The Secret of Humility: The Danger of Spiritual Pride and the Mistake of Korach

Class No. 19 | Class A: (Continuation of the Covenant from No. 18) Wednesday Morning, Parshas Chukas, 30 Sivan 5755

An in-depth article explaining the immense danger of feeling spiritually superior to another Jew. Through the story of the sons of Korach and Moshe Rabbeinu, it is revealed how pride destroys all of one's service of Hashem, and how true humility is the key to drawing down the Shechinah (Divine Presence).

King Solomon built the Holy Temple, made peace with kings and families, yet inside he felt as if he was literally being thrown into a fire. The true tzaddik, as Rebbe Nachman says, displays no external asceticism. He feels as if he is literally burning, as if he is being thrown into a bonfire, yet outwardly nothing is visible. The greater the tzaddik, the less anything is seen on the outside. This is the secret of Song of Songs, which is the Holy of Holies.

The Danger of Feeling Spiritually Superior

Conversely, if a person feels that he has accomplished something spiritual—"I prayed with deep intention, I cried out, I attended the Vatikin (sunrise prayer) minyan"—and he feels that he is now better than another Jew who is sleeping in bed, at that very moment, all of his spiritual work goes to the Sitra Achra (the Other Side/forces of impurity).

That Jew lying in bed—what do you know about him? Perhaps he was awake for three consecutive days? Perhaps he is a weak person, and when he wakes up at eight in the morning, he wraps himself in his tallis, recites the Shema, and sheds rivers of tears for an entire hour without anyone knowing? He wakes up with a settled mind and cries. What do we know about what is happening with another person? The moment a person thinks to himself, "I woke up for Vatikin, I conduct myself with asceticism, I have a specific spiritual practice, and I am already better than the other guy"—all of his spiritual work goes down the drain.

Kimchis merited that all of her sons served in the High Priesthood. Many women acted with modesty, but why did she specifically merit this more than anyone else? The answer is that she felt absolutely no pride. A person must reach such a level of self-nullification. We rectify this blemish of pride during the month of Tammuz. Why did the breaking of the Tablets occur? Because there were people who began to say, "We are greater than Moshe Rabbeinu, for we literally saw Hashem face to face."

The Mistake of Korach

This was exactly the mistake of Korach. Korach claimed that the Giving of the Torah was in his merit. He possessed Ruach HaKodesh (Divine Inspiration) and saw until the end of all generations. He saw Shmuel the Prophet descending from him; he saw the Kohanim and the Levi'im in the Holy Temple who were from his lineage. The Gemara in Tractate Bava Basra states that King David composed the Book of Psalms through ten elders, and among them were Asaf and the three sons of Korach.

Korach saw through Ruach HaKodesh that half of the Book of Psalms would be composed by his descendants. The Midrash (Shocher Tov, Chapter 42) relates that after the sons of Korach were saved from Gehenna, such supernal melodies were revealed to them that Moshe, Aharon, and all the seventy elders came to hear their song. Korach foresaw all of this and said to himself, "If I brought such children into the world, that Moshe and Aharon will come to hear their melodies, then I must certainly be greater than Moshe and Aharon!"

But this very thought is fundamentally flawed. Who are you to even think about who is greater and who is lesser? How is that any of your business? A Jew plays music, prays, cries, sings, and dances, and comes with a broken and contrite heart. Just because you sing beautifully, do you think you are greater than Moshe and Aharon?

If a person has even a single thought that he is better than someone else, all of his spiritual work is worth zero. You were awake all night, and the other person slept for ten hours and now wakes up broken and shattered, poor thing, unable to learn and unable to pray. But he is so utterly broken that all the spiritual worlds stand specifically on this Jew! And you walk around with such pride, puffed up with yourself. Every moment you become more inflated—every Chatzos (midnight prayer) you inflate, every Vatikin you inflate. All of this goes to the Kelipos (forces of impurity) and brings about the breaking of the Tablets.

Roses Among the Thorns: The Secret of the Sons of Korach

The Midrash expounds on the verse:

"For the conductor, upon Shoshanim (roses), by the sons of Korach, a Maskil, a song of loves" (Psalms 45:1)

The verse in Song of Songs says, "My Beloved went down to His garden... to pick roses"—these are the sons of Korach. Outwardly, everyone saw them as thorns. Everyone saw the three children walking together with their father, Korach, who was shouting and stirring up controversy. An onlooker would have said, "These are completely wicked people!"

But what do you know about what is happening in another person's heart? Deep inside, they were trembling. They thought, "Where is this father dragging us?" They were in a state of immense confusion, torn between honoring their father and following the truth. By the time they caught themselves, they had already begun to sink into the earth, and then they cried out, "Hashem, save us! Master of the Universe, this is as far as we go!"

Korach, on the other hand, refused to yield. He was certain that the fire would not burn him. He thought to himself, "Everyone else will burn, and only I will remain alive." Again, that same flawed thought of pride. But the sons of Korach were saved from the fire and began to sing. A Bas Kol (Heavenly Voice) emerged and declared, "They are My true beloved ones! I love them more than all of Israel." They taught everyone how to sing, even Moshe and Aharon.

The True Humility of Moshe Rabbeinu

And what was the reaction of Moshe Rabbeinu? Moshe was certain that the sons of Korach were truly greater than him! In fact, if we look deeply, we will see that Moshe and Korach seemingly said the exact same words: Korach said, "I am the true tzaddik and Moshe is the wicked one," and Moshe Rabbeinu, in his humility, said the exact same thing: "Korach is the true tzaddik and I am the wicked one."

The Midrash relates that Moshe ran to Korach and told him, "If only you would be the High Priest! On the contrary, enter the Holy of Holies with the incense; that is my entire desire and will." Moshe Rabbeinu wanted the entire Jewish nation to be High Priests. If Israel had not sinned with the Golden Calf, every Jew would have been a High Priest, every home would have been the Holy Temple, and the Shechinah (Divine Presence) would have dwelled within every home. Moshe Rabbeinu told the Jewish people, "All of my work here is only so that you will be High Priests." This is true humility, the absolute opposite of the impurity of pride.

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