WE ARE BETTER THAN WE THINK
Korach is the Father of Sinas Chinom.
In front of all Israel, he challenged Moshe Rabbeinu, the Servant of G-d, accusing Moshe of “exalting” himself over the Congregation of Hashem. This reminds me of Amalek, who tried to quench the fire of Yiras Hashem which had enveloped the entire world after Har Sinai. Korach broke the ice and made possible the chutzpa of directly challenging Hashem’s anointed servant.
Korach will forever be remembered for this attack upon the very foundation of our national adherence to Torah and Torah leaders. He paved the way for Kamtza and bar Kamtza, the destruction of the Second Temple and the catastrophic Golus which lasts until this very day. He lit the fire which destroyed the Bais Hamikdosh!
My friends, do you remember two years ago, when chaos wracked the Holy Land, when hordes of rebellious Jews embarrassed our Nation by attacking their own people in rauchos demonstrations against the government? They brought worldwide bousha upon their own brothers and sisters, laying the groundwork for the events of October 7, 2023. They were the children of Korach!
But I want to tell you something unbelievable.
Do you think that our essence is sinas chinom? Do you think that essentially we hate each other, that we are intrinsically unable to act like family?
I have news for you.
Let’s analyze recent military operations against Iran. I am not referring to the blockbuster attack by the United States; for that we must profoundly thank President Trump for his courage and friendship. Rather, I am referring to the series of attacks beginning Erev Shabbos, Parshas Beha’alosecha, approximately two weeks ago. It is obvious that this attack was the culmination of years of preparation by the government of Israel, the Mossad, the IDF and other government agencies, thousands of people, each holding a thread of this gigantic tapestry.
If we are actually so divided and hateful, then how did this incredibly-complex military operation succeed? In the last two weeks we have witnessed miracles and chessed from Shomayim, but possibly the most amazing thing is that all this could never have happened without intense cooperation among countless levels of high-ranking Israeli personnel over years and years.
One leak could have jeopardized everything, but there was no leak!
We behaved in fact exactly like “one man with one heart.” We behaved exactly as Am Yisroel is supposed to behave! So obviously the concept that we are a nation divided is not true!
In my humble opinion, these clear facts give the lie to the argument that there is disunity among us. The inner achdus of Am Yisroel, the “achdus” that is not supposed to be there, is not only there but it is shining across the sky like the words we say every morning, “May You shine a new light on Tzion and may we speedily merit its light!”
I want to thank my beloved chavrusa, Rabbi Shaul Geller, for pointing out the words of the Ramchal on a possuk we will B”H read in two weeks. Please listen to these amazing words from the mouth of our enemy Bilaam: “Behold, the people will arise like a lion cub and raise itself like a lion. It will not lie down until it consumes prey and drinks the blood of the slain.” (Bamidbar 23:24)
I don’t know whether the government of Israel had this possuk in mind when it named this operation “Rising Lion,” but the words could not be more appropriate. The Ramchal says that this possuk refers to the War of Gog Umagog, the last war in history, “When Israel will rise up like a lion to take revenge on the nations that oppressed them in their exile…. And at that time …. Hashem will go out and fight against those nations.”
My friends, is this not a cosmic moment?
I was sent a post on social media, according to which a high-ranking general in the Spanish Army wrote a four-page military analysis of Israel’s operations in Iran, whose conclusion was the following: “Never before has a country struck with such precision, on so many fronts, at such a distance, a superior enemy on the ground, and without suffering casualties or unleashing an immediate all-out conflict. For this reason, many generals and analysts are already calling it the most sophisticated, surgical, and effective preventive military operation in modern history."
This week’s Haftara ends with the following words: “Fear not! [Though] you have done all this wickedness, nevertheless do not turn away from following after Hashem, but serve Hashem with all your heart …. For Hashem shall not cast off His people. For the sake of His Great Name, Hashem has sworn to make you a people unto Him.”
In other words, we have misbehaved and we have rebelled and we have been our own worst enemy, but our intrinsic nature is to love Hashem and be united. The events of the past two weeks prove that we are better than we thought we were!
At the beginning of every Shemoneh Esreh we say, “Hashem … will bring a Redeemer to the children of the Patriarch’s children, for the sake of His Name, with love ….” Even if we don’t deserve it, Hashem will bring Moshiach! It looks as if that could be happening! We beg Hashem to fulfill all His promises and bring the Geula now, “for the sake of His Name, with love!”
Teheran skyline
GLOSSARY
Achdus: unity
Am Yisroel: The Jewish People
Bais Hamikdosh: Holy Temple
Bousha: Humiliation, embarrassment
Chessed: Acts of kindness
Geula: Redemption
Golus: Exile
Har Sinai: Mount Sinai
Kamtza & Bar Kamtza: 2 Jews whose quarrel caused the destruction of the 2nd Temple
Shomayim: Heaven
Sinas chinom: causeless hatred between Jew and Jew
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