Shabbat Korach
Numbers 19:1-22:1
Candle Lighting Time: Friday, July, 4, 2008 8:12 P.M.
In this week’s Torah
portion, the Israelites were without water. God told Moses to speak to
the rock to bring forth water. Instead he struck the rock and yelled at
the Children of Israel, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you
out of this rock?” (Nu. 20:9) God punished Moses by banning him from
entering the Promised Land. “Moses was punished for losing his temper
and losing patience with the people calling them ‘rebels,’ striking the
rock 9and then striking a second time) in exasperation wit the people.
(One suspects he would as readily have struck the complainers with his
staff.) ‘When a prophet loses his temper, his gift of prophecy abandons
him’ (BT Pes. 66b)” (The Etz Hayyim Commentary below the line on page
885)
Compare Moses’ behavior to
a head coach of a university baseball team. When this coach retired,
one sportswriter noted an amazing statistic. While winning 1,466 games,
22 conference championships, and 2 national titles, this coach was never
ejected from a game by an umpire. A former player described his coach
as “a legend, a winner, but above everything else, he’s a gentleman, on
and off the field.”
That tribute made me stop
and consider my behavior in the game of life. Amid daily pressures and
confrontations, how do I react to people at home, at work, or on the
highway? Are my words and actions consistent of God’s expectations of
me?
It’s clear from this
week’s Torah portion and the rest of the Bible that God places great
value on self-control: “He who is slow to anger is better than the
mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Proverbs
16:323) A patient person receives grater commendation than a powerful
warrior. A person whose temper is under control rates higher marks than
a conquering hero.
You can be a hero (See
Pirke Avot 4:1) by staying composed when anger flares all around you.
And that’s one of the most important victories we could ever win.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi
Gary Greene
Services Schedule:
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Shabbat 9:00 a.m.
Mon.
& Thurs 6:30 a.m.
Sun.
-Thurs night 7:30 p.m.
