Bamidbar

This week’s Parsha, Korach, records the first organized rebellion against Torah authority. Korach’s resentment of Moshe was inspired by the ostensive nepotic appointment of Aaron as Kohen Gadol, triggering a challenge against the very fabric of Moshe’s prophetic veracity. How could Korach have rallied such opposition to Moshe’s prophetic credibility, once Moshe was established and confirmed as a faithful prophet at Har Sinai? Another difficulty arises: The Gemara in Sanhedrin 101a records an outrageous claim that Moshe was suspected of “aishes ish” i.e. an incestuous relationship with a married woman. How can we fathom this unbelievable claim?

Maran HaRav Yehoshua Leib Diskind zt”l offered the following insight at a siyum in Lumza in the year 5612 (1851). There is a major difference between Moshe’s prophetic powers, referred to as “Aspaklarya Hameira” and the other prophets. The other prophets received a message from the Almighty that needed to be interpreted and filtered through the soul of the prophet. Every prophecy had a touch of subjectivity and reflected the personality of the individual prophet. Moshe Rabbeinu, however, due to the purity and clarity of his soul, received the message of the Almighty in its pure, unadulterated form. This is what Chazal mean when they say that Moshe saw “B’Aspaklarya Hameira” - a totally clear and unobstructed vision. This qualified Moshe’s prophecy with total objectivity, reflecting a complete and exact rendition of the words of Hashem. The only other prophet that had Moshe’s ability was the gentile prophet, Bilaam. The reason the Almighty gave Bilaam this great power was that if Bilaam would have needed to “interpret” the message of Hashem, he would have done so negatively and cursed the Jewish People. However, since his prophecy was not subject to interpretation, he could only bless them, reflecting the exact words of Hashem.

We can now understand Korach’s spurious claim. Korach professed that although Moshe was indeed a great prophet, there was a touch of subjectivity and interpretation in his prophetic vision and therefore, everything Moshe said bore his personal signature and opinion. Korach thus challenged the appointment of Aaron HaKohen as Moshe’s interpretation of the will of Hashem. Korach began to destroy the very fabric of the Torah, claiming that it reflected elements of Moshe’s subjective thought and was not the exact will of Hashem (See “Tiferes Torah”, HaRav Shimshon Pikus zt”l).

This is what the Gemara means when it says that Moshe was suspected of “aishes ish”. There are two types of relationships: one a master and servant, the other a husband and wife. The servant’s relationship precludes any creativity and contribution. He is required to faithfully perform his obligations exactly according to the instructions of his master. A wife, on the other hand, has the latitude, and to the contrary, is encouraged, to run her husband’s home and family with the personal touch of her creative genius. Moshe was suspected of having a relationship of “eishes ish” i.e. the creative and subjective relationship of husband and wife with the Almighty. This, however, was totally incorrect as we say in Tefilla Shabbos morning: “Moshe rejoiced in the gift of his portion - that You called him a faithful servant”. The servant Moshe did not tamper with the words of Hashem but recorded the Torah in its pure and pristine form (Sefer Tzvi Yisroel).

This is what we say in the seventh “Ani Maamin” - “I believe with complete faith that the prophecy of Moshe, our Teacher, peace upon him, was true”. Although all prophecy is true, only Moshe’s was true to the exact intent of the Almighty and was not subjectively or personally interpreted. This is what is recorded in the Gemara in Baba Basra 74a: that every Rosh Chodesh a voice can be heard from the abyss where Korach and his followers were swallowed saying - “Moshe and his Torah are emes”.