RABBI DONIEL FRANK | Director, M.A.P. Seminars, Inc., Marriage and Family Therapist

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Although Moshe davened very hard that Hashem allow him to enter Eretz Yisroel, he was unsuccessful. The exact response he got was, “rav lach,†you have enough. According to the midrash, those same words were identical to the ones that Moshe himself had used during Korach’s rebellion, when he said to them, “rav lachem.â€

What’s the meaning of this linguistic measure-for-measure?

And besides, what did Moshe say wrong? Weren’t Korach and his followers overstepping their boundaries and showing a lack of appreciation for what they had as Leviim? Why was it wrong to be straight and say that they had enough?

To answer this, let’s take a closer look at Korach’s rebellion.

It is true that Korach threatened to undermine K’lal Yisroel, and that he needed to be eradicated in the dramatic way that Moshe had requested – that the ground open and swallow them up.

But in making their argument, Korach and his followers expressed a yearning for more, to achieve a closeness with Hashem that they assumed could only be achieved by kohanim. They argued that if they were all truly holy then they all deserved to have the opportunities and privileges the kohanim had so they could create that kind of relationship with Hashem. And they felt that the position of Levi was unable to contain that drive.

When people speak this way – notwithstanding any of the insidious intentions that might be behind those words – we can never suggest to them that they have enough. We cannot stifle language that asks for more spirituality.

This put Moshe in a position that required him to make a tactical strike: to put down the plan, but not to put out the fire. He had to make it clear that the plan was evil, but that the enthusaism and passion beneath it – or at least how it was expressed – was precious, and that the right way to go about their goal was to put effort into finding other ways by which to channel that passion into areas that are appropriate for Leviim.

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Based on all this, R’ Leib Chasman explains the measure-for-measure by referring to the details of the dialogue between Moshe and Hashem, as it is recorded in Gemara Sotah. It says: “Why did Moshe want to enter the land? … To fulfill the mitzvohs that are dependent on the land. To which Hashem said, ‘You have enough’†– the same stifling response that Moshe had given to Korach.

Passion today is such a rare commodity, especially among our youth. And it’s particularly rare for that passion to be directly applied to religion and other positive purposes.  And while we may need to reject the specific expression, we have to embrace the drive behind it. We have to be wise guides and help redirect them… and always conscious and careful not to put out the fire.

DEDICATED TO A REFUAH SHELAIMA FOR YITZCHAK ben DEVORAH

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