In this parashah, Korach, a person of great hierarchy and wealth, convinces 250 heads of Am Israel to rise up against Moshe and Aaron, claiming to them: They have gone too far, all the people are holy and God is among them, why do they exalt themselves over God’s congregation? I would like to analyze the reaction of our leader Moshe, to learn from his attitude. When Moshe heard the reproaches, he dropped to the ground. Why? The Sage Rashi explains that Moshe weakened, because previously the people had already complained three times, and Moshe had pleaded with God to forgive them: the first time, during the golden calf, Moshe prayed on their behalf; the second time they complained shortly after leaving Mount Sinai, and Moshe again pleaded with God, and the third time was with the spies, and again he pleaded on their behalf. When Korach and his congregation revealed themselves for the fourth time, Moshe became weak. This resembles the son of a king who revealed himself. The king had a friend who begged him to pardon his son, but the son revealed himself again and again until the king’s friend said to the son: How long will I trouble the king, perhaps he will no longer accept my prayers? Moshe did not care that he was despised, his only interest was the welfare of Am Israel, but he feared that God would not listen to his prayers. This is a great teaching for us.
George Deek is an Arab-Israeli diplomat. In 2018, Deek was appointed Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan. He is the first Israeli Arab Christian to become an ambassador. Deek grew up in an Eastern Orthodox Christian family in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, in a building where the other tenants included Muslims, Catholics, Jews and a Catholic priest of Jewish ancestry.[2][3] His father, who worked as a tax advisor,[3] was one of the leaders of the Christian community in Jaffa who served as chairman of the Orthodox Association, and was considered a well-known and popular figure in the city until in 2015 a square was inaugurated in his memory in Jaffa in the presence of Mayor Ron Huldai.[4] According to Deek, his grandparents fled to Lebanon for safety when the 1947–1949 Palestine war, having been told that the Jews would slaughter them if they remained in their homes, but expecting to return home once Arab armies defeated the Jews.[3] According to Deek, when the war ended, his grandparents felt that they had been “deceived”, and decided to return illegally to their home in Jaffa rather than remaining in Lebanon as refugees. Since reentering the country was illegal, Deek’s grandfather, an electrician, was arrested and jailed.
