“The earth opened its mouth and swallowed them and their households, and all the people who were with Korach, and the entire wealth. They and all that was theirs descended alive to the pit; the earth covered them over….” (Bamidbar 16:32-33)
In this week’s parsha, we read of Korach’s rebellion against Moshe and Aharon. Korach was envious of their priestly honors and leadership and instigated a campaign against them. Although Moshe tried to discourage Korach to abandon his fatal desire for honor, he was unsuccessful.
The question is asked: Why were Korach and his assembly punished so severely that the earth opened up and swallowed them, along with all their possessions? Why didn’t they have a procession to bury them, along with eulogies that would discourage the Jewish people from engaging in mutiny and revolt, or inciting conflict and discord?
Korach’s grievance against Moshe was that he had put himself in power and elevated himself above everyone else. R’ Gamliel Rabinovich points out that, in truth, the pasuk certifies (Bamidbar 12:3) that Moshe Rabbeinu was exceedingly humble, the most humble of all beings on earth. Thus, the only suitable punishment for Korach and his company who were rebelling against Moshe’s leadership was to have them descend below Moshe, literally, beneath the ground upon which Moshe stood.
Concerning humility, the Steipler Gaon wrote that, indeed, one who is humble is on a very elevated spiritual level.
In enumerating the character traits that one should aspire to possess, R’ Pinchas ben Yair states that humility is the opposite of arrogance, an innate character trait of many, whether or not they have reason to be so presumptuous. A humble person, on the other hand, does not take credit for his power, his riches, or his intelligence, because he knows it is all from Hashem. It is comparable to the clothing that a poor person may borrow from a rich individual for a special occasion. When the poor man wears the clothing, he is not filled with pride or arrogance; he understands that these clothes are only on loan to him and he will have to return the garments at the end of the evening. Similarly, one’s talents, abilities, and wealth have merely been gifted to him from Hashem for the time being, in this temporal world. When one quells his feelings of arrogance and pride, and is sincerely humble, the Divine Presence will immediately dwell upon him, and he will be imbued with the spirit of purity, faith, and fear of Hashem.
On one of his travels, R’ Yehuda HaNasi arrived in the city of Simonia. All the citizens eagerly came out to greet him and give him his due honor. After he spoke, many were inspired to become more involved in Torah study. However, there were very few learned people in Simonia, and there was no strong education system in the city. The citizens were concerned that without a strong leader and erudite rabbi to teach them, they would not grow in their Torah study and would eventually forget what they had learned.
The congregation begged R’ Yehuda to send one of his disciples who could act as judge, rabbi, teacher, and lecturer for the community. Rabbeinu HaKadosh suggested R’ Levi bar Sisi, who had all the qualifications they were seeking.
When R’ Levi came to Simonia, the community were very excited and welcomed him with great pomp and honor, including a huge stage with a throne-like chair especially for him. R’ Levi was not accustomed to such adulation and homage, and he felt a tiny trace of pride and enjoyment from this experience.
However, for a great sage like R’ Levi, this reaction was deemed inappropriate. Hashem is very strict with the righteous, and R’ Levi was duly chastened:
The people of Simonia were arguing about a difficult point of halacha and had been waiting for the rav to resolve the debate. However, when the sheilah was presented to R’ Levi, he remained silent and did not answer them. Thinking that perhaps he was not well-versed in this area of halacha, they posed a different sheilah to him, but he didn’t answer that question either.
The congregation was mystified. R’ Yehuda HaNasi had staunchly supported R’ Levi as the perfect candidate that they required, yet he seemed totally unqualified. They tried one more time, asking him to expound on a difficult medrash in Sefer Daniel, but R’ Levi seemed stumped and did not answer.
A distinguished delegation immediately traveled to R’ Yehuda HaNasi. “Rabbeinu,” they asked, “is this the person you sent to teach us Torah? We asked him three questions but he couldn’t answer any of them.”
R’ Yehuda HaNasi was shocked to hear their complaint. “Believe me, I sent you one of the greatest sages I know. What did you ask him?”
The delegation related the three questions they had presented. R’ Yehuda was certain that R’ Levi could easily answer the questions, as he was an expert in all the areas covered in those questions.
R’ Yehuda HaNasi assured them that R’ Levi was certainly qualified to answer their questions, and he could not understand what had taken place. He asked the delegation to bring R’ Levi to him, but R’ Levi was already waiting outside for a meeting with R’ Yehuda HaNasi. He had come to ask Rabbeinu whether he could explain what had happened to him.
R’ Yehuda HaNasi asked R’ Levi, “Do you know the answers to the questions you were asked?”
“Certainly,” said R’ Levi. “I know every answer,” and he proceeded to respond in great detail.
“So why didn’t you give these same answers to the people of Simonia?” asked R’ Yehuda HaNasi.
Deeply shamed and humbled, R’ Levi confessed that when he came to Simonia, his arrival was celebrated with much fanfare. “With all the pageantry,” explained R’ Levi, “I felt a slight enjoyment. I became confused and distracted, and forgot what I had learned. As a result, I was unable to answer any of the sheilos and questions I was asked.”
R’ Yehuda HaNasi observed, “You have exemplified the pasuk in Mishlei (30:32) according to the Yerushalmi, ‘If you raise yourself because of the Torah you have learned, ultimately your mouth will be quiet and you will forget your learning.”
