עֲשָׂרָה דְּבָרִים נִבְרְאוּ בְּעֶרֶב שַׁבָּת בֵּין הַשְּׁמָשׁוֹת, וְאֵלּו הֵן: פִּי הָאָרֶץ, (וּ)פִי הַבְּאֵר, (וּ)פִי הָאָתוֹן, (וְ)הַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, (וְ)הַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת. (אבות ה, ו)
The three parshiyot that follow each other - Korach, Chukat and Balak, are a series. The Mishna in Pirkei Avot above tells us of ten things that were created on the 6th day of Creation, in the twilight hours before Shabbat came in. פִּי הָאָרֶץ, the opening in the earth that swallowed up Korach and his rebels. פִי הַבְּאֵר, the opening of the well of Miriam which we read about in this week's parsha Chukat. פִי הָאָתוֹן, the opening of the mouth of the speaking donkey of Bilam which we read next week in parshat Balak.
In a previous shiur (Korach 2022) we brought the principle that one of the reasons that these things had to be created at "the last minute" on the 6th day, was because of the sin of Adam and Chava with the עֵץ הַדַּעַת which was not originally planned and necessitated the addition of various mechanisms to enable tikkun.
When you look at the list of things in the Mishna above, a question immediately pops up. If the פִּי הָאָרֶץ, פִי הַבְּאֵר, פִי הָאָתוֹן belong to parshiyot Korach, Chukat and Balak, they should be at the end of the list, not the beginning. Chronologically they are not in the right place. The first thing in the list should be the קֶּשֶׁת, in the time of Noach, etc.
There are two different גִּרְסָאוֹת of this Mishna. In one, excepting for the first item in the list, all the rest are preceded by the letter "vav" –
פִּי הָאָרֶץ, וּפִי הַבְּאֵר, וּפִי הָאָתוֹן, וְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר, וְהַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת.
In an older גִּרְסָה, not all the items are preceded by a "vav", which in effects breaks up the list into 5 groups –
פִּי הָאָרֶץ
פִּי הַבְּאֵר
פִּי הָאָתוֹן
ְהַקֶּשֶׁת, וְהַמָּן, וְהַמַּטֶּה, וְהַשָּׁמִיר
הַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת.
The group of the קֶּשֶׁת, the מָּן, the מַּטֶּה and the שָּׁמִיר all belong to the period of Noach. The rainbow we can understand, but why the Mann, the staff and the Shamir - the worm that was used to carve the stones used to build the Mizbeach? What do these have to do with Noach?
The answer is that, according to the Midrash (שמות רבה ל, יג), HKB"H planned to give the generation of Noach the Torah, but they refused. To receive the Torah, they would have had to eat the Mann beforehand (like Am Yisrael did after יְצִיאַת מִצְרַיִם) and they would have then built the Mishkan and would have needed the Shamir for carving the stones of the Mizbeach. Also, we know that the special staff was passed down from Adam to Shet, Chanoch, Metushelach and then to Noach. So, this group makes perfect sense.
Similarly, the next group הַכְּתָב, וְהַמִּכְתָּב, וְהַלּוּחוֹת, all belong to Matan Torah. The special, miraculous writing that could be seen from any angle and the Luchot which were made from סְנָפִּרְיוֹן, a precious stone some translate as sapphire.
Korach, Mei Meriva and Balak took place after Matan Torah, so chronologically פִּי הָאָרֶץ, פִי הַבְּאֵר, פִי הָאָתוֹן should appear after the Luchot, at the end of the list, but they don't and the question is why?
The obvious answer is that these three appear at the beginning of the list, because they preceded Noach and refer to the sin of Adam and Chava. They are three mechanisms for the direct tikkun of this sin.
There are two ways of understanding these three items פִּי הָאָרֶץ, פִי הַבְּאֵר, פִי הָאָתוֹן and we will examine them in turn.
The first interpretation is that they refer to the three main characters that participated in חֵטְא עֵץ הַדַּעַת. The first, פִּי הָאָרֶץ refers to אָדָם הָרִאשׁוֹן, so called because he was created from the אֲדָמָה, the earth, הָאָרֶץ. The second, פִי הַבְּאֵר, refers to Chava. The concept בְּאֵר is always associated with the female (בְּאֵר לְמֵי הַנּוּקְבִין) and in fact we see that the בְּאֵר in the Midbar was in merit of Miriam. The third, פִי הָאָתוֹן, refers to the נָחָשׁ who tried to reduce Adam from his elevated spiritual level to a lower material level, חָמְרִיּוֹת. A synonym for אָתוֹן is חֲמוֹר.
The second interpretation is that they refer to the three components of the חֵטְא עֵץ הַדַּעַת, that are listed in the Mishna (Avot 4, 21) הַקִּנְאָה וְהַתַּאֲוָה וְהַכָּבוֹד מוֹצִיאִין אֶת הָאָדָם מִן הָעוֹלָם. It began with קִּנְאָה when the נָחָשׁ saw Adam and Chava together and was jealous. It continued when he seduced Chava with the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, as it says in the passuk וְכִי תַאֲוָה הוּא לָעֵינַיִם. It ended with כָּבוֹד when neither would accept responsibility for their actions "Adam: It wasn't me, it was Chava!", "Chava: It wasn't me, it was the נָחָשׁ!"
HaRav Shneior Ashkenazi שליט"א says that jealousy, קִּנְאָה, stems from a perception of your perfect self. Every person has an image of their "perfect self", how they ultimately want to be – smart, rich, successful, attractive, charismatic, happy, healthy etc. Nobody can ever have all of these. So, when they see someone who has one or more of these features which are lacking in themselves, they are jealous of them. The source of קִּנְאָה is the earth, the אָרֶץ. Humans are made from the earth, everything humans possess also comes from the earth.
Lust, תַּאֲוָה, originates with water. R' Chaim Vital in sefer Sha'rei HaKedusha says that the element of water is the origin of תַּאֲוָה and pleasure in the world. Think about it, most pleasure resorts are located in close proximity to a water source (sea, lake, river, etc.).
Pride, כָּבוֹד, originates from the חֲמוֹר. When someone is wealthy, has many material possessions, they feel that they should be accorded more respect and honor. Similarly, when one acquires much knowledge, they feel entitled to respect and honor. The tribe of Yissachar, who studied Torah have the symbol of a donkey, יִשָּׂשכָר חֲמֹר גָּרֶם.
All three components, הַקִּנְאָה וְהַתַּאֲוָה וְהַכָּבוֹד, are a source of machloket.
פִּי הָאָרֶץ corresponds with קִּנְאָה. The first machloket involving humans was on the third day. HKB"H commanded the earth to give forth עֵץ פְּרִי עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי, trees whose fruit and branches had the same taste. The earth complained "If the fruit and the wood of the tree taste the same, people will eat both the fruit and the branches and there will be no tree left!"
Subsequently the earth gave forth to a tree that was עֵץ עֹשֶׂה פְּרִי, the fruit was edible but not the branches. This tree was the עֵץ הַדַּעַת (מאיר פנים, פרק טו, עמ' קסא). Humans had not even been created yet and already the earth was jealous of and making machloket with humans. How do you know that humans will destroy the tree itself? Perhaps they will leave a portion of the tree behind, like ma'aser and truma, and HKB"H will cause this to miraculously grow back and instantly restore the tree?
פִי הַבְּאֵר corresponds with תַּאֲוָה. The first machloket in history was on the second day of Creation when HKB"H separated the upper waters from the lower waters. The lower waters desired to be closer to HKB"H. To placate the lower waters, HKB"H promised compensation, that they would be used in the avodah in the Mikdash – salt, from the sea water and Nisuch HaMayim (on Sukkot) from the fresh water.
פִי הָאָתוֹן corresponds with כָּבוֹד. The first machloket between humans was on the sixth day after Chava got Adam to eat from the עֵץ הַדַּעַת, the epitome of materialism, חָמְרִיּוֹת. It was a machloket of pride "Adam: It's not my fault", "Chava: It's not my fault".
After the sin of Adam and Chava in the 11th hour on the sixth day, in the twilight hours before Shabbat, HKB"H created the mechanisms of tikkun for the sin, פִּי הָאָרֶץ, פִי הַבְּאֵר, פִי הָאָתוֹן.
According to the בַּעַל הַתַּנְיָא, the tikkun for these three components of the sin were achieved by the Avot.
Avraham fixed the sin of קִּנְאָה. Avraham Avinu was totally devoid of jealousy, his "perfect self" image was non-existent, וַיַּעַן אַבְרָהָם וַיֹּאמַר הִנֵּה נָא הוֹאַלְתִּי לְדַבֵּר אֶל ה' וְאָנֹכִי עָפָר וָאֵפֶר.
Yitzchak fixed the sin of תַּאֲוָה. The most fundamental desire is the desire to live. Yitzchak Avinu forfeited even that when he willingly offered himself as an Olah on the Mizbeach at the Akeida.
Yaakov fixed the sin of כָּבוֹד. Yaakov Avinu was totally שָׂמֵחַ בְּחֶלְקוֹ and appreciated everything HKB"H gave him, including all the nisyonot. Yaakov could have been proud that he was one to finally give birth to the Twelve Tribes, but instead he said קָטֹנְתִּי מִכֹּל הַחֲסָדִים וּמִכָּל הָאֱמֶת אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ אֶת עַבְדֶּךָ, the diametric opposite of pride.
The mechanisms of פִּי הָאָרֶץ, פִי הַבְּאֵר, פִי הָאָתוֹן that HKB"H instituted, are the remedies to fix the negative aspects of the components of the sin of Adam and Chava. These remedies are respectively קְדֻשָּׁה, תּוֹרָה, תְּפִלָּה.
The negative aspect of הָאָרֶץ is קִּנְאָה. However, the earth also has a positive aspect, אֱמֶת מֵאֶרֶץ תִּצְמָח. To remedy the negative aspect, HKB"H gave us the concept of קְדֻשָּׁה. To take every aspect of the אָרֶץ and to elevate it in קְדֻשָּׁה. This world consists of three dimensions, represented by the rashei teivot עשן – עוֹלָם, שָׁנָה, נֶפֶשׁ, the dimensions of place, time and soul. HKB"H commands us to take each of these dimensions and raise them in קְדֻשָּׁה.
To take a place, Eretz Yisrael, and raise it in קְדֻשָּׁה by performing specific mitzvot related to קְדֻשַּׁת הָאָרֶץ. To take time and raise it in קְדֻשָּׁה, Shabbat and the Moadim. To take a person and raise them in קְדֻשָּׁה, improve our middot (re: sefer Mesilat Yesharim). The goal is to reach the pinnacle in each dimension, the holiest person in the holiest place at the holiest time, the Kohen Gadol in the Kodesh HaKodashim on Yom Kippur.
The negative aspect of הַבְּאֵר is תַּאֲוָה. However, water also has a positive aspect. Water is always striving upwards (re: waves in the sea, droplets of water on a surface always assuming the smallest surface area and maximum altitude). For this reason (and others) the Torah is likened to water. To remedy the negative aspects of water, HKB"H gave us the "holy water", the Torah to enable us to control our תַּאֲוָה.
The negative aspect of הָאָתוֹן is כָּבוֹד. Haughtiness is the use of our mouths for a negative purpose. However, our mouths have the positive power to create worlds. The remedy is to use our mouths for a holy purpose. To use the power of tefilla and shira to create worlds and build, not to destroy and tear down.
Similarly, HKB"H created humans with three major openings in our bodies, one for solids הָאָרֶץ, one for liquids הַבְּאֵר and one for speech הָאָתוֹן - וְהַמֵּבִין יָבִין.
Our three parshiyot Korach, Chukat and Balak are textbook examples of why HKB"H created these three mechanisms of tikkun in the world. All three are failures to learn from history and a repeat of the components of Adam and Chava's sin, necessitating activation of the corresponding mechanisms to remedy them.
Korach epitomizes קִּנְאָה, an inability to grasp that there are different levels of קְדֻשָּׁה in this world and that Am Yisrael is not a Communist nation כָל הָעֵדָה כֻּלָּם קְדֹשִׁים. To rectify this malfunction, HKB"H invoked פִּי הָאָרֶץ.
Chukat epitomizes an inability to fully realize the power of the positive "water", the Torah. After Miriam died, the Well of Miriam disappeared and Am Yisrael complained they had no water.
The well of Miriam was in Miriam's merit and was introduced before Matan Torah. Before we had the Torah, power over water was using hands, sticks. When HKB"H split the Red Sea, He commanded Moshe to raise his hands (in the end, even that didn't help and HKB"H had to intervene personally to get the sea to split). At Refidim, before receiving the Torah, to get the Well of Miriam to give forth water, Moshe had to strike it with his staff.
Am Yisrael received the Well of Miriam in Miriam's merit. When Miriam died, the well disappeared and only reappeared in Moshe's merit. Similarly, the Ananei HaKavod departed when Aharon died, and they too reappeared in Moshe's merit. When Moshe died, all three disappeared.
When the Well of Miriam was still under Miriam's merit, to get water from the well required striking with a stick. But now, the well was going to reappear in Moshe's merit, not Miriam's. Moshe's merit is the Torah. For HKB"H to allow the well to reappear in Moshe's merit, it had to be done using the merit of Moshe, the Torah, not a stick.
The Gemara (Chulin 7a) tells the famous story of R' Pinchas ben Yair, how he managed to split the Ginai River three times. Chazal ask, why did he manage to do it three times and Moshe only once (at the Red Sea), and answer – because Yam Suf was before we had the Torah, the Ginai River was after we had the Torah, and the Torah is our ultimate power over the physical world.
At Mei Meriva, HKB"H wanted Moshe to emphasize this shift in mindset, that to alter nature, we use the Torah and only the Torah, not the power of our hands כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי, nor the extension of our hands – a staff. HKB"H commanded Moshe to take the staff with him, but to speak to the rock.
So that Am Yisrael would see the staff in his hand, but that he was not using it, like in Refidim, instead Moshe was speaking divrei Torah to the rock and thereby causing it to give forth water. This was the ultimate lesson that Am Yisrael were to learn in the Midbar before entering Eretz Yisrael, that it is not about כֹּחִי וְעֹצֶם יָדִי, it is only hearkening to the word of HKB"H and abiding by the Torah.
This was the malfunction of Mei Meriva and necessitated HKB"H invoking the mechanism of פִי הַבְּאֵר to remedy it. However, the remedy was not instantaneous, it required a gradual process over many generations before it was fully complete - when Shlomo built the Beit HaMikdash.
Balak epitomizes the power of speech. The negative application of speech and its ramifications, requiring HKB"H implementing the mechanism of ּפִי הָאָתוֹן to remedy it.
In all three of the parshiyot, Korach, Chukat and Balak we have machloket - lots of it.
An inability to understand and apply the lessons of Adam and Chava, an inability to learn from the lessons of history, doom us over and over to repeat them. And the end result is always the same – machloket in Am Yisrael and destruction. To repair the damage, we have the remedies - קְדֻשָּׁה, תּוֹרָה, תְּפִלָּה, to increase our efforts in all these three areas and hope that HKB"H has mercy on us, intervenes and ends this repetitive historical cycle for once and for all. בבי"א.
Shabbat Shalom
Eliezer Meir Saidel
Machon Lechem Hapanim
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