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<pre wrap=""><font face="Arial">Sun, 13 Jun 2010 Richard Wolberg <a
class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:cantorwolberg@cox.net"><cantorwolberg@cox.net></a> asked:
Also, wasn't Korach present at Har Sinai? Didn't all the people hear/and or see the actual voice of HaShem for the first 2 Commandments? So how could Korach, after witnessing this, deny it?
</font></pre>
<font face="Arial"><span style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span><span
dir="LTR" style="font-size: 14pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></font>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span style="">My
answer:<br>
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span style="">The
Rambam Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah) 8:1) states
that Moshe Rabbeynu’s miracles of the desert were performed to solve
problems, not
to prove his prophecy (i.e., not to prove that anything he would ever
report as
being said by Hashem actually was).*<o:p> <br>
</o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span style="">Yet,
one of the examples the Rambam himself brings
seems to directly contradict his thesis: Korach’s assemblage denied
Moshe—i.e.,
denied Moshe’s proclamation that it was Hashem Who dictated the
appointment of
Aharon as Kohen Gadol, and accused Moshe of fabricating the claim. And
to stop
the rebellion and prove that he was indeed merely transmitting Hashem’s
dictation, Hashem caused the earth to swallow them up. As the Torah
says: Moshe
declared, "By this you will know that Hashem sent me to do all these
things; that it is not from my mind" (B'Midbar 16:28).<br>
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span style=""></span></font></p>
<font face="Arial"><span style="color: black;">So the miracle *<i>was*</i>
performed
to prove his authenticity as a prophet! How can the Rambam maintain his
thesis
in face of this fact, not to mention cite it as an example?<o:p></o:p></span></font>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p>Answer:<span style=""> </span>The
Rambam ends this passage as follows:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" dir="RTL"
style="text-align: right; direction: rtl; unicode-bidi: embed;"><font
face="Arial"><b><span style="font-size: 13pt; color: black;" lang="HE"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 27pt;"><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;">And where
is it stated that the revelation at Mt. Sinai was the sole proof that
Moshe’
prophetic messages were true beyond all doubt?—“Behold I come to you in
a thick
cloud for the purpose that the nation will hear My speaking with you,
and will
believe also in you *forever.*” It is therefore implicit that before
this
thing, they did *not* trust in Moshe with a trust that stands forever,
but with
a trust that carries afterwards second thoughts.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;">The Rambam all along was talking about
the trust in the authenticity of Moshe’s prophecies that is <i>forever
enduring</i>,
not a belief that lasts for only a short while. The fact the verse says
that
now the people will trust in Moshe <i>forever </i>means that until
now--such as
when the verses said that at the splitting of the sea “and they
believed in Hashem
and in Moshe His servant”--the emunah referred to was not an emunah
*l’oloam<u><span dir="RTL" lang="HE"></span></u><span dir="LTR"></span><span
dir="LTR"></span>.**
Only when we ourselves heard Hashem assigning Moshe Rabbeynu the role
of
conveying His Will, we <i>knew directly</i> that <i>from then on, </i>whatever
Moshe
would say in Hashem’s name was authentic. Proofs that a prophet is
authentic based on miracles alone, however, does not provide enduring
trust in
that prophet, because miracles carry the suspicion of trickery. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;">But <i>Maamad Har Sinai</i> did not
remove free-will from humans. One is still free to allow his desires—a
desire for
honor, in Korach’s case—to overcome his reason. Hashem’s guarantee that
whatever Moshe would say in His name is indeed His will, was a fact
sincere
reason could not deny. The problem was Korach’s influence on the people
to
disregard the fact their reason told them to accept Hashem’s will
conveyed by
Moshe Rabbeynu. This was a need that had to be addressed by the
dramatic,
miraculous punishment brought upon Korach and his followers. This
miracle, as
all others, had neither the ability nor the purpose of proving that
Moshe
Rabbeynu’s prophetic instructions were always authentically from
Hashem; the
miracle was merely a quick fix to restore the people’s clear thinking. <br>
</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;">By
strict logic, the miracle was a weak substitute for* <u>indirectly</u>*
demonstrating
what the people themselves had already <u>*directly</u>* witnessed.
At best, it could prove that this particular decree of Aaron being the
Kohen
Gadol was indeed Hashem’s will. But it could not elicit—in the absence
of <i>Maamad
Har Sinai</i>—the enduring trust that <u>*whatever</u>* Moshe would
ever report
in Hashem’s name was indeed what Hashem said. Indeed, as pointed out by
my son
Yehoshua<span dir="RTL" lang="HE"></span><span dir="LTR"></span><span
dir="LTR"></span>, the lesson did not last more than one day: And all
the congregation
of the Bnei Yisroel complained the next day against Moshe and against
Aharon,
saying: Why are you killing the People of Hashem?”<span dir="RTL"></span><span
dir="RTL"><span dir="RTL"></span> </span><span dir="LTR"></span><span
dir="LTR"></span><span style=""> </span>(Bamidbar 17:6).<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;">* The Rambam specifies the miracles of
the desert, excluding those of </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span
style="color: black;">Egypt</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span
style="color: black;">, probably in view of the three
miracles (staff to snake, water to blood, pure hand to leprous) Hashem
told
Moshe to perform to prove his credentials as a prophet to the
Israelites.
However, even these miracles could not serve to prove that Moshe
Rabbeynu would
never lose his status as a true prophet. A true prophet is capable of
becoming
corrupt, as did happen with Yeravam ben Nevat, for example. (Indeed,
according
to Rabbi Akiva, it is to such a corrupt prophet that the Torah refers
when it
speaks of a false prophet who [had previously] established himself as
authentic
through the performance of miracles.)<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style=""><font face="Arial"><span
style="color: black;">** The Torah used <span dir="RTL"></span><span
dir="RTL" lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span>emunah<span
dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span><span
dir="LTR"></span><span dir="LTR"></span> to mean temporary belief, and
had to modify it with <span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><span
dir="RTL"></span>"</span>l’olom<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"
lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span
dir="LTR"></span> to designate permanent belief. The Rambam
thereon used the unmodified term <span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"
lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span>emunah<span dir="RTL"></span><span
dir="RTL" lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span>"</span><span dir="LTR"></span><span
dir="LTR"></span> to mean
a permanent belief, and when referring to non-permanent belief modified
it as “an
emunah that stands forever and carries no second thoughts afterwards<span
dir="RTL"></span><b><span dir="RTL" lang="HE"><span dir="RTL"></span>.</span></b><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Arial"><o:p> Zvi Lampel<br>
</o:p></font></p>
<br>
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