form
the structure, depth, form, and density of all matter. It is that precarious
balance - i.e. the peace – that exists between these diverse forces that enables
the world to exist. Whenever G-d, in His infinite wisdom, decides to upset that
balance, untold destruction and chaos ensues, bringing with it a wave of destruction
and loss of life.
It is for this reason that peace is so
vital; for without peace the world cannot function! The continuity of creation
and the perpetuity of life in our world are dependent on peace and harmony.
It must be noted that peace does not mean
that every diverse component within creation must nullify itself by forfeiting its
own uniqueness for the sake of peace. In fact, if that would occur the world
would cease to exist within a short time. If winter and summer would both
“compromise” so that there would be but one warm season, if night and day would
“compromise” so that there would be only one elongated period of dusk, or if
ocean and land would merge into one vast shallow body of water, nature would be
destroyed.
Peace is not the result of disregarding
individuality. Rather it is the result of the combination of all diverse forces
uniting together, the synergy of all its parts.
Stephen Covey writes[5]:
“What is synergy? Simply defined, it means that the whole is greater than the
sum of its parts. It means that the relationship which the parts have to each
other is a part in and of itself. It is not only a part, but the most
catalytic, the most empowering, the most unifying, and the most exciting part…
“Valuing the differences is the essence of
synergy – the mental, the emotional, and the psychological differences between
people. And the key to valuing those differences is to realize that all people
see the world, not as it is, but as they are…
“And unless we value the differences in our
perceptions, unless we value each other and give credence to the possibility
that we’re both right, that life is not always a dichotomous either/or, that
there are always third alternatives, we will never be able to transcend that
limit of conditioning.”
Nesivos Shalom continues that so many
things bear the title “peace” because peace is a prerequisite for all creation
and life, both in the upper worlds and in the lower worlds. Peace is the great
unifier, the combiner all of forces into one incredible force dedicated solely
to increasing the Glory of Heaven.
In one of his classic discourses, Rav Shimshon
Pinkus zt’l explained the Torah’s viewpoint about marriage. A husband and wife
are often viewed as a single entity[6].
The Torah states, “Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and
cling to his wife, and they shall become one flesh“[7].However,
it must be understand that the whole concept of marriage as two halves equaling
one whole[8]
is true only in regards to soul and purpose. On a spiritual level a husband and
wife become one unit. On a practical and physical level however, marriage is a
union of two separate individuals.
Rav Pinkus explained by relating the
following anecdote: “I am the Rav in a community called Ofakim in the south of
Eretz Yisroel. The community has about two hundred families, where literally
almost half are of Sephardic descent and half are Ashkenazic. When the community was ready to build a shul
I instructed them to build two separate shuls in one building. Each shul would
daven according to its own traditions, but both would be housed under the same
roof. When people heard my idea they countered that it would cause
divisiveness. I replied that the opposite is true; for nothing leads to peace
like diversity!
“In order for two people to fuse into one
single entity each must forfeit half of its self. To be “one”, which implies
that two halves have become enjoined and enmeshed, each side must ‘shed’ part
of itself. To forfeit half of one’s essence and personality inevitably breeds
resentment. If my wife and I are each only half of one whole, then if my wife
purchases an expensive dress, I will have acrimonious feelings because my “half
of our whole” doesn’t care about freely spending hard-earned money on an
expensive dress.
“However, if each of us remains as an
individual, albeit with the goal of uniting and helping each other meet our
needs and grow as people, then there will be no resentment or ill-feeling.
Although I as a man may not care for that dress, but my desire to preserve our
union requires me to value what my wife values. The result of such as
perspective will be true peace and harmony.
“As another example, I see my father as the
father of our family and her father as the father-in-law of the family. If we
are one entity there is no way to resolve that issue. But if we are two units
living together in love and devotion then we are able to respect our
differences and accept our diversities without contention. I can see my father
as ‘the father’ and accept the fact that she sees her father as ‘the father’.
“It was for that reason that I told my
community to build two shuls. When each shul is able to follow its own
traditions and customs and thus maintain its uniqueness, then we can live
together in love and peace.
“In
order for there to be peace one must recognize that the other ‘half’ is, in
reality, its own whole!”
Rabbi Gedalyah Schorr zt’l explained that
malchus (kingship/monarchy) is the unification of all different factions within
a kingdom.
When everyone is rendered ‘intellectually
sterile’, i.e. where their ability to think for themselves is stunted and they
known nothing more than a bunch of facts dictated to them through a little red
book[9]
that is not true malchus. A true monarch is a king who reigns over a group of
diverse individuals each with their own thoughts and ideas, yet who have
recognized for themselves the legitimacy and greatness of their king and have
accepted his leadership upon themselves.
True malchus is a result of shalom. That is
why the name of Moshiach is peace. The Messianic era will be a time of
spiritual bliss when all will recognize the truth and see that G-d is the true
king. It will be a time of peace, under the united monarchy of King Moshiach.
On the other hand, when one allows his own
personal feelings and differences to cause strife and divisiveness, and when
one sees dissimilarities as a sign of inferiority, that is the antithesis of
peace.
The debacle of Korach tragically symbolizes
the dangers of man’s insatiable jealousy and quest for prestige, as well as the
deleterious effect of dispute and quarrels. Korach was a prestigious and
wealthy individual. But his envy caused him to see himself as inferior to Moshe
and Aharon and not that he was simply playing a different, but equally vital
role.
. By challenging the authority of the great
leaders of Klal Yisroel, Korach and his followers sealed their own fate. The
fact that they were willing to compromise their own lives as well as the lives
of their families is proof that they were wholly confident that their cause was
justified and that they were acting properly. Once they convinced themselves of
the validity of their cause and that their behavior was warranted and justified
there could be no rectification without harsh and painful retribution to squash
the rebellion.
Maintaining peace is not always easy,
especially with difficult people and in challenging situations. The debacle of
Korach and the Torah’s prohibition, “You shall not be like Korach and his
congregation”[10],
reminds us why it is so vital and well worth the effort!
“The world runs on nothing other than peace”
“G-d
will bless His nation with peace”
[1] Bamibar
Rabbah 11:7
[2] Avos
1:12
[3] Bamidbar
Rabbah 21:1
[4] Parshas
Naso, “gadol hashalom”
[5] The 7
Habits of Highly Effective People
[6] see
Berachos 24a
[7]
Bereishis 2:24
[8] Often
romanticized by the refrain that marriage is “one plus one equals one”)
[9] The
“little red book” was the title given by the West to the book that was required
reading in China
under the communist regime of Mao Zedong until his death in 1976.
[10]
Bamidbar 17:5
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