Parshas Korach 5785
- Torah Tavlin
- Jun 26
- 3 min read
ויעמד בין המתים ובין החיים ותעצר המגפה ... וישב אהרן אל משה אל פתח אהל מועד והמגפה נעצרה וגו' (יז-יג,טו)
Rashi quotes the Medrash Tanchuma: “Aharon took hold of the angel [of death] and held him against his will. The angel said to him, ‘Allow me to accomplish my mission.’ He replied to him, ‘Moshe commanded me to stop you.’ The angel said to him, ‘I am the messenger of the Omnipresent, and you are the messenger of Moshe.’ He said to him, ‘Moshe does not say anything of his own volition, only at the bidding of the Almighty. If you do not believe me, the Holy One, blessed is He, and Moshe are at the entrance of the Ohel Moed [Tent of Meeting]; come with me and ask him.’ This is the meaning of the statement, ‘Aharon returned to Moshe.’ (Medrash Tanchuma, Tetzaveh 15)
An epidemic had broken out in Vloshchov. People were dying at an alarming rate and no one had any idea how to halt its progression. Medically speaking, there was no one qualified to treat the sick and dying, so it was decided that a spiritual solution must be sought. A respectful delegation from Vloshchov traveled to Radomsk to hastily speak with the tzaddik, R’ Shloime Rabinowitz zt”l of Radomsk. They asked him to please return with them to his hometown, for he grew up in Vloshchov, and pray for its stricken residents. He was eager to help and traveled with them to the small nearby town.
As they neared the entrance to Vloshchov, R’ Shloime was greeted on his approach by the venerable leaders and talmidei chachamim there, headed by the local Rav, and behind them the entire populace of Vloshchov - men, women and children - all decked out in their Shabbos finery, with singing and adulation.
“How great is the ruach hakodesh of the heilige Yid HaKadosh of Pshischah!” exclaimed R’ Shloime as he took in the sight before him. “I recall that when he once visited this town - I was then a little boy - all the townsfolk came out to greet him with due pomp. My father, Reb Hirschele, who was the respected lay leader of the community, traveled with the Yid HaKadosh in his carriage, and he sat me on his lap. When the tzaddik saw me there next to him, he pinched my cheek in a grandfatherly way, and said: ‘Nu, nu ... When you grow up and come here, you’ll be honored more!’”
R’ Shloime was brought to the home of the Rav where he found comfortable arrangements. The next morning, the tzaddik instructed all the townsfolk to walk with him around the edge of the local cemetery. They followed behind him and then he began to recite the following words: “Concerning Aharon the Kohen Gadol we read in Parshas Korach, ‘And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stayed.’ Now reason dictates that there should be only living people, not dead - for what use does the Almighty have from the dead? Even if they are righteous and dwell in the Gan Eden, what benefit does Hashem have from them as they sit there, basking in the soothing warmth of Paradise?
“But living people thank Hashem. They daven, they praise, and they bless Him! On top of all that, they drink L’Chaim now and again!” [And here R’ Shloime indulged in a play on words on the similarity between "לְחַיִים" - the toast “To Life” that accompanies a convivial sip of shnapps, and "לְחָיַיִם" - the jowls of the Korbanos, the animals that were offered in the Bais HaMikdash, as a reminder of tefillah, prayer, which is breathed and mouthed by the mispallelim.]
R’ Shloime closed his eyes and spoke in a soft voice. “When Pinchos ben Elazar ben Aharon davened to Hashem that He remove the plague, he pointed out to the Almighty these two advantages of the living over the dead: first, that they pray and secondly, that they say L’Chaim. And so we find, indeed, that ‘He [Pinchos] stood [in prayer] between the dead and the living (hachaim).’ And through the strength of this argument the plague was indeed banished.
“Now, you good folk,” concluded R’ Shloime, “would you please learn from the great tzaddik, Pinchos, and bring a drop of vodka here, so that we can all partake and say L’Chaim?”
A few of the townsfolk hurried home to bring some whiskey and refreshments, and right where they stood, just outside the cemetery walls, they drank L’Chaim, and in loud, happy voices wished each other “Life”!
From there they went home with happy hearts, and within a short time the epidemic vanished from their town.