‘One word says it all’. D’var Torah for Parshat Korach.
One word says it all.
Every single word of our Torah is sacred, and they all impart such beautiful, enduring messages.
But, so very often, the very beginning of a Parsha, imparts to us a crucial lesson for life – and this is so true of Parshat Korach.
The opening word of Korach actually encapsulates the whole reason why everything went wrong.
What is that opening word? ‘Vayikach’ – ‘he (Korach) took’.
What it means in that context is that Korach took himself aside, he separated himself from others and he contended with Moshe and Aharon, challenging their leadership.
This led to a split in the nation. It was horrific. It was tantamount to a brief civil war and as a result, Korach and his followers suffered an awful death.
But what was at the root of this machloket, this conflict?
For Korach it wasn’t a ‘machloket L’shem Shamayim’ – it was not for the sake of heaven, it was for the sake of himself.
‘Vayikach’ – he wanted to take power, importance, yichus, significance, wealth.
It was all self-serving, not a single element of his leadership had the welfare or the future of the nation in mind.
I think it happens quite often that leaders of all sorts have big egos.
It shouldn’t really be the case, but even where there’s a big ego, one still needs to be in a position of authority and leadership, for the sake of those whom one is serving.
In the event that there is a leader, who is in their position exclusively for their own sake – not only will the leader be in trouble, but the entire people will be.
Shabbat Shalom.