{"id":580,"date":"2012-08-05T00:22:50","date_gmt":"2012-08-04T22:22:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/wordpress\/?p=580"},"modified":"2012-08-05T00:23:00","modified_gmt":"2012-08-04T22:23:00","slug":"becoming-a-kohein","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/?p=580","title":{"rendered":"Becoming a Kohein"},"content":{"rendered":"

In Parshas\u00a0Korach, Moshe Rabbeinu\u00a0retorts to Korach\u2019s rebellious demand to be elevated from his births status of a Levi to replace Aharon\u00a0as a Kohein, <\/span>\u05e8\u05d1 \u05dc\u05db\u05dd \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d5\u05d9<\/span><\/span>; it is great enough to be a Levi.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Medrash\u00a0teaches us that Hashem\u00a0was dissatisfied with this rejoinder, and as a consequence, when Moshe Rabbeinu\u00a0begged to be allowed to enter Eretz\u00a0Yisroel\u00a0in Parshas V\u2019Eschanan, the answer he received was in the parallel terminology <\/span>\u05e8\u05d1 \u05dc\u05da \u05e2\u05dc \u05ea\u05d5\u05e1\u05d9\u05e3<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Seemingly, this connection is difficult to understand. Why should Moshe Rabbeinu\u2019s legitimately harsh reply to Korach\u2019s insolence cost him the ability to lead the Jewish Nation into Eretz\u00a0Yisroel? Furthermore, what is the significance of the similarity in phraseology between the two statements?<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

It seems that, at least ostensibly, Korach\u2019s request was a lofty one. Korach claimed that he did not wish to be limited to serving Hashem\u00a0on an intermediate level; rather he was striving for his greatest possible potential. Moshe Rabbeinu, in turn, enjoined Korach to appreciate and be satisfied with the exalted position of a Levi, and not to demand more.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

38 years later when Moshe Rabbeinu\u00a0appealed his denial of entry into Eretz\u00a0Yisroel, his request was not merely sentimental. His desire to partake of the bounty of the Promised Land was primarily to have the opportunity to fulfill the numerous Mitzvos\u00a0that can only be performed in its confines. While many of the 613 Mitzvos\u00a0can be performed anywhere, the maximum spiritual accomplishment is only possible in Eretz\u00a0Yisroel.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this context it becomes apparent that Hashem\u2019s intent in rebuking Moshe Rabbeinu\u00a0was to indicate that no one should ever be complacent and satisfied with his Ruchniyus\u00a0and desist from seeking higher goals. While Korach\u2019s demands were clearly insincere, the method of responding appeared to endorse the idea that being \u201csatisfied with ones lot\u201d applies to ones spiritual lot as well, and nothing could be further from the truth. Consequently, as Mida\u00a0Keneged\u00a0Mida, Hashem informed Moshe Rabbeinu\u00a0that he would have to be satisfied with his vast and unparalleled accomplishments in Ruchniyus, and desist from striving for even greater heights.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In truth, a sincere version of Korach\u2019s demand is not completely unattainable. While everyone laughs at the protagonist of the famous story\/joke about the hapless individual who offered his Rabbi enormous sums of money to \u201cmake him a Kohen\u201d because his father and grandfather were, it is no laughing matter.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Rambam\u00a0in the conclusion of Hilchos\u00a0Shmita\u00a0proclaims that the Kohanim\u00a0are not entirely unique by means of their genealogy. Any individual, regardless of his pedigree, can dedicate his life to serving Hashem\u00a0the way the Kohanim\u00a0and Levi\u2019im did, and expect to attain a similar spiritual status. So, while those of us not born as descendents of Aharon\u00a0HaKohein\u00a0might never receive the first Aliya\u00a0or Duchen, we can essentially transform ourselves into the equivalent of Kohanim\u00a0through our utter devotion to Hashem. The fool in the parable was only misguided in his methods, not in his goal.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We should draw a lesson from this incident and remember to never be complacent about our Ruchniyus. If we constantly strive to grow and accomplish, we can reach unimaginable accomplishments.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In Parshas\u00a0Korach, Moshe Rabbeinu\u00a0retorts to Korach\u2019s rebellious demand to be elevated from his births status of a Levi to replace Aharon\u00a0as a Kohein, \u05e8\u05d1 \u05dc\u05db\u05dd \u05d1\u05e0\u05d9 \u05dc\u05d5\u05d9; it is great enough to be a Levi. The Medrash\u00a0teaches us that Hashem\u00a0was … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","hentry","category-parsha","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2z7Yb-9m","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/580\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/shaareihoraah.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}