July 8/9, 2016 Tammuz 2/3,
5776
In this week’s Torah Portion, we see the rebellion of Korach against
Moses (and Aaron). Korach is joined by
members from the Tribe of Reuven, 250 or so Princes of the congregation and
some fairly important people thereof.
They all rebelled against Moses and Aaron and felt, “It is enough for you (Moses) because of the congregation is holy, and
G-D is in their midst!’ and why then do
YOU lift yourself over the congregation of G-D?” The blame towards Moses was that of stopping
the people from full fulfillment of and for themselves. The Tribe of Reuven showed their feelings of
aggravation and disdain. Questioning
authority, question hierarchy, questioning that of G-D.
Reuven, being the eldest child, the 1st born should have
been born with some entitlement(s) such as, but not limited to:
· Double portions
o
portion went to Joseph
· Religious leadership
o
Levi stepped up here
· Political position
o
Judah was granted the task at hand
Reuven was not the only person to feel ‘unjustly’ slighted; the people
felt deprived, and that was by their own doings and actions. Not that Reuven
did not want, but he did NOT really make the effort and try! In other words, he failed to assume responsibility.
He might have attempted, but never to
fruition or in the most correct manner – only tarnishing and hurting
himself. His very own family suffered
the same faults and did indeed blame others – This is how Moses received and
became the center of their issues and
hatred formulated.
Envy played a major part of this hatred; Korach, the wealthiest person
in Israel disliked the position of Aaron and Moses. Korach and some of the tribe felt they should
be part of the Kohanim and NOT a member of the Levi sector, and that included
his/their disdain towards Aaron. They
felt by bringing down Moses and Aaron, would be the best manner to achieve
their goal, and NOT actually building themselves up instead! Blame, excuses, and accusations become common
place as they pointed to Moses and Aaron.
They never took responsibility for themselves. Pure hatred was practiced!
This reminds me of a person, any person, that continues to blame all questionable/bad
happenings directly on others, and takes zero responsibility for him/herself. Do bad things happen and it is NOT our fault?
Of course, but we must analyze and
dissect and learn to grow.
Does hatred occur in today’s modern world? Unfortunately, yes it does. A combination of many facets including:
· Pure ignorance
· Jealousy
· Bigotry
· Doubt of Self
· Etc….
With the popularity and growth of social media, it is actually on the
rise, unfortunately!
It is human nature to question and challenge, but with that expressed,
we as humans should do it in an
educated manner and not show blatant disdain, or accuse the innocent –
difficult at times with the likes of Facebook, Twitter, and other Social Media
outlets that somehow allow us to rant, rave, accuse, blame, show hatred
towards, gossip, etc. towards groups of and all people alike!
We as humans must stop, must really think and remember our history of persecution,
our trials and tribulations and what has molded us and brought us here today
(no matter what race, creed, color, origin, benevolent belief); we must
practice Tikkun Olem – Healing, repairing and helping the World… one Mitzvah(Blessing/good) deed at a time!
Let us not segregate, not separate, or point fingers, and let's allow ourselves to
delete the words of “hatred”, of “disdain”, of “Blame”…. – let’s look to our
future, take responsibility, and not center our lives around hatred and bitter accusations,
but around building a better and healthier future for generations to come – we must
take our own responsibility now!
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