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Korah Parsha – Weekly Torah Portion

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Numbers 16:1 – 18:32
This Week’s Torah Portion | June 15 – June 21, 2014 – Sivan 17 – Sivan 23, 5774

In A Nutshell

The portion begins with the story of Dathan and Abiram, and 250 of the presidents of the congregation who rebelled against Moses and Aaron with what seemed like a just argument: Since the entire nation is holy, Moses and Aaron should have the same status as the rest of the people. The reply they received was that although they are all equal, Moses and Aaron are the leaders that can be in contact with the Creator. Following the mutiny, the ground swallowed the 250 presidents of the congregation, as well as Korah and his company, and the people suffered from a plague until Moses asked the Creator to end it.

The end of the portion debates the question of leadership in the nation. A test was held between all the staffs (rods) of all the leaders, and the only one that blossomed was Aaron’s staff, which signaled his unequivocal leadership.

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Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

We can interpret the explanation of the Torah (Pentateuch) on two levels—the level of this world and the level of the hidden, spiritual world. On the level of our world, the story of Korah is very relevant even today.

For thousands of years, our world has been developing through our egos. 3,800 years ago we lived in what is now known as Ancient Babylon. This is when Abraham—the quality of Hesed (mercy)—rose, as well as the priests that followed him, who are also from the quality of Bina, Hassadim.

Abraham discovered that the whole world must develop and achieve a state of unity and connection, and shared his revelation with the Babylonians. While many followed him, they were only a handful compared to the majority that rejected his ideas. Abraham had to flee from Babylon, chased by Nimrod, the king of Babylon.

Abraham established a method for correcting human nature. Today we call that method, “the wisdom of Kabbalah,” whose purpose is to elevate man from the depth of egoism to the level of bestowal and love.

This ascent is in fact the goal of our development—to rise from the level of this world to the level of the spiritual world. Spirituality is bestowal and the love of others, by which we acquire eternity and wholeness. This is the meaning of the text in this portion, as well as in The Book of Zohar, which talks about freedom from the angel of death.

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Glossary – Korah Parsha – Weekly Torah Portion

Glossary of Terms Used in the Korah Weekly Torah Portion

President

A “president” is the quality that currently controls all the other qualities.

Counters’ Envy

This is the desire to count how much we have gained, how much we receive, how much we give, how much we advance in spirituality. We advance specifically through envy; it is good envy. Our envy of our environment prompts us to be more spiritual.

Korah

The will to receive that appears opposite (in contrast to) the quality of Moses. It is through this dispute that we advance.

Plague

A plague is a manner of correction. The correction detaches and sets my intentions to receive in order—corrects them to be in order to bestow, either on the degree of Bina, or on the degree of Keter.

Fire from Heaven

Fire is Gevurot that appear on the left line, without Hassadim. There can be mitigated Gevurot and good Gevurot. It’s a correction, the correction force that comes from the left.

Holy

The degree of Bina, bestowal.

Atonement

The light that comes and gives us the strength to atone for our iniquities, to turn them from reception to bestowal. All our iniquities, our ego, everything that was in us, has now become bestowal.

Staff (rod)

The staff is the middle line by which one achieves the goal. If we properly connect to it all the qualities, all the discernments, it blossoms.

Blossoming

The middle line that shows us we are being filled with light.

The Meaning of “Peace, Peace, to Him That Is Far and to Him That Is Near”

“What is a dispute? It is removal and rejection above and below … removal and rejection of the peace … the peace of above—the middle line, which is called Torah, making peace between right and left—and of below, of Moses. …A dispute is wherever there are two opposites … A dispute is necessary … because it is impossible to correct anything unless you know the fault. Therefore, when we know the dispute between the desires, we can make peace between them.”

Rav Baruch Ashlag, The Writings of Rabash, vol. 2,
“What Is ‘Peace, Peace, to Him That Is Far and to Him That Is Near,’ in the Work?”, p 1361

We must respect disputes but make them constructive, as it is written, “A contradiction of elders builds” (Babylonian Talmud, Nedarim, 40a), and by that we reach the goal.

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Shlach Lecha (Send Forth) Parsha – Weekly Torah Portion

Shlach Lecha

Numbers 13:1-15:41

This Week’s Torah Portion |June 8 – June 14, 2014 – Sivan 10 – Sivan 16, 5774

In A Nutshell

The portion begins with Moses sending the twelve heads of the tribes to spy in the land of Israel, to examine it and prepare to enter it. The spies return and describe a land flowing with milk and honey, but occupied by giants that will make it impossible to enter the land, conquer it, and rule it. Their words spread fear in the people, except for Joshua Ben Nun, and Caleb Ben Yephunneh. This angers the Creator and He wants to destroy the entire people. Moses prays and asks for mercy on the people. As a result, only the ten spies that slandered the land die in a plague. The other two, Joshua Ben Nun and Caleb Ben Yephunneh continue to accompany the people.

Later in the portion, the children of Israel trip once more and seek to run back to Egypt. In the end they repent and abort their decision. Afterward Israel make another mistake: they try to fight and conquer the land without instructions to do so, and therefore fail.

The portion ends with the instruction to wander another forty years in the desert until the entire generation of the spies passes away, except for Joshua Ben Nun, who is to lead the people into the land of Israel.

 Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

We have to develop from our will to receive, from our ego, into a state in which we come to be “the people of Israel,” when we are all Yashar El (straight to God), having the quality of the Creator: bestowal and love. We will all be in “love your neighbor as yourself,”[1] in love of others, because we have no other choice.

We must not go by our own reason, which alternates between dictations to advance and retreat. Rather, we must fight while examining if we are doing what is right, and if the way is right. The portion explains that we cannot know what to do or even where to start. It is a problem because we are accustomed to work by the mode of “A judge has only what his eyes see.”[2] It seems as though we must advance by following our essence, according to our Kelim (vessels/tools), using our minds and hearts.

The Creator demands that we develop and do something. But how can we do something if we cannot tell between right and wrong, if we do not know whether to move forward into war or run back to Egypt? We can see that there are giants in the land of Israel. And while there are also fruits there, we cannot tell who rules there, which desires, or how big they are.

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Glossary – Shlach Lecha (Send Forth) – Weekly Torah Portion

The Land of Canaan

We are immersed in the desire. All we have is a desire that must be corrected from harming others into doing good to them. The land of Canaan is that desire when it is still uncorrected but is about to be corrected.

Forty Days

Forty is the degree of Bina. The gap between Malchut and Bina is called “forty.” It is the gap between the will to receive, the ego, and the degree of faith, Bina, the level of bestowal.

Flowing with Milk and Honey

Milk and honey represent the abundance we receive in the corrected desire.

Amalek

Amalek is the foundation of all evil, it is the intention to receive in order to receive, which exists within our nature.

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BeHa’alotcha (When You Raise the Candles) Parsha – Weekly Torah Portion

BeHaalotcha

Numbers 8:1-12:16

This Week’s Torah Portion |June 1 – June 7, 2014 – Sivan 3 – Sivan 7, 5774

In A Nutshell

The portion, BeHa’alotcha (When You Raise the Candles), takes place a year after the reception of the Torah. The people of Israel is getting ready to journey and holds a special ceremony for the inauguration of the altar. The portion details the laws concerning making the offering of Second Passover for those who were far and could take part in Passover.

The portion speaks of the tabernacle, on which there was constantly a cloud. It is an indication to the children of Israel when they must rise and journey, and when they must settle down. The portion also tells of the two silver trumpets that were used to assemble the people at times of war, when making an offerings, on Sabbaths, festivals, and special occasions.

Toward the end of the portion, several events take place that point to the heightening of the ego. The wicked in the nation complain about Moses and the Creator, and a consuming fire is sent to the wicked at the camp’s edge. The rabble, who is a group of proselytes that joined the children of Israel upon their exit from Egypt, complains about their condition, and the Creator showers quails on the camp. Anyone who jumps on the quails voluptuously is put to death. This is why the place is called “the graves of voluptuousness.”

The end of the portion talks about Miriam—Moses’ and Aaron’s sister—slandering Moses. She says to Aaron, “The Creator appeared to me, as well as to you, so why is Moses the leader? Why are we listening only to him?” She is punished for it with leprosy, and the nation waits for seven days until she returns.

 Commentary by Dr. Michael Laitman

All the events are spiritual states within us. Each person needs to correct him or her self and achieve equivalence of form with the Creator, as it is written, “Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God” (Hosea 14:2). The text speaks only about correction. It is not about having to cross the desert and reach the Jordan River, cross it, and reach the land of Israel. Rather, it is about ascending, as in BeHaalotcha (When You Raise).

Ascending refers to building the soul. Each of us builds his or her soul. We gradually build the soul—called “a portion of God from above” (Job 31:2). One begins the spiritual work, wanting to build oneself and achieve bestowal and love of others, connection with everyone, because by these acts one becomes similar to the Creator, as it is written, “From the love of man to the love of God,”[1] from loving of people to loving the Creator.

We achieve the love in stages, although we hate it because we are the complete opposite of it. These are the stages described in all the portions. To begin with, the Torah speaks only about a person receiving the spark called the “point in the heart.” With that spark we begin to correct ourselves. The Torah describes the way we go until the end of correction, through what is called “in the sight of all Israel” (Deuteronomy 34:12), through the end of the Torah (Pentateuch).

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