G-D AND EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS – STORY OF KORACH

בס”ד

The story of Korach

A long time ago, the Jewish people were in the desert.

They were led by Moshe.

Moshe was the leader chosen by G-d.

But there was a man named Korach.

Korach said:

“Why is Moshe the leader? I can do that too!”

He became angry and wanted to be the leader himself.

He also tried to convince other people to join him.

That caused arguments and trouble.

G-d was not happy with this fight.

Moshe asks G-d something

Moshe prayed to G-d and said:

“G-d, You know exactly who is good and who is not.
So why should everyone be punished together?”

Moshe knew:

G-d knows everything about everyone.

A big question

The wise Jewish teachers asked an important question:

How does G-d look at the world?

The Rambam says

The Rambam says:

When a person tries to do good and live the way G-d wants, that person feels that G-d is close.

But when a person does very wrong things and moves far away from G-d, it seems like G-d does not care.

It feels like that person is just living in the normal world.

The Baal Shem Tov says

The Baal Shem Tov says:

No.

G-d is always there.

For everyone.

For good people and for bad people.

Even a small leaf that falls from a tree does not just happen by itself.

G-d is involved in everything.

The Rebbe explains

The Rebbe says:

They are not really disagreeing.

They are just looking at it in different ways.

The Rambam is talking about what a person can feel and see.
The Baal Shem Tov is talking about what is always true.

The real truth

G-d is always there.

For everyone.

But sometimes:

we can see it clearly
and sometimes we cannot see it

Back to Korach

Korach thought he could just do whatever he wanted.

But G-d knew exactly what was happening.

Moshe said:

“G-d, You know everything about everyone.”

And G-d showed that He knew exactly what had happened.

What do we learn from this?

You can remember this:

G-d is always with you
even when you do not feel Him
even when things look normal
nothing happens by accident

One sentence to remember

G-d is always there, for everyone — sometimes we see it clearly, and sometimes we do not.

By Rabbi Tuvia Serber and Angelique Sijbolts

Source

Based on the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s discussion in Likkutei Sichot, Volume 18, p. 196, addressing the story of Korach, Rashi’s commentary on Numbers 16:22, and the teachings of the Rambam, the Baal Shem Tov, and the Mitteler Rebbe regarding Divine Providence.

If you want more questions for contemplation, SEE THE OTHER BLOGS FROM RABBI MOSHE BERNSTEIN