Parshas Korach (5778)
Many of you are familiar with the beautiful Midrash about the two brothers:
Once there were two brothers, each with a farm on the opposite side of the same hill. The first had a family - It came to be that, during the harvest, the first brother said to himself, "I have a wife, sons, and daughters to help during the harvest while my brother has no one to help." So late at night, he would sneak over the hill to his brother's farm and leave bags of grain.
Now, at about the same time, the second brother said to himself, "I live by myself whereas my brother has so many mouths to feed." So late at night, he would sneak over the hill to his brother's farm and leave bags of grain.
One night, they happened to run into each other and each saw what the other was doing. They instantly realized what was happening and hugged and kissed each other.
And it is on that hill that the Beis HaMikdash (Holy Temple) was built.
However, you might not have heard the updated version:
Once there were two brothers, each with a farm on the opposite side of the same hill. The first had a family - wife, sons, daughters. The second lived by himself.
It came to be that, during the harvest, the first brother said to himself, "We have so many mouths to feed whereas my brother has only but himself." So late at night, he would sneak over the hill to his brother's farm and take bags of grain.
Now, at about the same time, the second brother said to himself, "My brother has a wife, sons, and daughters to help during the harvest while I have no one to help." So late at night, he would sneak over the hill to his brother's farm and take bags of grain.
One night, they happened to run into each other and each saw what the other was doing. They instantly realized what was happening and yelled at each other and beat each other up.
And it is on that hill that the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) was built.
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Anyone who knows anything about (some) Members of Knesset (MK’s) – and about Israeli politics in general – will tell you that the updated version of the Midrash accurately reflects the reality of what goes in the Knesset.
The truth is, though, that all the fighting and discord in the Knesset between MK’s, and between the many different political parties, not to mention the many attempts by those in opposition to take the government down, is really nothing new for the Jewish people.
Ever since the very first rebellion against Moses, the “Prime Minister†of the Jewish people, led by that infamous rabble-rouser and “opposition leader†Korach, who we read about in this week’s Torah portion (see Numbers 16:1 onwards), there have always been fights and arguments and challenges to authority among the Jewish people.
As the great medieval Torah scholar, Rabbi Menachem Me’iri (1249–1306), once wrote – in a homiletical interpretation of the verse in Numbers 26:11, “And the sons of Korach didn’t die†- there will always be rebellious “Korach-types†among our people.
However, last week, the Knesset took me by surprise and approved the final reading of a bill that may actually bring different types of Jews together, instead of the usual fighting that goes on there – and, who knows, it might even bring the Messiah and the Future Redemption!
Allow me to explain ….
The Talmud in Shabbos 118b records the following tradition:
Rabbi Yocḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Yocḥai: “If only the Jewish people would keep two Shabbasos in accordance with their laws, they would be immediately redeemed … “
That’s all it takes to bring the Messiah … two Shabbasos!
The problem is, though, how are we going to get all Jews around the world to keep Shabbos together – especially in places like Israel where many Jews have to work on Shabbos.
After all, which secular Israeli can afford to try observing a whole Shabbos if he knows that he might get fired for not coming in to work on Saturday as usual?
Which is where this Knesset bill I was telling you about comes in: Read on ..
Knesset Committee Approves Bill Guaranteeing Secular Employees’ Right to Rest on Shabbat [excerpted from www.jewishpress.com]
The Knesset Finance Committee on Monday approved for a final plenum vote in the Knesset plenum a bill guaranteeing non-religious employees, like their religious counterparts, the right to refuse to work on Shabbat. Currently, the Hours of Work and Rest Law stipulates that religious employees can refuse to work on their religious day of rest without fear of dismissal or other punitive action by their employers, but this right is not enjoyed by their fellow non-practicing workers. Amendment 15 to the Hours of Work and Rest Law will allow workers who have not declared themselves to be religious and who have worked on their day of rest in the past, to refuse a request to work on that day. However, a ministerial committee will be established to evaluate requests from businesses wishing to be exempt from the law, depending on their specific and unique reasons. Institutions and businesses involved in state security, public health, electricity supply and the hospitality industry will be exempted, meaning they could fire an employee who refuses to work on Shabbat, and replace him or her with one who would. Finance Committee Chairman MK Moshe Gafni (United Torah Judaism) said the law is “proper for a Jewish and democratic country†and will “prevent discriminationâ€. The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Social Services filed an official objection to the bill. The ministry’s legal advisor, Attorney Ayelet Zeldin, told the Finance Committee: “We fear that people who normally work on Shabbat would demand to earn more money (Israeli workers can earn 150% and even 200% of their base pay for working on Shabbat). This will result in a very heavy burden on the employerâ€. After the Committee rejected a number of reservations, the bill was approved for its second and third (final) readings in the Knesset plenum.
Don’t you get it? This bill that is right now passing through the Knesset – and which will likely be voted into law in the coming days - is great news for those who seek the unity of the Jewish people and who yearn for the Messiah and peace on earth!
Soon there will be no more excuses for secular Israelis not to try on a Shabbos (or two) for size. Even if they never observed a Shabbos before in their lives, they will now have the opportunity to observe the wonderful gift of Shabbos without fear of losing their job.
I know that this is only one small step. But still we can hope that one day soon every single Jew on the planet – whether religious or secular – will observe two Shabbasos together and bring the Messiah!
http://www.torchweb.org/torah_detail.php?id=518