When All Else Fails…

By Rabbi Mordechai Rhine

The story of Korach is a remarkable one. Korach was a man who was afflicted with jealousy. He wished that he had been chosen as Kohein Gadol instead of Ahron. Korach stages a rebellion against Moshe which is successful enough that Moshe is concerned that the people might be misled by Korach’s propaganda. Moshe declares, “If these people die naturally, then Hashem did not send me. But if an unusual event occurs and the earth swallows them, then it will be known that they have provoked Hashem with their rebellion.” Indeed, at that critical moment Hashem interceded and Korach and his buddies were swallowed up together with their families.

The story of Korach is a remarkable one. But perhaps even more remarkable is the fact that Korach’s children were saved. As the Torah tells us (Bamidbar 26:11): The children of Korach didn’t die.

If the families of the rebellion organizers deserved to die, why were the children of Korach saved?

The commentaries explain that originally the sons of Korach were part of the rebellion. But as the punishment occurred they desired to do Teshuva. And so, Hashem saved them.

That salvation is most remarkable. At the moment that the sons of Korach desired to retract- to withdraw from the rebellion and do Teshuva- there was not a single person who would stand up for them and plead their case. At that moment of destruction they were the pariahs of the community, rejected by all. The Torah records that the bystanders ran away in fear, “Lest we, too, be swallowed up.” The sons of Korach had no one to befriend them at that critical moment. Except for… Hashem, Himself.

Many times a person may feel so lost or distant that they do not feel that their prayers would be answered. In reality those feelings of desperation may actually be the greatest catalyst for effective prayer. When all else fails, there is only one friend that one can rely on: Hashem Himself.

King Dovid said it most clearly. In Tehillim 145 he says, “Hashem is close to all those who call to Him sincerely.” It does not say, “Hashem is only close to the righteous… to those who did good deeds today.” Instead the criterion is sincerity. And that is something that desperation can produce most effectively.

Similarly, in Tehillim 86 Dovid declares, “For You are good, forgiving, and kind to all those who call to you.” The catalyst for Hashem’s blessing is “To call to Him.”

It was this quality which saved the sons of Korach from the brink of destruction, and it is this quality that can save a person in any generation.

But how does one do it? How does one talk to Hashem with sincerity in their moment of need? The answer is: Just do it.

Sometimes we are so inhibited that we can’t seem to get the words out. Ultimately, the answer is “Just do it.”

I recently read a story in the memoirs of a teacher who, one year, had one of her daughters in her class. For the first few months, the daughter was so inhibited by what her classmates would think that she simply sat quietly throughout her mother’s class.

One day the mother posed a provocative thinking question and successfully engaged the class in a heated discussion. In the midst of the teacher’s moderating the various points of view, the daughter forgot her inhibitions, and blurted out, “But Ma!…”

Instantly the other students burst out in surprised but delighted laughter. The “ice was broken” and from then on the daughter was able to communicate.

Our tradition teaches that even when all has failed, and one feels inhibited from even dreaming of salvation, Hashem still waits for a justification to intercede favorably. This is what happened to the sons of Korach. They were failed by everyone. Their parents had failed them; the Jewish community had given them up for lost. There was only One who still waited to see what would happen.

That Korach was punished is remarkable. But that his children were saved is perhaps an even greater lesson for us all.

With best wishes for a wonderful Shabbos,

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