Rav Avigdor Miller on the Great Sin of Korach

And the answer is this. You know, when you do a favor to a fellow Jew, Hakadosh Baruch Hu rewards you.  But suppose that fellow Jew is a very great tzaddik? So you get much more reward.

You remember when Yisro heard there was a Mitzri in the neighborhood.  איש מצרי הצילנו – “An Egyptian man saved us”, his daughters said, “A Mitzri helped us out.”

So Yisro said, קראן לו ויאכל לחם – “Call him; invite him to eat.”

Now Yisro didn’t know who he was, but it states that because Yisro gave Moshe Rabbeinu bread to eat, Yisro was rewarded greatly forever and ever.  So if you do a kindliness to a great man, it’s much more richly rewarded by Hashem.

So let’s say, you have one dollar to give to tzedakah.  You can give it, let’s say, to a poor fellow on the street or give it to a poor ben Torah.  A ben Torah is much more important.

I once heard a man say, “Why give it to a ben Torah?  You’re partial to bnei Torah?”  The answer is, yes, we are partial to bnei Torah.  Hakadosh Baruch Hu is partial to them.

I remember there was a big argument against the roshei yeshivas.  At the time of the Va’ad Hatzalah, when they were saving Jews from Europe, the roshei yeshivah were bringing over bnei Torah.  So a man told me, “Roshei yeshivah, because they’re partial to bnei Torah, they’re bringing over bnei Torah.”

So I said, “Whom else should they bring over?  Certainly the bnei Torah they should bring over!  If you have only a few visas to save lives, no question they’re first!  What’s the shailah?!  Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants them.”

And therefore the same thing is the other way around. If you start up with a nobody, if you talk loshon hara on a plain nobody, it’s wrong; it’s a cheit.  But if you talk loshon hara on a tzaddik, oh! שונאי צדיק יאשמו – If you hate a tzaddik, you’ll be held very, very guilty.

So if you want to talk loshon hara, of course it’s best not to say anything, but choose bums.  Don’t choose tzaddikim.  Don’t chose frum Jews.  Frum Jews are tzaddikim, עמך כולם צדיקים.  Frum Jews are tzaddikim.  Frum Jews are sacrificing for Torah.  It costs them schar limud for their children.  They could send them to public schools.  They’re laboring to pay huge amounts of money for schar limud, for tuition, so they deserve credit for that.  ועמך כולם צדיקים.  Jewish nation of frum Jews.  Don’t talk on Jews.  No.

And therefore Korach started with Moshe Rabbeinu.  He chose the very worst man to start up with.  Had he been suspicious, let’s say of a little fellow there, of the son of the ish Mitzri—there was an ish Mitzri that had a son there—had he started up with him, it wouldn’t be a mitzvah, but still he wouldn’t be in the ground.  But he started up with Moshe Rabbeinu and he spoke against him and he was dan l’kaf chovah, then that’s a very great mistake.

February 1994