Al HaPanim - Korach
וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה וַיִּפֹּל עַל פָּנָיו. (במדבר טז, ד)
When Korach and his eida rebelled against Moshe and Aharon, what was Moshe's response? The passuk says "Moshe heard and he fell on his face!"
What did Moshe "hear", and what does it mean he "fell on his face"? In addition, Korach's claim was against both Moshe and Aharon, so why was it only Moshe that heard and fell on his face and not Aharon?
R' Bachyei says that this shows the degree of humility and morality of Aharon HaKohen that although the claim was against him receiving the kehuna, he remained silent and did not respond – the same self-nullification before HKB"H we saw when his sons Nadav and Avihu perished after bringing an אֵשׁ זָרָה, the passuk says וַיִּדֹּם אַהֲרֹן (ויקרא י, ג). Moshe, however, saw the insult to his brother's honor and would not remain silent. Therefore, Moshe alone "fell on his face".
The Gemara (סנהדרין קי, ע"א) brings a different explanation – מָה שְׁמוּעָה שָׁמַע? אָמַר רַבִּי שְׁמוּאֵל בַּר נַחְמָנִי א"ר יוֹנָתָן שֶׁחֲשָׁדוּהוּ מֵאֵשֶׁת אִישׁ. What did Moshe hear? R' Shmuel bar Nachmani says in the name of R' Yonatan, they suspected Moshe of adultery. R' Shmuel bar Yitzchak continues in the Gemara to say, that as a result of this, all the married men in Am Yisrael warned their wives to not seclude themselves with Moshe and as a result Moshe withdrew and pitched his tent outside the camp (שמות לג, ז).
This slanderous lie had its roots at the end of parshat Behaalotcha. There we read how Eldad and Meidad were prophesying in the camp. The Sifri says that at the time, Miriam was standing next to Moshe's wife Tzipporah who said "I pity Eldad and Meidad's wives. Now that their husbands have become prophets, they will have to separate from them, as Moshe has done with me!" This was the first time Moshe's separation from Tzipporah became public knowledge - until then Moshe and Tzipporah kept it to themselves.
After Matan Torah HKB"H says to Moshe "Tell Bnei Yisrael to return to their 'tents' (return to their wives after separating from them during שְׁלֹשֶׁת יְמֵי הַהַגְבָּלָה). But you Moshe וְאַתָּה פֹּה עֲמֹד עִמָּדִי, you remain here with Me!" (דברים ב, כו-כז). HKB"H told Moshe to separate from his wife in order that he would be in a constant state of purity so that whenever HKB"H wanted to communicate with Moshe, he would be available.
Miriam said "Separate from his wife!? But both Aharon and myself are prophets too and we have not separated from our spouses!" This is what led to the lashon hara of Miriam against Moshe at the end of parshat Behaalotcha.
Korach, who knew this (it was now public knowledge) instigated a slanderous lie against Moshe. "You all know that Moshe has separated from his wife. He is now alone and his yetzer hara must be having a field day. Who knows what shenanigans he gets up to behind closed doors. If I were you - I would keep a close watch on your wives!"
This is what typified Korach's machloket and made it illegitimate, it was not about principles, it was personal (see shiur on Korach 2021). Korach performed a targeted character assassination against Moshe, but in a devious, surreptitious way. He didn't come straight out and say "Moshe is committing adultery", he sowed the seeds of doubt. Korach would never dream of accusing Aharon of adultery, he knew how the people loved Aharon and this lie would fall flat.
This is why it was only Moshe and not Aharon who "heard", because it was a lie against Moshe specifically. When Moshe "heard this", וַיִּשְׁמַע מֹשֶׁה, he understood that Korach was not salvageable (unlike Datan and Aviram, who Moshe still tried to save). When someone has that degree of hate for you that they will not balk at crossing any red line just to eliminate you, when they have reached that stage - there is no way to appease them. It is a binary situation – you or them!
So, Moshe "fell on his face" וַיִּפֹּל עַל פָּנָיו. What does this mean? The Rashbam (ibid.) says that Moshe fell on his face - in prayer. So why does the passuk not say that Moshe prayed? Like when he prayed to HKB"H to cure Miriam from leprosy, the passuk says וַיִּצְעַק מֹשֶׁה אֶל ה'. This is obviously a different kind of "prayer".
R' Bachyei (ibid.) says וְאוּלַי בִּנְפִילַת אַפַּיִם זֶה הֶעֱנִישׁ מֹשֶׁה לְקֹרַח וּלְכָל עֲדָתוֹ, this was not a prayer for salvation, but for retribution – Moshe was asking HKB"H to punish Korach and his eida. R' Bachyei then connects this instance with a Gemara that describes a similar incident between R' Eliezer and Raban Gamliel.
The Gemara (בבא מציעא נט, ע"ב) discusses whether a "Tanur Achnai", a certain kind of oven, is permissible or not (see shiur on Kedoshim 2022). In the debate, the majority of the Chachamim, headed by R' Yehoshua, ruled that such an oven is טָמֵא, against the opinion of R' Eliezer that such an oven is טָהוֹר.
It is a very picturesque Gemara with R' Eliezer trying to prove his point, despite the rabbinic majority ruling, using multiple supernatural miracles. Despite these, R' Yehoshua retorted "I am sorry, but we are the majority and the Torah says אַחֲרֵי רַבִּים לְהַטֹּת (שמות כג, ב). Miracles do not affect our decision!"
R' Eliezer refused to accept the majority decision of the Chachamim and continued to teach that such an oven is טָהוֹר. The nasi of the Chachamim at the time, Raban Gamliel, had no choice but to put R' Eliezer in חֵרֶם.
They sent R' Akiva, who was R' Eliezer's favorite student, to inform him. Needless to say, R' Eliezer took this very badly and lived the rest of his life in חֵרֶם and in anguish. We get a hint to this from R' Eliezer's admonition in Pirkei Avot (2, 10) - וֶהֱוֵי מִתְחַמֵּם כְּנֶגֶד אוּרָן שֶׁל חֲכָמִים, וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּגַחַלְתָּן שֶׁלֹּא תִּכָּוֶה, שֶׁנְּשִׁיכָתָן נְשִׁיכַת שׁוּעָל, וַעֲקִיצָתָן עֲקִיצַת עַקְרָב, וּלְחִישָׁתָן לְחִישַׁת שָׂרָף, וְכָל דִּבְרֵיהֶם כְּגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ, which is tinged with unmistakable bitterness.
R' Eliezer was married to Raban Gamliel's sister. The Gemara says that she was always vigilant in preventing her husband R' Eliezer from doing נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם. She knew that if R' Eliezer would do נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם and pour out his heart, it would not bode well for her brother, the nasi Raban Gamliel who had put out the חֵרֶם.
One day some mishap occurred and she did not prevent R' Eliezer from doing נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם. Later that day she heard a shofar blast announcing that Raban Gamliel had died. When they asked how she knew this would happen, she replied "I learned this from my grandfather. All the gates of Heaven are locked, except for someone who was caused grief by others".
There is something unique about the prayer of נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם that is different to other types of prayer - it breaks through all the barriers and goes directly to HKB"H in Heaven. It was this same kind of prayer that Moshe offers in our parsha וַיִּפֹּל עַל פָּנָיו, which, as we know, ended up in the horrific demise of Korach and his eida.
When Moshe did נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם, it meant that he fully prostrated himself on the ground, face downwards. This is the same kind of נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם, or הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, that the Kohanim do when they are doing avodah in the Beit HaMikdash. It involves spreadeagling yourself, face down on the ground.
This kind of נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם outside the Beit HaMikdash is forbidden, for the fear of אֶבֶן מַשְׂכִּית, prostrating directly on a stone floor, like idol worshippers did. It is permissible inside the Beit HaMikdash, because this is holy ground and can never be misconstrued for idol worship. However, outside the Beit HaMikdash, if someone prostrates themselves, there is a חֲשָׁשׁ of מַרְאִית עַיִן.
Even on Yom Kippur when we do הִשְׁתַּחֲוָיָה, it is not full-fledged prostration on the ground and we are makpid to not do it directly on the floor, but separated by a towel or another piece of cloth.
What is it about נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם (which we also refer to as Tachanun) that encompasses such power?
נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם is total self-nullification and mesirut nefesh to HKB"H. By lowering yourself to the ground and making your face "not seen", you are in essence minimizing yourself completely before G-d.
The Zohar (זהר ח"ג קכ,ב) draws a connection between going to sleep at night and doing נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם during the day. At night we prostrate ourselves and lay our heads down (equivalent to נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם), depositing our neshama with HKB"H.
For this reason, we should not sleep פַּרְקְדָן, with our heads facing upward (שו"ע אבן העזר סימן כג ס"ק ג), because this is a sign of גַּאֲוָה, the opposite of נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם, where the face is facing downwards (Obviously sleeping face downwards involves the danger of suffocation, so the Shulchan Aruch tells us to sleep on our sides).
Sleeping is an act of total הִתְבַּטְּלוּת and מְסִירוּת נֶפֶשׁ - ultimate trust in HKB"H to guard over our neshama while we are asleep. This is the נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם of the night and is the reason we don't do נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם during tefilat Arvit in shul, because we perform it de facto while we sleep.
We repeat this again in the morning with נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם during Shacharit and in the afternoon during Mincha.
By doing so at the three major intervals of the day, morning, noon and night, we are in constant nullification of our self before HKB"H every day of our lives, the entire day!
Why is it then that on certain days we do not do נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם during the day? On Shabbatot, Chagim, Rosh Chodesh (also on erev-), in the house of a mourner, etc. The answer is that self-nullification is achievable in other ways too. Through simcha/joy, by experiencing a feeling of true simcha, we are in fact exhibiting total הִתְבַּטְּלוּת before HKB"H, that we are totally שָׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקֵנוּ and have no טְעָנוֹת against Him chas veshalom. When Avraham was told about the birth of Yitzchak the passuk says וַיִּפֹּל אַבְרָהָם עַל פָּנָיו וַיִּצְחָק (בראשית יז, יז). Days of true simcha are Shabbatot, Chagim and Rosh Chodesh. Being in the house of a mourner confronts us with our own mortality and elicits self-nullification. These are all conscious behavioral patterns, which is why they replace the נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם of the day, but even on these special days and circumstances, we still need the נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם of the night, because during that time we are unconscious.
The modern נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם is drastically different in physical posture to the original נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם. Today, we simply lean our head to the side and rest it on our weaker forearm. During Shacharit when we have tefillin on that arm, we do נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם on the arm that does not have the tefillin, to not disrespect the tefillin. The Magen Avraham and the Mishna Brura (או"ח סימן קלא, ס"ק ב) say that the arm should be covered by some form of חֲצִיצָה, your shirt sleeve, a tallit, etc. Your head should not rest directly on your exposed arm, without any חֲצִיצָה - a throwback to the חֲשָׁשׁ of אֶבֶן מַשְׂכִּית - to make a break between your head and the ground. Your exposed arm is not considered a break because מִין בְּמִינוֹ אֵין חוֹצֵץ. Opinions differ whether one should bend over if not in shul in the presence of a sefer Torah. Some opinions say that you may bend over in a Beit Midrash with lots of sifrei kodesh, which are equivalent to a sefer Torah. Some opinions say that being physically located in the city of Jerusalem is sufficient to warrant bending over. עַד כָּאן the Ashkenazi minhag.
Although the Shulchan Aruch says to bend your head over your arm during נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם, the Sefardi minhag is to not do so (בן איש חי, שנה א, פרשת כי תשא, אות יג; שו"ת יחווה דעת, חלק ו, בסוף סימן ז).
The only community today that does נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם on the carpet covered floor mamash are certain Baladi Yemenite communities, but most of them today follow the regular Sefardi minhag.
The perek tehilim also differs between Ashkenazim and Sefardim. Ashkenazim say ה' אַל בְּאַפְּךָ תוֹכִיחֵנִי (תהילים ו) and the Sefardim say לְדָוִד אֵלֶיךָ ה' נַפְשִׁי אֶשָּׂא (תהילים כה). The correct perek to say, according to the Zohar, is that of the Sefardim, however the Ari z"l said that unless you have the appropriate kavanot, saying mizmor כה is potentially dangerous. This is why the Ashkenazim say a different mizmor and bend their heads over their arms. For the same reason, the Sefardim do say this mizmor but do not bend their heads over their arms.
When a person exhibits such total self-nullification in front of HKB"H, it is no wonder that tefilot uttered at such a point are more readily accepted than others. This is the reason why Moshe's tefila was accepted, and also why R' Eliezer's wife tried to prevent her husband from doing נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם.
Obviously when someone does נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם it should not be used to cause others harm. אוֹי וַאֲבוֹי if someone with a grudge uses נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם to get even with their enemies. Perhaps this is what the Ari z"l was referring to about the correct kavanot.
How is it then that de facto Moshe, in our parsha, used נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם to wreak retribution on Korach and his eida. How is it then that R' Eliezer's נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם resulted in retribution against Raban Gamliel for putting him in חֵרֶם?
The answer is simple and lies at the heart of the machloket of Korach. Korach, who craved honor, had an agenda - it was a personal vendetta against Moshe and Aharon. Moshe and Aharon were the epitome of self-nullification. The only honor they were interested in was the honor of HKB"H! When Moshe prayed to HKB"H to punish Korach and his eida, it was not for his own honor, but for HKB"H's honor. And we see, his prayer was accepted.
Similarly, R' Eliezer was not interested in personal honor and revenge against those who put him in חֵרֶם. Although R' Eliezer was a talmid of R' Yochanan ben Zakkai, who was from the school of Hillel, R' Eliezer is considered a שַׁמּוּתִי, someone who follows the path of Shamai. He was convinced that his ruling was right, and in a perfect world (like with Shamai) it would have been right. During R' Eliezer's debate with R' Yehoshua, a bat kol from Heaven came down and declared – the halacha is like R' Eliezer in all cases! Despite that, the accepted ruling at the end of the day was not like R' Eliezer (Shamai), it was like Chachamim (Hillel), because in this imperfect world, the rules are not absolute, like R' Eliezer, they are fallible and make use of certain tools HKB"H gave us to make a ruling in cases of uncertainty, like אַחֲרֵי רַבִּים לְהַטֹּת. R' Eliezer knew his ruling was the absolute truth and according to his perception, any opposing ruling dishonored the absolute Torah. The only thing R' Eliezer was interested in was preserving the honor of the Torah. And as we see, his prayer was also accepted.
There are so many lessons that we can learn from this that are applicable to the times we are living in.
The first lesson is how much we all need to work on self-nullification before HKB"H.
Here is a question I am sure you all know the answer to. How many people do you know - enjoy saying Tachanun in shul? Not many (if any), I think! Although I am not a big fan of Satmar and cannot find much to learn from their hashkafa, there is one little piece of Torah I must admit that I enjoyed hearing. R' Yoel, the Admor of Satmar (until 1958) once said "If the goyim knew how much pleasure Jews derive from not having to say Tachanun in shul, they would all be rushing to convert!" And he was right! Most of us, Rachmana litzlan, if we hear unexpectedly that there is a brit that day in shul and we don't have to say Tachanun, break into a wide smile and breathe a sigh of relief! For most of us, Tachanun is perceived as depressing and a burden. This is because we don't understand what a precious gem it is.
How much would you pay to have a hotline to Donald Trump, president of the USA? A personal red-phone on your desk with a direct line to him that he would pick up any time day or night and speak directly to you? Imagine … any problem you may encounter, you could simply pick up the phone and in seconds your problem would disappear, he would fix it personally or put you in touch with someone who could (I think only one person in the world has such a hotline - Melania). Now imagine if you had such a hotline, not to some mortal "emperor", great and powerful as he may be, but to the Creator of the universe!! How much would you pay for such a hotline?
We do all have such a hotline, it is called Tachanun. Tachanun, נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם, has the power to transmit our tefilot directly to HKB"H with no barriers and have them answered. Partially because we don't understand the power of נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם, or the technical "procedure" to make it work, we do not understand what a gem we have in our own pockets.
If we feel like we are davening and our prayers are not being answered it is because we all need to work more on self-nullification – removing our egos and selfish agendas from the equation and focusing more on davening for things that honor HKB"H and the Torah. If we improve in that respect, then our Tachanun 'hotline" will begin to actually work and our prayers will be answered. If the focus of our tefilot is on HKB"H, the Torah and others, then miraculously HKB"H will also grant all the things we want for ourselves.
Imagine if you had an Aladdin "geni" who could grant you only three wishes. The first wish "Geni, I want to be the richest man on the planet!" Poof!, granted! The second wish "Geni, I want to be the wisest man on the planet!" Poof! granted. The third wish "Geni, I want to be the healthiest man on the planet!" Poof! granted. Three weeks later, news headlines "Wealthy genius doctor killed in car crash!"
When Moshe davened to HKB"H, it was never for himself. Moshe never asked HKB"H for power, wealth, wisdom, longevity (even when he implored HKB"H to allow him into Eretz Yisrael, it was not for him but for Am Yisrael, so he could build the everlasting Beit HaMikdash and bring the Geulah). Moshe's tefilot were always for others, to forgive Am Yisrael for their numerous sins in the Midbar, to cure Miriam for the lashon hara she spoke against him! These kind of tefilot were accepted. Moshe minimized himself and was an expert at self-nullification. As a result, HKB"H granted him everything he davened for, and in addition also gave him power, wealth, wisdom, etc. that he didn't daven for. Same with Aharon. Aharon did not do נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם outside the Mishkan, he used נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם as part of his avodah. Outside the Mishkan he embodied נְפִילַת אַפַּיִם in his personality and the way he lived. Aharon lived his life in constant joy, שָׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ, אוֹהֵב שָׁלוֹם וְרוֹדֵף שָׁלוֹם, devoting himself entirely to others.
These are the type of people HKB"H chooses to lead Am Yisrael. It has nothing to do with résumé or qualifications. It has to do with self-nullification before HKB"H. This is what Korach didn't understand.
Between missile bombardments, running to the safe room and the normal day-to-day stuff we have to deal with on a regular basis here in Eretz HaKodesh, we are also on the verge of a new set of general elections and their accompanying "festivities". Many people are confronted with the question "Who to vote for?"
To be totally honest, I don't know if there is a single candidate in any of the parties who even resembles the description of self-nullification. The answer we then need to ask ourselves is "What kind of leaders do we want?" Do we want them to be Korach type leaders? Or Moshe and Aharon type leaders? If none of the candidates meet the required description that we are looking for, we need to find new candidates and not keep regurgitating the same candidates over and over again, each time donning a different suit, but underneath they are the same candidate, again and again. Albert Einstein said "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".
The change needs to begin with us. Our leaders are simply a reflection of us. If we want leaders who exemplify self-nullification before HKB"H, we need to start working on that in ourselves.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
www.machonlechemhapanim.org
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