Korah – Power Grab –ATTEMPTED
Numbers 16:1 through 18:32 --Parsha Korah
In this story we have a power struggle for the glory and honor associated with Leading the Children of Israel. Korah a descendant of Levi, along with Dathan and Abiram descendants of Rueben attempt to take power from Moses and Aaron by force of numbers if not by physical force. Along with Koran are 250 leaders and elders of the tribes of Israel, know to be men of repute.
What seems to be lacking here is a knowledge of Hashem in WHOs service Moses and Aaron employed. Korah is a cousin to Moses and Aaron, of the Levi family which carries much responsibility already, so why an attempted take over?
When Korah and his gang confront Moses, Moses falls down on his face and never fights them (this is not Moses’ battle.) Moses then informs the crowd that Hashem will judge this in the morning. When Moses has finished with this statement, he informs them that “You have gone too far, Sons of Levi!”
This story points out to me that Korah and his followers are not here to worship The L-RD G-D, they are here for themselves, and their glory. If they had any wisdom at all, they would never have attempted this takeover. Hashem chooses and assigns people to jobs and tasks, whether we understand the reasoning or not.
Back to the story, Moses pleads with Hashem not to destroy all of the Children of Israel because of a few bad ones. Hashem relents and in the morning Korah and his fellows are of the same mind set as the previous night, they and all they possess and all who bond with them are swallowed by the earth in a moment. It actually says Numbers 16:43 “They went down alive into Sheol, with all that belonged to them, the earth closed over them and they vanished from the midst of the congregation.” Note: Sheol should be read as HELL, Alive into Sheol was unheard of, but it also means that the normal process is to go there after you die. This I take as one proof of a SOUL that continues after the body is dead and dies later –if it is not righteous.
This is not the end for it seems that when we have our mind and heart set on doing evil we will not sense the danger we are in. Hence, we find: The next day the whole Israelite community railed against Moses and Aaron, saying “You two have brought death upon the Lord’s people!” Moses again pleads with the Lord and sends Aaron with a fire pan with fire from the Alter, into the community to make atonement for the people, thereby saving most from the instant plague from Hashem. 14,700 died in moments from the anger of Hashem represented by the plague.
Torah also points out that this number (14,700)does not include the ones from Korah’s group on the previous day. Hashem does not like rebels and those that mutter against Him.
Many things can be learned in this section, the last I present is: Hashem is the one with the power and the glory. He guards His glory and His name steadfastly. He also guards those who love Him and keep his Laws and Rules by which we can Live!
May you seek Hashem and His Law with all that you are. If you do this, you will be successful.
Shalom,
Yaakov
Love G_D, Seek Truth, Act Justly, then can we hope to find understanding, peace and life.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Those who can not see?
Those who can not see? Part One
This is an unrecognized, real situation, existing from Moses's time until today and which was spoken of in the Torah and Tanach. Even in the news and on the radio today, comments are made regarding how most people can look at a thing for a long time and still not grasp anything of importance. An example for today would be speeches made by a politician. Very often they tell the truth regarding what their real intentions are, but most will not perceive this. Later people say “Where did that come from? I never heard them say that before!” especially after the politician does exactly what they said they would do. It is therefore not very surprising that H'SHEM via Moses makes the same observation.
Moses in Deuteronomy 29, starts by tell the children of Israel of the miracles and blessings which they themselves have seen and have had from the LORD. In verse 4: “Yet the LORD has not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” The text then has Moses (and maybe always was) speaking for the LORD. This makes great sense to me. Maybe you will discover that you can understand this also.
A few things that are helpful to keep in mind:
Context for the Torah and Tanach.
All souls are the LORD'S, not just the children of Israel.
In the first deal the Lord makes with Abram in Genesis 12. Verse 3 “...Because of you, all families of the earth will bless themselves.” A possible understanding of this that “all families will learn something important because of you”. What could possibly be learned because of Abram? --That the LORD is G-D, that there is only One, that we are to Love the LORD with all of our Heart, our Soul, our Being. I come to this conclusion because of the stories and their outcomes throughout the Tanach(Old Testament). The LORD appears to want all of us to learn that, and if you follow the LORD and HIS LAWs it means life for your SOUL, otherwise …. learn from the descendants of Abram. If WE, The Children of Israel Learn and Do this, Redemption is Attained.
The soul is more important than the body.
It is really the Death of the Soul or Spirit that is of concern to H'SHEM?
It should be what concerns us. Humans read death as the death of the body, as we see in the argument between the serpent and Eve in the garden. (Genesis 3:3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Genesis 3:4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. This would indicate that the LORD does not say what he means or lies. If the serpent was that smart, why did he not say in response to Eve: --eat of that tree over there for it is the Tree Of Life, then you can eat of this tree? Why is this story in the Torah(Five Books of Moses)? What are we to learn from the Creation Story?
In (Ezekiel 18:4) Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:20) The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:21)But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. (Ezekiel 18:22) All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. [1] That last sounds easy, but people get in the way of understanding and doing. It is a lot easier to do than we are lead to believe by people, although it still requires self control and effort, but you (individually) can do it. Again, this is regarding the Soul not the body.
The sins of the Father still have an effect for three or four generation. Consider this as a explanation please: If a you do bad things, and have children, the children will see what you do and continue those actions in their lives. This process is only broken when children arise that decide that there is a better way and start questioning the way things are, this takes time. If you watch you can see these things around you. If you do not want to wait for the understanding to happen, then I suggest that a reading of the Books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles demonstrate these actions. You could actually discover the same types of events in standardized history, if you care to search out the stories.
End of Part One
This is an unrecognized, real situation, existing from Moses's time until today and which was spoken of in the Torah and Tanach. Even in the news and on the radio today, comments are made regarding how most people can look at a thing for a long time and still not grasp anything of importance. An example for today would be speeches made by a politician. Very often they tell the truth regarding what their real intentions are, but most will not perceive this. Later people say “Where did that come from? I never heard them say that before!” especially after the politician does exactly what they said they would do. It is therefore not very surprising that H'SHEM via Moses makes the same observation.
Moses in Deuteronomy 29, starts by tell the children of Israel of the miracles and blessings which they themselves have seen and have had from the LORD. In verse 4: “Yet the LORD has not given you an heart to perceive, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, unto this day.” The text then has Moses (and maybe always was) speaking for the LORD. This makes great sense to me. Maybe you will discover that you can understand this also.
A few things that are helpful to keep in mind:
Context for the Torah and Tanach.
All souls are the LORD'S, not just the children of Israel.
In the first deal the Lord makes with Abram in Genesis 12. Verse 3 “...Because of you, all families of the earth will bless themselves.” A possible understanding of this that “all families will learn something important because of you”. What could possibly be learned because of Abram? --That the LORD is G-D, that there is only One, that we are to Love the LORD with all of our Heart, our Soul, our Being. I come to this conclusion because of the stories and their outcomes throughout the Tanach(Old Testament). The LORD appears to want all of us to learn that, and if you follow the LORD and HIS LAWs it means life for your SOUL, otherwise …. learn from the descendants of Abram. If WE, The Children of Israel Learn and Do this, Redemption is Attained.
The soul is more important than the body.
It is really the Death of the Soul or Spirit that is of concern to H'SHEM?
It should be what concerns us. Humans read death as the death of the body, as we see in the argument between the serpent and Eve in the garden. (Genesis 3:3) But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. (Genesis 3:4) And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die. This would indicate that the LORD does not say what he means or lies. If the serpent was that smart, why did he not say in response to Eve: --eat of that tree over there for it is the Tree Of Life, then you can eat of this tree? Why is this story in the Torah(Five Books of Moses)? What are we to learn from the Creation Story?
In (Ezekiel 18:4) Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. (Ezekiel 18:20) The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. (Ezekiel 18:21)But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. (Ezekiel 18:22) All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live. [1] That last sounds easy, but people get in the way of understanding and doing. It is a lot easier to do than we are lead to believe by people, although it still requires self control and effort, but you (individually) can do it. Again, this is regarding the Soul not the body.
The sins of the Father still have an effect for three or four generation. Consider this as a explanation please: If a you do bad things, and have children, the children will see what you do and continue those actions in their lives. This process is only broken when children arise that decide that there is a better way and start questioning the way things are, this takes time. If you watch you can see these things around you. If you do not want to wait for the understanding to happen, then I suggest that a reading of the Books of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles demonstrate these actions. You could actually discover the same types of events in standardized history, if you care to search out the stories.
End of Part One
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