School of the Soul

“Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. 2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to... them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. 6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” 8 And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: 9 is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the Lord and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, 10 and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? 11 Therefore it is against the Lord that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?” (Num 16:1-11)

If we look into the strife created by Korah it is, indeed, motivated by the ego, selfish ambition and jealousy; it is not that he truly wishes to serve HaShem, or has fear and love of HaShem, but he desires prestige and power among the people, and he is jealous of the influence Aaron and Moses have. This, of course, is an evil that grows in Korah, and yet more that becomes an inroad to klippotic forces and in the end this ignorance, this darkness, utterly consumes and destroys Korah. In this we understand the great danger of allowing the ego to get carried away with negativity or internal klippot, for giving way to one shade or shadow in us can swiftly lead us into greater darkness, and we may become a vehicle of the klippot. If we consider Korah, God forgive him, he became a vehicle for klippot assaulting Aaron and Moses, and the Community of Israel, an instrument of dark and hostile forces seeking to compromise and destroy the Continuum of Light Transmission, or to oppose the kingdom of Israel. At the outset, no doubt, this is not exactly what Korah wished to do, but as he became consumed by greater and greater darkness this is what transpired; basically speaking, he fell to the Other Side, or the “Sitra Achra.”

It is shocking to think that this could happen in a spiritual community, but history demonstrates that it is all too common – worldly desire, egoistic desire, cloaked by religion and spirituality can bring great harm to any lineage, tradition and community. Thus, we do, indeed, need to be vigilant and on guard against such poisons in us, and labor to root out all causes of strife not for the sake of the Divine Will.

Shammai and Hillel, and their strife for the sake of heaven are a complete contrast, for neither Shammai nor Hillel argued from their ego, or from any desire for selfish gain, but rather they strove with one another in great spiritual debates seeking complete understanding of truth and righteousness, and specifically for the sake of the people so that true teachings of righteousness might be given, generating true knowledge, understanding and wisdom among the people. Their strife was in the fear and love of Yahweh, and the love of their neighbor, and in their debates they held deep respect and love for one another – their debates were not to tear one another down, but to build each other up, and so also to uplift the people. They were true tzaddikim, righteous ones.

Shammai did, in fact, come from the side of Gevurah, or very strict, exacting interpretations of the Torah, and all of his interpretations are accounted as true and correct according to the law. The Talmud, however, almost always sides with Hillel, whose interpretations and teachings come from the side of Chesed, tending always towards a gentler, more merciful way. The Talmud sides with Hillel because more that the law and strict judgment, creation is founded upon God’s mercy and grace, and the ultimate intention of God is mercy and benevolence. Thus, honoring God’s ultimate intention, the Talmud favors the School of Hillel.

As we know, true compassion is a dynamic interaction of judgment and mercy, or severity and loving-kindness, and in the midst of the spiritual life there is a place for judgment, spiritual discernment, self-discipline and restraint. On occasion there may even be a need for strict judgment. Yet, according to this teaching of the Talmud favoring the School of Hillel, whenever possible, compassion tends towards mercy and is more likely to error, if you will, on the side of mercy, instead of on the side of judgment. This, in general, is the way of the living tzaddik, and it is intended to be the aim of all faithful people– compassion leaning towards mercy.

Strife for the sake of heaven has obvious benefit for the realization of souls, but the benefit of strife not for the sake of heaven can be less obvious. In fact, usually to us it appears to do great harm. It does, in truth, tend to do great harm. The benefit, though, is in this, that if wrong strife were to arise we are called to confront it, and to give musar, rebuke, as called for; because we are, indeed, our sisters and brothers keepers, and they ours. In the midst of this it would require inner work and refinement so that we would not fall into our own ego and the very evil we were reflecting and challenging. Likewise, it would require much prayer and meditation, seeking discernment and guidance of how to respond in skillful means, and how to do so from love and compassion, and true righteousness; hence, it would generate a deeper communion with God and the Divine Powers. Thus, it can be a cause for the evolution of souls- tikkun hanefesh.

Here, perhaps, I might remind that our soul is connected to It’s Source and only appears to be separate in order to realize our freedom and the fullness of love through the generation of the experience of duality; and even very dark and negative experiences facilitate the ultimate Divine Intention, it is just that as yet the mundane of human consciousness is unaware of it!