ויאבדו מתוך הקהל (קרח טז:לג)

They were lost from amongst the congregation…

The Gerer Rebbe – the Imrie Emes zt’’l once conversed with another Gadol HaTorah in Poland about the conflicts that were taking place at the time and compared it to a scenario: There was once a wealthy Yid who supported two of his sons-in-law. One son-in-law preferred to eat milchig, while the other preferred fleishig food. So each son-in-law sat at a separate table during meals.

Years later, the father-in-law lost his money and couldn’t provide them with food, just some measly water and bread. Yet he notices that his sons-in-law still ate at separate tables, so he asks them: “When you ate separate milchig and fleishig, it made sense you should sit at separate tables, but today when all we possess is bread and water, why do you need to sit on separate tables?”

“This is the situation by us,” the Imrei Emes explained. “Once upon a time, when Yidden were on a loftier level, disputing over holy topics, halachic debates, and ways to serve Hashem, it made sense for them to be separated – each on their path. But today, when there is a decline in ruchniyas – spirituality, and the daily battle is over the fundamentals of Yiddishkeit, in which we’re all equal, what is the point of fighting?”

Filed under Parshas Korach |