Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Korach

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

R' Frand first quoted Rashi who states that this Parsha is very well explained. The Pri Megadim clarifies that this is due to the nature of the subject matter. Prior to Sukkos would not be an opportune time for a shiur on Pesach. But due to the subject matter of Machlokes, it is always a good time for a discussion, summer, spring, winter or fall.

R' Frand also said a vort related to the curious "minhag" that when a Chosson attempts to speak at his Tish, the friends always cut him off. The Belzer Rebbi states that this is a lesson to the Chosson from this week's parsha that "you don't always need to have the last word" and right before his wedding is the best time to learn it.

The third thought that R' Frand said was more substantive and it related to the first words of the Parsha in Bamidbar 16:1 "וַיִּקַּ֣ח קֹ֔רַח." Rashi asks what did Korach take? The entire Parsha is devoid of reference to Korach taking anything! 

The Gemara in Sanhedrin 109 states that Korach got a bad deal. But again, what is the bad deal? If a person buys a car and its a lemon, that's a bad deal. But what did he acquire.

R' Frand quoted the Sefer Be'er Yosef which cites Rashi who asks - Korach was a smart man, why did he chase this. R' Frand said parenthetically that we can see Korach was smart as he chose this point to challenge Moshe. Korach's issues with Moshe had certainly been percolating for a while. But he waited until Moshe's stature in the opinion polls was at its low point as Moshe had just told the Jews that they would not be entering the land of Israel for another forty years.

But this was certainly a bad deal as he had no better than a 1:250 chance in succeeding in his challenge. So why did he pursue it? Because he saw in the future that he would have Shmuel as a descendant and that 24 Mishmaros of his descendants would have prophecy. Based on this view of himself, he thought he was on par with Moshe.

But according to the Sefer Zayis Ra'anan which was quoted in the Be'er Yosef, Korach was mislead because he did not see the chicken and the egg. He gave an example of the Bechorim who have inherent Kedusha. The reason for their special status is because they had caused a great Kiddush Hashem in that Hashem had separated between the Bechorim of Egypt and the Jewish Bechorim. They were living examples of Hashem's ability to deliver a specific punishment to one set of people while sparing another.

The Sefer Zayis Ra'anan states that similarly Korach was Zoche to have a Shmuel and the prophets who followed him, because he unwittingly created a Kiddush Hashem of great proportions. He challenged Moshe and Aharon publicly and Hashem made a great miracle. His role in causing this Kiddush Hashem was certainly not intentional, but he was rewarded with Shmuel and his progeny, simply because he engendered a Kiddush Hashem.

Based on this, the Be'er Yosef explains what the bad deal was that Korach selected. Because would a person rather have himself and his family swallowed up by the ground in exchange for being the forefather of Shmuel HaNavi? No, that was a bad deal, because his public death in an unnatural manner was not worth having a descendant like Shmuel.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Shelach

Although Rabbi Frand did not give his shiur this evening, he did post a pre-recorded Parsha vort on OU Torah which I have summarized here. This week's vort can be found at https://outorah.org/p/256062, and I have attempted to reproduce the vort to the best of my ability in this post.  Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to the maggid shiur.

Rabbi Frand noted that the Parsha has one of the seminal events which effects us until this very day - the Meraglim. As a result of their crying about not wanting to go into the land of Israel, Hashem decreed that all those over the age twenty would die out and would not be allowed to enter the land of Israel.

In Bamdibar 14:34, the Torah states בְּמִסְפַּ֨ר הַיָּמִ֜ים אֲשֶׁר־תַּרְתֶּ֣ם אֶת־הָאָ֘רֶץ֘ אַרְבָּעִ֣ים יוֹם֒ י֣וֹם לַשָּׁנָ֞ה י֣וֹם לַשָּׁנָ֗ה תִּשְׂאוּ֙ אֶת־עֲו‍ֹנֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם אַרְבָּעִ֖ים שָׁנָ֑ה וִֽידַעְתֶּ֖ם אֶת־תְּנֽוּאָתִֽ - the Jews would be required to wander the desert for forty years because the Meraglim had spent forty days on their journey to spy out the land.

R' Frand quoted R' Shlomo Kluger who asks - their sin was for speaking Lashon Hara. But the speech took a manner of minutes, not forty days! He answered that the sin of Lashon Hara does not begin with the mouth. Instead it begins with the eye and ends with the tongue. Lashon Hara is based on perception and how you interpret what you view is the basis of Lashon Hara.

R' Frand gave an example based on Bamidbar 13:32 in which the Meraglim report -  אֶ֣רֶץ אֹכֶ֤לֶת יֽוֹשְׁבֶ֨יהָ֙ הִ֔וא - its a land which eats its inhabitants. Chazal explain that wherever the Meraglim went they saw funerals. They interpreted this as the land could not sustain its residents. But instead, Hashem caused people to die so that the residents would not be paying attention to the Meraglim. 

R' Frand summarized this by stating the sin of Lashon Hara is based entirely on the perception - its up to you to see the good or the bad. R' Frand quoted an unidentified German philosopher who said that in the jungle it is survival of the fittest. The lion hunts and eats and the buzzards eat the leftovers. In the sea, the large fish each the little fish. This is the perception of the animal world. 

However the Gemara gives a different perception of the animal world as the Gemara states that if Hashem had not given the Torah, we would have learned Middos from the animal world. The Gemara gives an example of learning modesty from the cat. Why? Because when a cat needs to relieve itself, it goes to a private place. 

The Gemara continues we would have learned the concept of not stealing from the ant. Why? Because one ant will not take from another. We also would have learned about not straying in marriage from the turtledove. Why? Because they mate for life. The animal world teaches these concepts

R' Frand closed the vort that even when viewing the animal world, its all a matter of perspective. So to when we view others.

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Thursday's Parsha Tidbits - Parshas Behaalosecha

The following is a brief summary of some of thoughts said over by R' Frand on the parsha this evening. I have attempted to reproduce these vorts to the best of my ability. Any perceived inconsistency is the result of my efforts to transcribe the shiur and should not be attributed to R' Frand.

The first vort R' Frand said tonight related to the Jews complaint about the Manna. [He quipped that the one thing that does not change is that the Jews complain about the food]. Initially they said in 11:4  וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ מִ֥י יַֽאֲכִלֵ֖נוּ בָּשָֽׂר - we want meat. Next they said that in 11:5 - זָכַ֨רְנוּ֙ אֶת־הַדָּגָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־נֹאכַ֥ל בְּמִצְרַ֖יִם חִנָּ֑ם אֵ֣ת הַקִּשֻּׁאִ֗ים וְאֵת֙ הָֽאֲבַטִּחִ֔ים וְאֶת־הֶֽחָצִ֥יר וְאֶת־הַבְּצָלִ֖ים וְאֶת־הַשּׁוּמִֽים they remember the "good old days" in Egypt when they ate fish for free. Then they said in 11:7 - וְעַתָּ֛ה נַפְשֵׁ֥נוּ יְבֵשָׁ֖ה אֵ֣ין כֹּ֑ל בִּלְתִּ֖י אֶל־הַמָּ֥ן עֵינֵֽינוּ - we are dried out because there is nothing, except for the Manna to look at.

This is difficult to understand, given the famous statement of Chazal that the Manna tasted like whatever a person wanted to eat. If they wanted steak - it was steak. Chicken soup - it tasted like Chicken soup.

R' Frand then quoted Devarim 8:3 where Moshe told the Jews "וַיְעַנְּךָ֘ וַיַּרְעִבֶ֒ךָ֒ וַיַּֽאֲכִֽלְךָ֤ אֶת־הַמָּן֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר לֹֽא־יָדַ֔עְתָּ וְלֹ֥א יָֽדְע֖וּן אֲבֹתֶ֑יךָ." R' Frand noted that the term וַיְעַנְּךָ֘ is odd, as how was feeding the Jews Manna an affliction? R' Frand referenced the Gemara in Yoma 74 which quotes a Machlokes between R' Ami and R' Assi about what the affliction was. One of them said that it was people did not know from day to day if they would have food the next day, people were uncomfortable that they had no reserve. The second opinion was that people were afflicted because they did not see what they were eating and its not the same pleasure if you don't see what you are eating. The Gemara says that its better to eat in the day time when you can see what you are eating.

R' Frand quoted the Sefer Arzei HaParsha which described a scientific experiment where people were given a steak and potatoes meal in poor lighting. The steak had been dyed blue and the potatoes were dyed green. They then turned the lights on and people did not want to continue eating.

R' Frand also referenced the Rashash on the words  בִּלְתִּ֖י אֶל־הַמָּ֥ן עֵינֵֽינוּ - all we see is the Manna. Regardless of what it tastes like, if all our eyes see is the Manna, we are unhappy.

R' Frand said that the Ein Ya'akov in Yoma quotes a Chazal which states that the pasuk in Devarim 8:3 וַיְעַנְּךָ֘ וַיַּרְעִבֶ֒ךָ֒ is a hint to the Mitzva of Hadlakas Neiros on Shabbos. We light the candles for Shalom Bayis, because people need to be able to see what they are eating in order to enjoy it.

R' Frand said a second vort related to the people who complained about missing out on Pesach. They had stated in Bamidbar 9:7 - וַיֹּֽאמְר֠וּ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֤ים הָהֵ֨מָּה֙ אֵלָ֔יו אֲנַ֥חְנוּ טְמֵאִ֖ים לְנֶ֣פֶשׁ אָדָ֑ם לָ֣מָּה נִגָּרַ֗ע. The Sifri says that these people were Tzadikim and Chareidim Al HaMitzvos. R' Frand said that this is the source for the term Charedi in Israel - that people tremble. These people were trembling and upset that they missed out on the Mitzva. 

R' Frand observed that this is not the only time that we saw that people were upset in the Parsha as the first Rashi states that Aharon was upset that he did not have the opportunity to bring a Karban like the heads of the other tribes.

R' Frand told a story about a man who was ill and approached R' Yitzchak Zilberstein and told him that the doctor had told him that he could not fast on Yom Kippur. The man wanted instruction about how to eat halachically and R' Zilberstein went over the rules. The next day the man came back and said - I forgot what you told me. They reviewed it again in great detail, but the following day he returned again. The man was not mentally deficient, he was just so worried that he could not remember the rules as he was just too worried.

R' Frand quoted the Chidushei HaRim that when Aharon complained and Hashem told him that he would get the job of lighting the Menorah which was greater than the other Nesi'im. The Chidushei HaRim said - yours is greater, because your desire is greater than them. They were given the ability to bring sacrifices, but you wanted and desired it.

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