Parshat Korach
5 Tammuz 5763
July 5, 2003

Daf Yomi: Zevachim 26

Guest Author:
Rabbi Pesach Lerner
Executive Vice President

 

This Dvar Torah is dedicated in memory of Rebbetzin Greta Rothman a'h (wife of our dear friend, Rabbi Bernard Rothman shlita). Rebbetzin Rothman was active on behalf of the Jewish community her entire life. She will be sorely missed.

 

The Torah tells us (Korach 17:17) "speak to the children of Israel and take from them one staff�from all their leaders�twelve staffs, each man's name shall you inscribe on his staff". Each of the twelve tribes was represented by their own staff. "It shall be that the man (representing his tribe) whom I shall choose - his staff will blossom; thus I shall cause to subside from upon Me the complaints of the children of Israel, which they complain against you" (17:20). "Moses brought out all the staffs from before HaShem to all the children of Israel; they saw (that the staff of Aaron of the House of Levi had blossomed) and they took each man his staff" (17:24).

Why did each Prince take back their individual staffs? The Sforno comments - they took their staffs to inspect them, to be certain they were not switched. Yet, according to the Medrash Rabba at the end of our Parsha, Moshe took one beam and split it into twelve and wrote the name of each Prince of each tribe on the staff. If so, what was there to inspect? If so, why did each Prince retrieve his staff? What use is a dry staff that testifies to the world that he and his tribe were not chosen?

In addition, what were the tribes fighting over? The tribe of Levi did not receive a distribution of land in Eretz Yisrael. The tribe of Levi was dependent on the tithes and gifts of the Jewish community. What did the tribe of Levi have that all the other tribes wanted?

HaRav Zalman Sorotzkin, in his commentary on Chumash, Oznayim L'Torah, explains the test of the staffs; this generation, that experienced daily the miracles of the manna, the clouds of glory, the well of Miriam, etc., understood the spiritual gifts of the Al-Mighty. This generation, that learned Torah from Moshe and Aaron and the Sages and Elders of the community appreciated the benefits of "serving" the Al-Mighty in the Mishkan and Beit HaMikdash. For that "honor", they were willing to sacrifice their portion in Eretz Yisrael and to live a life, often, of poverty.

When Moshe brought out the staffs and showed that HaShem had chosen the tribe of Levi, and not their tribes, the Princes - with broken hearts - took their staffs; not to admit defeat but rather to testify to the word that they had volunteered, they were willing to sacrifice the physical world for the opportunity to serve their Creator. These staffs were testimony of their willingness and desire to serve the Al-Mighty.

It is interesting to note that the Medrash says that that staff was in the possession of each king until the destruction of the Bait HaMikdash and then it was "hidden". Rav Sorotzkin asks - we have learned that the staff and the vessels of the Bait HaMikdash were "hidden" in the time of King Yoshea, much before the destruction of the Bait HaMikdash.

Rav Sorotzkin suggests that when the Medrash says that the staff was in the possession of the king - it really means that the staffs of those tribes not chosen were handed down within their tribes, from leader to leader, from generation to generation. These leaders and their tribes were proud of their staffs, staffs that testified to their willingness and desire to sacrifice, in order to serve in the House of HaShem.