Negativity

“Korach … separated himself, with Dasan and Aviram … and they stood before Moshe with two hundred and fifty men from Bnei Yisrael… (Bamidbar 16:1-2)

We learn from the incident with Korach how one bad middah (character trait) can destroy a person. Korach had ruach hakodesh (prophecy), he was an elder, a tzaddik, and one of the individuals who carried the aron when the Jewish people traveled. Yet, at the end, because of his jealousy, he was removed from this world. The Lev Simcha points out that the reverse is true as well – one good middah can transform an individual.

To illustrate how destructive jealousy is, the Orchos Tzaddikim presents the following: Two individuals – one who was very jealous and one who was very covetous – were invited to meet the king. The king offered each one the option to choose something, and the other would get double what the first individual had chosen.

The jealous person didn’t want to make the request first, because he didn’t want his companion to get double. The one who was covetous didn’t want to make his request first, because he would always desire to be the one who had received double.

Finally, the covetous individual pressured the jealous person to make his request first. Because he was envious, he asked that the king remove one of his eyes, which meant that his companion would have both eyes removed.

“How could someone do that?” we think to ourselves. It is a very unsettling thought. However, although the repercussions of this middah may not usually be so severe, over the millennia there have been serious consequences.

Rabbeinu Bechaye posits that two factors propelled this dispute. One, Korach was jealous to the point where there was no remedy. Second, Korach erred in his understanding of the prophetic vision he had concerning his future lineage.

It is a fact that when someone envies another’s wealth or property he is tormented until he is able to attain that level of materialism. If he succeeds, then he seeks honor and the power to rule over others, and so it continues. If a person is unable to achieve what he wants he is deeply pained, to the point where he either gets sick or he harms the other person, as we learn (Avos 4:21),“Jealousy, desire and glory remove a man from the world.”

Rav Dessler explains that these three traits – jealousy, desire and glory – are products of one’s imagination, comparable to the paper boat or cardboard box that a child puts in the water and imagines he is a captain sailing his ship on the seven seas. The only difference is that these products of the adult’s imagination can often result in a negative outcome.

Rabbeinu Bechaye continues that when an individual is jealous, not only will he harm himself, but he will injure his friends as well. That is so, because jealousy will escalate into hate, and hate can beget violence, as it says (Devarim 19:11),“If a man hates his fellow, and ambushes him, and he rises up against him, and strikes him mortally…”

That is what Shlomo HaMelech says (Koheles 4:4),“And I saw all the toil… which is a man’s envy of his friend; this too is vanity and frustration.”

Our Sages expound that the words “this too is vanity” allude to the reality that the transgression has no basis at all. It is like Kayin who was jealous of Hevel’s gift to Hashem – an animal, as opposed to his own present of straw. Kayin’s envy spiraled into hatred, resulting in Hevel’s death.

Likewise, the angels were very jealous of Adam HaRishon, and they provoked him to the point that he slipped from his elevated spiritual level and caused the Divine spirit to depart.

The great maggid Rav Shalom Schwadron was once a guest for Shabbos in a certain city. R’ Shalom was renowned not only as a great orator, but he was also a gifted ba’al tefillah. Since it was Shabbos Rosh Chodesh, Rav Schwadron was certain he would be honored to lead the davening and to say Hallel.

However, the gabbai called someone else to lead the prayer, and R’ Shalom remained silent. After Hallel came the reading of the Torah. Everyone knew R’ Shalom was a Kohen and he was certain that he would get the first aliyah reserved for the Kohen. He adjusted his tallis so that he could immediately go up to the bimah when he was called, but a different kohen was called up for the aliyah.

Surely he would get maftir, which is also an aliyah for a Kohen, thought R’ Schwadron. He prepared himself again to be ready, but once again, someone else in the shulwas called upon.

Undoubtedly, he would be asked to daven Mussaf, thought R’ Shalom to himself. Instead, he suddenly heard the gabbai beginning to daven.

Obviously the gabbai is not aware that when there is a guest in the city or shul,it is customary to honor that person, thought R’ Shalom to himself, and he quietly proceeded to daven the Mussaf Shemoneh Esrei for Shabbos Rosh Chodesh.

During the repetition of the Shemoneh Esrei, the gabbai apparently forgot it was Rosh Chodesh. Instead of reciting the words of Atah yatzarta he began to say Tikanta Shabbos. Rav Schwadron banged on the table and shouted three times, “Atah yatzarta.”

R’ Shalom later commented: People probably thought I was riled up to protect the kedusha of the day, to make sure that the gabbai said the correct tefillah. In truth, however, the first time I shouted “Atah yatzarta,” I was placated that I had not been asked to daven Hallel; the second time I shouted “Atah yatzarta” I was assuaged that I had not been given the aliyah for Kohen or maftir; the third time I shouted “Atah yatzarta” I was appeased that I had not been asked to daven Mussaf.

There is an important lesson to be derived from this story. No matter who the person is, when one is not honored, he will look for shortcomings in the person who did get the honor.

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