Parshas Korach: An Unfiltered Rant on the Sickness of Comparison & Jealousy

Doubt, Faith, And Leadership

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If you doubt Hashem, it doesn't work out well for you. That was the lesson that we learned in Parshah Shalach, as the Maradlan came back with a negative report, even though God told them that the land was to be great. They doubted, they wept, and many people died. Parsha's Korach follows that narrative but in a little bit of a different way. It teaches that not only do you not doubt Hashem, but you don't doubt his leaders. You don't doubt Moshe Rabin. So when Korach decides this week to incite a mutiny, challenging Moshe's leadership, his decision-making, we get to watch as it begins to unravel. For the Moshe doubters. It's important in every Parsha, but most definitely in Parsha's Korach that you look at it with adult eyes. That you learn it anew. That you remember that this isn't a child's story, a folk tale, but incredibly influential, clear-thinking, and God-focused Jews that are deliberating, arguing over very fine and precise rules and decision-making. This week I want to use one nugget from one Rashi that explains where Khorath went wrong and use it as a catalyst to elaborate upon this nugget and to show how it may very well be the greatest challenge to a Jewish person's Hatzlacha, their success, and everything that they do every day of their lives. And that's not an exaggeration. So we begin where all things begin, which is at the very beginning. Rashi Dibir Hamaskil Dasan Vahviram. When he's explaining

Why Korach’s Revolt Starts

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who and why did these fellows start a mutiny? Delsan and Aviram joined Korath because they were from the tribe of Ruving. Sha Rui Bahaniya Sam Taimano Shain Likahas Ubanab Hakinim Taimana. They lived in a neighborhood that was immediately adjacent to the tribe and neighborhood of Korak. Nishtatsfu Mkora B Machbe Mahalaktai. For this reason, they became partners in this Machokis. O Le Russia, woe to the evil one, and O Lishino, an old phrase of Khazal. The Nebuchad it's so tragic that a Russia gets involved in the things that the Russia gets involved in, but almost doubly woe, just as woe, not woe in a good way, but woe in a bad way, is it to somebody who hangs around with a Russia because they just get knock schlepped. They just get included, almost against their will, it sounds like, when because of their mere proximity to evil, they also get involved in evil. That's why it's Dustin and Aviram were included because they were in the very next door neighborhood to Korah. Bin Mashi continues, and this is where we'll focus. In Moshe. What did Korah see? Where did he go wrong? Almost every evil villain has a moment. A moment in any story that sets them off. When they were disregarded, humiliated, a moment where they have a reckoning and they come to themselves and they they're overtaken with some emotion, some new goal or ideology is had now taken over their heart and they become red in the eyes and angry and drunk with some emotion in order to become that villain and and create something evil. So what happened? Where did Karach go rogue? What did he see that caused him to launch a mutiny and to divide himself away from the camp of Moshe? Rashi says. He was envious of the princely dignity that was held by Elsa. Ben Uziel. The story was, Rashi explains, Moshe had appointed him the prince over the sons of Kahus. Although this was exactly the right thing to do because it was expressed by God in a clear commandment to anoint him. Korakh argued, my father and his brothers were four in number, as it says, and the sons of Kahus were Amram, Yitzhar, Khevron, and Uziel. As to Amram the eldest, his two sons have themselves assumed high dignity, one as the king, and the other as the Koing O. Who is entitled to receive the second or the next rank to it? Is it not I? Am I not next in line for some highly sought after role? To be the vice president of operations, the president, the founder, the vice president. Who? I am the son of the Yitzar, the second of Amun's brothers. And yet, Moshe, you you've appointed as prince the sons of Amnon's brothers, who was the youngest of all of them. You skipped me. You disregarded me. The League done messed me up. I hereby protest against him and I will undo his decision. Sounds like Korakh does have a claim. You have to meet someone where they are. He's saying something that does make sense, and if you were to his position, don't you think it would hurt? And we're not just arguing over some lazy chips in the lunchroom. We're arguing over one of the greatest honors, one of the greatest actions that you could be called upon to do in life. So Korach's hurt. So we launched a mutiny. But when you boil the entire thing down, where did Korach go wrong? He has a claim. Maybe we should ask. That when someone had a claim back

A Real Claim With A Rotten Root

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at Believe in Parsh's Baaloska, when people didn't get a chance to do the carbon paysach, they had a claim and they were listened to. We didn't get to do Lama Nigara, Levilti Icrivakarbonazat. We didn't get to do the carbon paysach. We were Tomme. Lenatesh Altam, we were doing something good and it kind of skipped over us. What was the answer? Moshe said, I'll go talk to Hashem, and Hashem said, give him a second Pesach, give him an opportunity. Good gazak said good. Why here does Korach just get stopped out and literally swallowed? Because the very, very beginning of Rashim. You don't have to wonder where Korach went wrong. You only need to see the first seven words of this Rashdi to understand the rest of it and how Korach has gone wrong. The answer is it went wrong because the very words say Niskane on the Siusso shall Elsofan ben Uziel. It came and it was induced by Korach's envious envy of the priestly dignity of El Izzofan Ben Uziel. He was jealous. What launched the mutiny was jealousy, was the looking over his shoulder and seeing that someone else has something that I don't, and everything else, no matter good or evil, is nothing other than a child from a bad origin. Everything else, no matter how pure the action is, is like a great action of a manzer. It comes from Kinna, a bad Mida. So even though Korah came forward with a valid claim, with real backing, think about who he comes forward with. He comes forward with an entire Moetzes Gedoli a Torah. Holy people, 250 distinguished members of the community. A Moetzas Gedoli a Torah that doesn't even fit in a room. They have great long white beards with unbelievable tainus, halakhic inquiries, questions, maybe even honesty, deep penetrating questions, valid claims. But it all was truth. That's what the Torah's telling us. We can't say this, we can't make this up, but we can read what the words say. It was born from jealousy. The genesis was jealousy, was bad meados. And this gives us the nugget that we're looking for to be the catalyst of the jealousy rant. It's a rant that comes from Rab Arn Lopiansky. He says it with clear chachma in his safer, the Ben Aliyah, the path of Aliyah, which is really the modern day manual for Steiging, a modern day Mistilas Hisharim, if you will. And what he says is that every person, quoting from Maharal, has different struggles. You have a goof, very physical struggles. Anyone who's trying to do good in life has to eventually meet themselves in the mirror and then say no to the physical urges, guof challenges. But there's something deeper that also challenges a person steiging. There's nefesh problems. There's emotional health problems. What we call such as ambition, either having too much of it or too little of it. Greed, having too much of it, too little. These aren't goof problems, these are what the morale calls nefesh problems. And one of the most prominent Nefesh problems is called kinna, it's called jealousy. Jealousy, to you and to me, before you hear what Rabbi Lopiansky explains from the Morale, and from the Ebenesra, you'll think it's only no gaya,

Jealousy As A Daily Life Driver

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only practical when your friend has a cooler Tesla than you, a cooler wife than you, or a cooler house than you. Or a cooler paycheck than you. But that's not so. It's not so. For if it was so, then the following posuk would make no sense. Listen to here. As King Shlom Amelef says about jealousy, and Perak dalad Posak dal. I further observed all the oppression that goes under the sun, the tears of the oppressed. Then I accounted those who died long since more fortunate than those who are still living. And then he says in Parakdalid Posak Dalid, Vira is Kol Omal, the Skol Kishron Hamaisa. I have also noted that all labor, that all skillful enterprise comes all kol Kishroin Hamaisa ki kinas ish mere. All skillful enterprise, all attainment. It comes from people's envy of one another. Gamze Hevel Uzruach. All skillful enterprise, all accomplishment. It is all another futility and a pursuit of nothingness that stems from jealousy. Evan Ezra explains. Apelidika Evan Ezra explains. Every word liquid gold. Viraisi rovadam. Gam Kishrin Ma'aseam. Baavur Bine Haadam. What is most people's actions? It's only for the sake of Bine Adam Shiya Kanu Zeboz. People are constantly jockeying with each other for status. The yearza lisba. I want to be validated. I want to be looked at special. Al Javero. I want to be better than my friend. Everything we do is because we don't want to look worse than our friends. We don't want to be less than them in our clothing. He wears Versace. So it's gonna look weird if I'm wearing Ariposto. His kids go to Grubner's, Brundney's, Stein's, Newman's, Brisk. My kids go to his food, you know what they have for dinner every night? I gotta feel better than or at least I gotta feel like I don't even care about it, so I am better than them. But it's a comparison factor. The chokmaso, he's learning twice a day, he has siddharim. I have to learn. Because I can't feel bad about myself because of how good he's doing. How come he gets Slishi? I don't want Slishi. How come friends buy him chas and Torah and no one buys me chas and Torah? I need to do something that's going to give me a better name. What a damning and condemning observation about the nature of humans. That all of their attainment, all of their Hatzlacha is nothing more, to Shlom Wahmalach, does it seem, is nothing more other than somebody trying to get a step ahead in status and in class than his friend. Kenna. Jealousy, looking over the shoulder and comparing yourself with what drives it, a terrible indictment of humanity. That our actions and our accomplishments are nothing other than an outgrowth of jealousy. Somebody I'll prove this in a more modern and contemporary way, as per how I, Rabbi Lopiansky, explained this. If you want to ask someone, you want to talk about your success now, and you want to talk about my success now, let's talk about it. Are you a smart person? Well, how does the modern world think about smart? What's the definition of smart? You immediately jump to saying, well, in my class, I'm one of the smarter. That's comparing. The classic IQ system, which works on a bell curve to constantly keep the median of society around 100. If you're part of the upper 50% more than half, then you're smart, people will

How Comparison Defines “Smart” And “Rich”

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say. If you're lower in the IQ test, that means you're less smart than the average folk, then you have a low IQ. But it's totally based upon society and where you fit. You have money. Are you wealthy? You, yes, you listening now in the earphone. Well, if you compare yourself immediately to what your friends have, that's probably how you're going to come up with whether or not you find yourself wealthy. You're not able to say, based on your own understanding, you have to immediately judge your personal growth in a comparative way with the rest of humanity. We evaluate ourselves based on how we evaluate others. It almost seems like there is no objective evaluation for some of these qualities in society. But, but it's not what the Torah wants. It's not what the Torah wants. It's Kinna. That's Kol Ze Hevel Ruz Rua. That's Khoroth like. When you compare whether or not you're rich or whether or not you were anointed, anointed, as the new cohen or new lavy based on if someone else has it. That's Koroth like. What we need is to establish in our lives an independent framework of a reference for self-evaluation, for our Midos, for our Torah, for our status, for our money, for our possessions, for our love, for our Avaida. It needs to be an independent, self-imposed evaluation between I'll tell you, between who? How should the evaluation be? What does the Torah say? Lefikach Nivra Odom Yhidi. Lefika Echar Khaev Loy Mar Bishvili Nivrailam. The remedy to perceive the real self-worth, says Rabbi Lopyansky, citing Gimar's and Maharals and Chazal, the way to perceive real self-worth and valid self-esteem is the remedy, is to clarify what a proper definition of self is. And what is the proper definition of self? That each person is not a species. Humans are not a species like an animal. Man was created, each person is his own species. Man was created as an individual, and he should derive pleasure from his self-definition. And Hashem said that to each person, you're to get a mission, you're to get a toolbox of talents, you are to be assessed as to how you are fulfilling this mission. And it should not be compared. Your success has nothing to do with anyone else. In a person's fetal stage, Msakta Nida tells us that you don't leave the womb until an oath has been administered. Umani Yashbua, each person needs to swear before they start in this world. Shamash Bianoso Tehit Sadek V'alti Rashabi, be righteous, be righteous. They tell you before you go into this world, there's a lot of distractions. Little kid, be righteous, don't be wicked. Even if the whole world anoints you as the tzadekadar. In your eyes, you stay humble and you can evaluate yourself as a Russia, meaning there's more work to be done. But having the ideashades, you're to address yourself in a personal context. Because even if the society surrounding you claims that you're righteous, you must be prepared to assess yourself based in your own context. Your own personal relationship. Between you and Hashem is the only thing that matters. Between you and what God gave you, the definition of a person's success. Like, well, the definition of a person's success is the percentage of each person's mission which she accomplishes, is the measure of your success. When you evaluate yourself between you and God, when you realize that you're the only person in the world, and God gave you gifts,

Building Self Worth Without Comparing

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and you have a job to do. And that job may be bigger than everyone else's, or it might be less than everyone else's. When you live in your own world and you evaluate, let's read it again, the percentage of each person's mission, which he accomplishes, is the measure of who he is. Vizel Kalhab, self-evaluation, zero looking over the shoulder, zero comparativeness in a way to figure out how wealthy or how strong you are. No. If a goal is strength and you look at your potential and your strength, and you're naturally a weak person, the amount towards what you are capable of in truth and in earnestness, that is how great you are in your strength. Based on your brain, you're to be evaluated. Based on your gifts and your struggles, you are to be evaluated. It's an incredibly, it's a landmark for Hatzwacha. It's a signpost. So much of our suffering and our struggling is because. As soon as we see what others have hatzlacha, their gomorra learning, their questions, their financial success, their hatzlacha and their family, it makes it it almost relates to us when we compare whether or not we have it, and that's trafe. It has nothing to do with your hatzlacha. Your hatzlacha is the percentage of each person's mission which he accomplishes, is the measure of who he is. There's a Mishnah that says it blatantly. Rabbi Lopiansky shows us this. And you heard the Mishnah a million times, but you probably will never hear it the same way after this. Benzoma Oma. Let's assess success. Who's the wise man in the room? Aloy me Mikolada. He who learns from everyone. Who is the strong person? He who conquers his inclination. Who is a wealthy person? He who is hell happy with his lot. When you break down the Mishnah, it kind of feels like Benzoma's telling you coping tactics. As if you're not really that smart, so try to get as much as you can from others. You're not really that strong, so do the best you can. You don't really have that much money, and the guy next to you has got a way bigger house on four-acre parcel with a pool in the back. And you got this dinky little ranch. So, you know what? Let's try to be focused on us so that we can feel better about ourselves. No. No. What Benzoma is doing is he is showing how a person, when he's not comparing his Hatzlach, but when a person understands that the truth of his wisdom is how much he maximizes trying to gain wisdom from others, that he's in his own world where he needs to become the smartest he can, the strongest that he can, the happiest that he can, and he derives his self-definition with nothing else other than what he can with his levels attain. When he gives each person of us an individual mission and an individual toolbox for us to do the best that we can, it derives, it reads the statement of Benzoma is so deep because it restructures how you evaluate yourself. Hashem and you. That's it. Hashem stands in the center and you're with Hashem, and you are the sole purpose for creation. Everything that Hashem gives you is a tool. If there's chachma coming your way, then grab it. No tool extra, no tool missing. See yourself in the world with Hashem. So you grab wisdom. You view your strength and your wealth in the proper way. Korach should have measured himself this way. Korak should have measured himself based on his capabilities. Look how great of a man Korach was. He was a Pikeah, he was a wise man. He was one of the highest ranking officers in the court of Ashand. And look at how great of a leader he was. He was able to get together rabble rousers to convince people to go against Moshe. You can imagine how how brave and how charismatic Korak must have been. But if only he would have measured his Hatzlacha based on his capabilities. If only he would have assessed himself in the Bishvili Nivriha Ulam between me, what I'm capable of, and what God has given. Instead, he got swallowed up by the earth because he was Naskani Al Qunasoi Safan. He was Naskani al-Nasiu shah al Itsafan bin Uziya. We have to develop healthy and realistic self-worth. We have to constantly work on our inner worlds that it's between me and God. We have to constantly

Practical Ways To Break Jealousy

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nail down that my learning is based on how good of a head I have and how much I have the ability to push myself. It has nothing to do with anyone else. My strength in business is based upon what I have the ability to do, what type of work ethic I have, what kind of prayer I have, and it has nothing to do with what anyone else has. My ruhmius, my gashmias, between me and Ashen, between what God has given me the potential to accomplish and the percentage of what I've yet accomplished, that's who I am. That's my Atslaha. If I'm not accomplished as much as I know that I can, then musr and hard work and new goals need to be set. And maybe rebuke needs to be had. But that's between man and God and man and himself. Has nothing to do with anyone else. What Yenin's parnasa, Yenin's wedding, Yedin's Tvilah, Yenin's kids, Yenin's spouse. Yenin means other people's. It's in a different world. It has zero to do with an ebbach. For most people, it's actually what drives all of their accomplishments. Just wanting status and wanting to look good in the neighborhood chad or in other people's eyes. How do we do this? It's from standing alone with God in prayer. Being alone with God, being honest with ourselves, being earnest with ourselves. It's with quiet musr sessions. It's with these personal, honest time periods. Musr and tvila, alone with your Gimara, alone by yourself, assessing yourself, and a practical thing to do. Rabbi Lopianski suggests actually doing good things and not letting anyone else know about them. To help the general perspective shift, perform good deeds that go unnoticed by others. Oh, do a cold turkey and just forget what anyone else thinks because we naturally care what other people think. And it also drives us to create good things for us. And you gotta be normal and healthy, but slowly to put an emphasis on that it's not for other people. I enjoy that other people think that I'm good and I'm learning good. That feels great, and that's a natural emotion, but that the real goal is something deeper and with honesty, we move forward with a healthy, realistic sense of self-worth that is based on between me and God, and that is it. And that was the nugget. That was the catalyst for the jealousy rant. That Korach should have measured himself based on his capabilities and his potential, and he would have seen maybe where he needed improvement or how much that he actually had. Because of his fatal flaw of Niskane Anasyuso, Shaolid Safament of Zeal. It was nothing else born other than the origin and genesis of jealousy. That's why things went catastrophically wrong. And the musra for us is that don't make the same mistake that corrected. Don't build your life's goals based on what other people have, want, or care about. Don't look over your shoulder to see what other people have to judge your

The Definition Of Real Success

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success. Never. Never. But instead, always remember that Hashem gave each one of us an individual mission, an individual goal, an individual toolbox of talents and assets for us to accomplish that mission. And the percentage of each person's mission which he accomplishes is the measure forever of who he truly is.