Due to the sin of the spies, the Jewish nation could not immediately enter the Promised Land. It had to wait in the desert for 40 years. Immediately afterward in the Torah comes Parshat Korach, which describes a sad dispute between Korach and Moshe and Aharon. Why do these two stories appear one after the other? What’s the connection between them?
Rabbi Ben Zion Firer writes that at the root of the latter story is lack of activity, boredom, that resulted from the former:
“When one has free time, one has to do something. And when one has nothing to do, one starts disputes. The nation just learned that it would have to remain in the desert for 40 years and that most of them would die there. Excited anticipation no longer filled the air; they didn’t need to prepare to enter the Land; there was no great destination or immediate goal to reach. The feeling that time would pass aimlessly led to a dispute. If they had all been active and busy with something, it’s hard to believe a fight over honor, jealousy, and ego would have broken out.”
Some food for thought before the summer holiday?