B”H

Korach

V’Hinei Parach Matei Aharon

An adaptation of the Maamar found in Likutei Torah

 

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THE THEME of this week’s Torah portion, Korach, is the unique status of Aaron and his descendants as the kohanim, priests, of the Jewish people. G-d had chosen Moshe (Moses) to lead the Jews, and his brother Aaron to serve as High Priest. A cousin of theirs, Korach, challenged their authority, asking why he should not serve instead. After dealing with Korach and his followers (by causing them to be miraculously swallowed up by the earth), G-d instructed Moshe to conduct a public demonstration of His preference: each tribal head (including Aaron for the tribe of Levi) was to submit a rod, and the leader whom G-d chose would be identified by the miraculous blossoming of his rod. The Torah recounts (Numbers 17:23), “And it came to pass, that on the following day, Moshe went into the Tent of the Testimony [where he had left the rods], and behold, the rod of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted, and brought forth buds, and blossomed, and yielded almonds.”

What is the symbolism of this unique sign? Why did blossoming almonds, in particular, show that Aaron was the true kohein?

Before addressing this issue, let us first resolve a seeming contradiction:

Each day, we beseech G-d to grant us our various needs. For example, we pray (in the Shemoneh Esreh prayer), “Heal us, O G-d...”; “Bless this year and all its varied crops”; and similar requests. Yet why should this daily supplication be necessary? It is an established principle that all a person’s needs for the year are allocated in advance on Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. After all our earnest High Holiday prayers for a good year, in  response to which G-d  set aside for us whatever He saw fit, why do we have to keep asking, day in and day out, for health, food, and so on?

The answer is that the allocation on Rosh Hashanah is a broad, general allocation for the year, but does not necessarily determine when, and in what amounts, the benefits will be released. An example given in the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 17b) is that while a certain amount of rainfall may have been decreed for a particular year, that by itself does not determine whether the crops will be good or bad. It is possible for abundant rain to fall out of season, when it is not needed, but not enough during the growing season; it is also possible for rainfall to occur in geographic locations that do not need it, e.g., in the forest or the desert, yet not on farms and gardens. Thus, it is perfectly appropriate to pray steadily for beneficial rain: just the right amount spread throughout the year, and in places where it will do some good.

Another example might be the manner in which a corporate employee is reimbursed from his or her expense account. At the beginning of each year (let us say), the employee’s expense account for the year is determined – the funds are allocated for that person’s use. However, that is a far cry from saying that the money has literally been given to the person. Before they actually see any funds, the person must first submit a reimbursement request – which must be filled out properly, with all the “i”s dotted and “t”s crossed – and wait for it to go through the proper channels. At each step along the way, someone reviews the form, and, if all goes well, the money is eventually given to the employee. But it is also possible that for some reason, a supervisor somewhere along the chain will question something about the request. The employee is seeking reimbursement for new tires on the company car; didn’t they just replace the tires recently? Or perhaps the sum of $1,000. seems excessive for that outsourced work; couldn’t it have been found for less?

It is even possible that nothing in particular is amiss with the request, but the employee personally is in disfavor, and management is “punishing” them by scrutinizing every request for funds in detail. The opposite could also happen: an especially valuable or favored employee might enjoy the benefit of their superiors’ approving their expense requests with minimum or no scrutiny – “just give them whatever they want.” The only thing that is out of the question is to increase the size of the expense account. This can be done only at the beginning of the year, when the budget is being set or the contract negotiated, but once it has been determined, it is generally final.

When we pray for our daily needs, we hope to get what we ask for right away. However, this is not always granted, even if the thing requested was “budgeted for” on Rosh Hashanah. It is conceivable that, like the person in the expense account example, a person’s prayers are “fast-tracked” – perhaps they deserve special treatment because of some mitzvah they have done – or (G-d forbid) hampered by their relationship with G-d generally. There may be the spiritual equivalent of nitpicking supervisors, “accusers” or “denouncers” that would draw attention to one’s sins or otherwise question one’s merit, thus holding up the flow of blessing to the person. We find an example of this in the Torah: G-d had foretold to King David that his son Sh’lomo (Solomon) would become king over the Jews and would build the Holy Temple (see I Chronicles 9-10). Yet, when David commanded Tzadok the Priest, the prophet Nathan and B’nayahu the son of Y’hoyada to take Sh’lomo to the town of Gichon and there anoint him king, B’nayahu answered (I Kings 1:36), “Amen, may G-d … say so.” Our sages point out (B’reishis Rabba, Vayishlach ch. 76) that, seemingly, B’nayahu should not have needed to wish for G-d to decree as much, for He had already decreed it in His promise to David. However, they explain, what B’nayahu meant was that G-d should not allow anything to hamper the fulfillment of His word, since “Many accusers (kategorin) will arise between here and Gichon.”

It is the role of the kohanim to guard against this, and to expedite G-d’s blessings to the Jews. To borrow one more time from that expense account example, they are, perhaps, like a benevolent mentor in management (or, better yet, the employee’s uncle who owns the company), and they have the power to speed the funds through. Indeed, in the Priestly Blessing (recited as part of our holiday prayers; see Numbers 6:22-27), the kohanim bless us with this form of “G-dspeed.” This is hinted at by Aaron’s name, which is spelled with the same Hebrew letters as the word nireh, “we will see.” This is a reference to the verse (Psalms 36:10) “For with You [O G-d] is the source of life; in Your light we will see light.” That is, all the “light” or blessing we see from G-d, Who is the source of all, comes to us through the spiritual channel of Aaron and his descendants, the kohanim.

Blessings from G-d originate in G-d’s own  goodness, which is a spiritual level so lofty that we cannot compare it with any form of blessing or goodness known to us. In fact, our forefather Abraham, who embodied the attribute of kindness, nevertheless said of himself (Genesis 18:27), “I am dust and ashes.” What he meant is that although he epitomized – indeed, embodied – G-d’s attribute of kindness in this world (as explained elsewhere), there was nevertheless such a vast difference between the G-dly kindness “compressed” as it were, within the human personality of Abraham, and G-d’s attribute of kindness as known to G-d Himself, that Abraham’s version was but dust and ashes compared to the real thing. On the way from G-d’s own goodness all the way down to its expression in physical, worldly goodness – health, food, etc. – that mortals can enjoy, there are innumerable spiritual steps along the way. At each such point, the spiritual goodness, the blessing from G-d, becomes a bit more material; but at each point also the question may arise, “Is the intended recipient worthy that this extraordinary action be taken, that his or her blessing should proceed to the next stage?”

(This concept – the initial allocation and confirmation on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, followed by the ongoing, daily allotment of a person’s blessing depending upon their merit – is related to the Talmudic dispute (Rosh Hashanah 16a) as to whether one is judged on Rosh Hashanah or every day. However, this is not the place to analyze this dispute in detail.)

The kohanim’s contribution is to expedite this unimaginable journey, to see to it that our blessings reach us speedily and without impediment along the way. This is a function of G-d’s love for us, and is similar to what is written about G-d’s refusal to listen to the sorcerer Balaam as he tried to curse the Jews (G-d forbid) through mentioning their shortcomings. We are told (Deuteronomy 23:6), “G-d, your G-d, would not deign to listen to Balaam … for G-d, your G-d, loved you.” G-d would not allow anything to stand in the way of His relationship with us. Similarly, the kohanim recite, before blessing the people, “… Who has sanctified us with His mitzvos and commanded us to bless His people Israel with love.”

The distinction explained above between the ordinarily lengthy course of G-d’s blessings to the world, and the spiritual “fast track,” is hinted at by the verse (Psalms 147:15), “He sends forth His command upon the earth; His word runs very swiftly.” The first half of this verse refers to the ordinary progression of the blessing with G-d sends forth. However, when we enjoy the “special treatment” conferred through the kohanim and the Priestly Blessing, “His word runs very swiftly.”

With the above in mind, we can understand the symbolism of almonds as a sign of the priesthood. Our sages teach (towards the end of Koheles Rabba, 115b), “What is the distinctive feature of this almond? From the time it sprouts to the time it ripens is [only] 21 days.” Almonds ripen faster than any other produce, and indeed, this fact is expressed by the Hebrew word for “almond,” shaked, which connotes speed and zeal – as it is written (Jeremiah 1:11-12), “And the word of G-d came to me, saying, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ and I said, ‘I see a stick of an almond [tree].’ And G-d said to me, ‘You have perceived well, for I hasten to perform My word.’”

The reason G-d’s kindness flows so swiftly through Aaron and his descendants is that spiritually, there are two levels of kindness, known as “eternal kindness” (chessed olam, which can also be translated “worldly kindness”) and a higher level called “great kindness” (rav chessed). Aaron and the priests draw blessing to the Jews from the level of “great kindness,” which is so strong in its flow that it is like a mighty river that simply sweeps away any attempts to dam it up with sticks and things.

Finally, G-d is referred to (in the Shemoneh Esreh prayer) as “High G-d, Who renders (gomel) good kindnesses.” The description of G-d’s kindness as “good” is an allusion to what is written about the G-dly light He created (Genesis 1:4), “And G-d saw that the light was good.” As explained above, this image of light can be understood as applying to the flow of G-d’s blessings upon us, which is why the name “Aaron” is related to the word “we will see [G-d’s light].” Thus, the above phrase uses the Hebrew word gomel, “renders” or “performs,” to describe the flow of G-d’s kindness and blessing to us. (It is, in fact, a common use of the word, as in the expression, g’milas chassadim, “performing [acts of] kindness.) This is the same word used in our verse about Aaron’s rod, which, as we now see, was the symbol of the speedy transmission of that G-dly light to us: vayigmol sh’keidim, it “ripened into almonds.”

 

Ó 2002 Yitzchok D. Wagshul. Please note that the foregoing is an informal adaptation by a private person, and that, therefore, errors are possible. Also, the Hebrew original contains much more than could possibly be presented here, and constitutes a much more direct transmission of the Alter Rebbe’s teachings. Furthermore, the adaptation may contain supplementary or explanatory material not in the original, and not marked as such in any way. Thus, for those with the ability to learn in the original, this adaptation should not be considered a substitute for the maamar. Good Shabbos!